Maximum Power Principle
The Maximum Power Principle (Odum & Pinkerton, 1955; related to Lotka's 1945 "Law of Evolution as a Maximal Principle") is a systems property invoked in Paper Two to explain why selfish accumulation dominates MTI Society despite its ecological cost. The most "successful" natural systems — from individuals to species to whole ecosystems — are those that structure themselves to maximise their energy appropriations and most efficiently transform captured energy into self-maintenance, growth and reproduction.
From energy capture to power structure
This produces a literal power imbalance: those who control disproportionate energy flows, by whatever means, rise to the top. The paper argues the top-heavy structure of MTI civilisation, with its extreme levels of inequality, is a direct expression of this principle operating at civilisational scale — and that the resulting concentration of financial and political influence creates self-reinforcing feedbacks that prioritise short-term economic growth and wealth preservation, entrenching the status quo against correction (institutional path dependence).