The Principle of Needs Dependency: A Foundational Theory for the Evolutionary Development of Social Systems

Abstract: The emergence of ordered structures from the interactive dynamics of individual needs constitutes a core inquiry in sociological theory.  Conceptualizing social systems as collective "negentropy-harvesting" mechanisms established by living entities to counteract the Second Law of Thermodynamics, this paper formulates the Principle of Needs Dependency (NDT). Within this framework, needs are defined as the potential energy driving agents to acquire negentropy; dependency is conceptualized as the topological projection of needs across agents; and social structure is characterized as the macroscopic solidification of the partial order set of dependencies. By introducing the concepts of social temperature ( T , with an independent dimension in Ks) and the social Boltzmann constant ( κ , dimensioned as Energy/Ks), we establish a dimensional closed expression for free energy ：F=U-kTS. Building on this foundation, we construct a model of endogenous temperature dynamics, framing social evolution as a process of spontaneous simulated annealing devoid of external operators. We provide rigorous proofs for the system's convergence under adiabatic approximation, the bounded monotonic decrease of structural entropy, the Arrhenius law governing mixing time, and a modified version of the Historical Quenching Theorem. Multi-scale  numerical simulations corroborate these theoretical predictions: the system's total potential energy decreases by 45.5%, 28.0%, and 15.8% respectively, accompanied by a synchronous decline in structural entropy and natural cooling, demonstrating a spontaneous convergence from disorder to order. We posit that the developmental, unbalanced potential energy of needs  among social agents serves as the endogenous force  continuously driving the reorganization of social structures, steering the system toward the minimization of social free energy. The social system utilizes environmental negentropy flux as a cooling source, while structural reforms and technological innovations function as negentropy converters. Driven by endogenous temperature (i.e., the degree of disequilibrium in the potential energy of needs among agents) and modulated by temperature levers—such as technological revolutions, shifts in disasters and wars — the system undergoes repeated quenching and adjustment, transitioning from high-potential bound states to low-dissipation effective states. Due to the interplay between the multi-basin nature of the energy landscape and finite cooling rates, social systems are constrained to locallyoptimal paths. Consequently, they settle into a state of minimum energy dissipation under a non-zero entropy steady-state distribution as the provisional destination of an evolutionary cycle, before resuming natural, iterative development. Ultimately, social power, institutions, and network structures are identified as natural byproducts of this systemic evolution.