Dynamics of Social Diversity

TL;DR

This paper presents an analytical model of social class development showing a phase transition from a single-class to a multi-class society, highlighting the dynamics of social mobility and class stratification.

Contribution

It introduces a novel analytical model for social class evolution, revealing a phase transition and detailed class structure in competitive populations.

Findings

Identification of a phase transition from homogeneous to hierarchical society

Existence of a static lower class and an upwardly mobile middle class

Presence of a tiny, stable upper class

Abstract

We introduce and solve analytically a model for the development of disparate social classes in a competitive population. Individuals advance their fitness by competing against those in lower classes, and in parallel, individuals decline due to inactivity. We find a phase transition from a homogeneous, single-class society to a hierarchical, multi-class society. In the latter case, a finite fraction of the population still belongs to the lower class, and the rest of the population is in the middle class, on top of which lies a tiny upper class. While the lower class is static and poor, the middle class is upwardly mobile.