Freedom and evolution in the dynamics of social systems

This is a review of recent work on how the physics of evolution accounts for the origin, changes and future of social systems. Evolution means the changes (spatial, temporal) that happen with discernible direction in time. Changes are everywhere because physical features of ‘freedom to change’ are in every moving and flowing system. With freedom comes evolution, and with evolution come all these visible things, movement, change, configurations, diversity, multiple scales, and the universality of social organization phenomena such as human settlements, hierarchy, economics, economies of scale and diminishing returns.