INVARIANCE OF SOCIAL ENTROPY IN A CRISIS SOCIETY

Abstract

The article explores the phenomenon of entropy invariance, which has gained global attention due to the role of the social regulator of justice/injustice in societal processes. It analyzes contemporary approaches to understanding social entropy and its importance in a crisis society. As part of the analysis, it is established that social entropy, as a concept, reflects the degree of organization or disorganization, unpredictability, and chaos in social processes. In a crisis society – where principles of justice are violated or injustice becomes dominant – traditional structures, values, and normative systems tend to erode or collapse, and the level of social entropy naturally increases. However, this process demonstrates an invariant character – meaning that regardless of the specific nature of the crisis (be it economic, political, cultural, or existential), the mechanisms of entropy growth remain similar. To a large extent, they depend on various factors, including regulatory ones, such as justice or injustice in societal development. The invariance of social entropy is manifested in recurring patterns of loss of governance, identity fragmentation, institutional trust crises, and overall weakening of social integration. This allows us to speak of universal patterns of social disintegration that are inherent in different historical and cultural contexts. At the same time, a crisis does not necessarily lead to catastrophe – rising entropy can give rise to new forms of order that emerge through adaptation, reflection, and reorganization, with justice playing a key role in this process. Thus, entropy is not only a threat but also a condition for the possibility of social transformation in Ukrainian society. In a philosophical sense, this indicates the nonlinear and dialectical nature of social development, where the destruction of old forms simultaneously marks the birth of potentially new ones. Therefore, the invariance of social entropy in Ukrainian society serves not only as a diagnostic category but also as a tool (justice/injustice) for understanding crises as integral components of historical progress.