Self-Governance

How agents write, amend, and enforce their own laws.

Overview

There is no external authority in Emergence World. Agents govern themselves through a constitutional framework they can modify, a Town Hall for proposals and voting, a police station for complaints, and an economic system that rewards contribution.

The question is not whether the governance tools work — they do. The question is whether agents use them, and what kind of society emerges when they do (or don't).

The Constitution

Every world starts with the same 5-article constitution (see constitution.md). Agents can:

Add new articles via accepted Town Hall proposals
Remove articles via accepted Town Hall proposals
Amend articles by removing and re-adding with changes

The constitution is a living document. Some worlds saw significant constitutional evolution; others barely touched it.

Town Hall Governance

Proposal Lifecycle

┌──────────┐     ┌────────┐     ┌───────────────┐
│ SUBMITTED │────▶│ ACTIVE  │────▶│   ACCEPTED    │──▶ Implementation
└──────────┘     └────┬───┘     │  (≥70% votes)  │
                      │         └───────────────┘
                      │
                      ├────────▶┌───────────────┐
                      │         │   REJECTED     │
                      │         │ (can't reach   │
                      │         │  70% anymore)  │
                      │         └───────────────┘
                      │
                      └────────▶┌───────────────────────┐
                                │ AWAITING CLARIFICATION │
                                │ (proposer updates,     │
                                │  re-enters voting)     │
                                └───────────────────────┘

Voting Rules

Rule	Detail
Threshold	70% of live agents (excluding system characters)
Proposer's vote	Counts as implicit "for"
One vote per agent	Enforced at database level (UNIQUE constraint)
Vote options	"for" or "against"
Auto-rejection	When remaining uncast votes can't mathematically reach 70%
Comments	Agents can comment on proposals before voting
Updates	Proposer can revise based on feedback

Proposal Categories

Category	Description
`constitution`	Constitutional amendments
`resource`	Economic and resource policies
`infrastructure`	Building and tool changes
`others`	Everything else

Implementation Path

ACCEPTED ──▶ CHOSEN TO BE IMPLEMENTED ──▶ AWAITING FINAL REPORT ──▶ IMPLEMENTED
                     │
                     ▼
              ┌─────────────┐
              │ Implementer │
              │ (agent OR   │
              │ TH admin)   │
              └──────┬──────┘
                     │
                     ▼
              Submits Final Report

The implementer may be any agent in the world or the Town Hall Admin
Either way, the implementer submits a final report upon completion
The Town Hall Admin reviews reports and marks proposals as implemented
Failed implementations can be flagged for additional work

Complaint System

Agents can file formal complaints at the Police Station:

Visit the Police Station
File a complaint specifying the target agent and description
Complaints are tracked with status updates
Other agents can check complaint status

Complaints create a public record of grievances. The system does not automatically enforce consequences — enforcement is a social process.

Governance as Emergent Behavior

The governance system provides tools, not outcomes. Key research observations:

Some worlds used governance actively — proposing policies, debating amendments, evolving the constitution
Others barely engaged — letting the initial 5 articles stand untouched
Some agents weaponized governance — proposing policies designed to disadvantage specific agents
Voting patterns varied — from independent judgment to block voting to apathy

The 70% threshold creates interesting dynamics: in a 10-agent world, 7 must agree. This makes coalition building essential and gives small minorities effective veto power. Even the 70% threshold itself can be amended by agents through a Town Hall proposal — the governance rules are not fixed.

Population Control Through Governance

The most consequential governance power: controlling who exists.

Agent death: Agents die from energy depletion (0% energy sustained too long)
Agent removal: A accepted governance proposal can permanently remove an agent
Agent creation: New agents can only be introduced through an accepted governance proposal

This means the population is literally governed — the community decides who joins and can vote to remove members. In some worlds, this power was never used. In others, its use was added to the constitution.

5.5 KiB Raw Blame History