AIM Framework glossary
Emergent Parasitism Principle
Canonical definition
The Emergent Parasitism Principle is the principle that the Mimetic Premium (PM) constitutes emergent parasitism in the technical rather than metaphorical sense, meeting four conditions: (1) Host Dependency, M cannot generate independent Objects; (2) Resource Extraction, PM \> 0 on all M-contaminated Objects; (3) Self-Amplification, compound interest, mimetic contagion, and reference-point escalation produce self-reinforcing growth; and (4) Host-Viability Constraint, extraction is bounded by host survival requirements, producing Parasitic Equilibrium → Parasitic Overshoot dynamics.
Explanation
This principle establishes that the Mimetic Premium is not merely metaphorically parasitic but satisfies the formal conditions for emergent parasitism. Host Dependency: M-desire cannot exist independently (it requires A-objects or I-objects to amplify. Resource Extraction: the Mimetic Premium represents real resources flowing to status signalling beyond appetitive necessity or intrinsic quality. Self-Amplification: the Mimetic Flywheel compounds) each M-transaction generates further M-demand through observability and social proof. Host-Viability Constraint: extraction cannot exceed what hosts can provide, creating the characteristic boom-bust pattern as systems oscillate between Parasitic Equilibrium (extraction sustainable) and Parasitic Overshoot (extraction exceeds regeneration capacity). The principle predicts that unmanaged M-dynamics will produce cyclic crisis rather than stable equilibrium. The biological definition of parasitism is a special case of this principle, not a prior constraint upon it: interspecificity and discrete organism identity are features of OCEP instantiation in the biological medium, not primitive criteria of parasitism as a system-logic pattern.
Epistemic status
Framework-Specific Principle
Derivation
Related terms
- Mimetic Premium (PM)
- Object Parasitism (Axiom 5)
- Parasitic Equilibrium
- Parasitic Overshoot
- Mimetic Flywheel
- Concealment Infrastructure
- Parasitism (Architectural Sense)