One of the most intriguing features of living and social systems is that tiny actions often have enormous effects. A neuron fires and a limb moves. A policy is announced and an institution reorganises itself. A symbolic message spreads and a social movement begins.
Why does this happen?
A growing line of work, including a recent paper I’ve written, suggests that agency operates through a mechanism we might call causal leverage. In simple terms:
information, even when coupled with very little energy, can unlock or redirect far larger flows of energy elsewhere.
This idea bridges physics, biology, cognition, and social behaviour. It explains why:
- control systems use small signals to regulate large processes,
- communication changes minds with minimal physical effort,
- leaders and institutions wield influence through words more than force,
- and why humans naturally seek positions of “power”; because it increases the amplification of their actions.
Rather than treating agency and social power as abstract concepts, this approach roots them in the physical world.
The full paper explores these ideas in more detail for those who are interested and can be downloaded in pdf format at https://rational-understanding.com/SST
Rational-Understanding.com 