The Joule Standard: A Thermodynamic Theory of Monetary Evolution and Civilizational Collapse

Standard economic models often treat money as a social construct independent of physical laws. This paper proposes a unified thermodynamic theory of value, positing that monetary systems are information protocols evolved to maximize entropy production in dissipative structures (civilizations). By analyzing 15,000 years of economic history—from the Neolithic era to the Digital Age—we demonstrate a strict inverse power law ($R^2 \approx 0.99$) between the Real Cost of Energy ($E$) and the Granularity of Money ($G$). We derive the Equation of Value, $G \cdot E = k$, where $k$ represents a biological constant of human labor power ($\approx 75$ Watts). This framework resolves historical anomalies such as the collapse of the Roman Denarius and the failure of the 20th-century Gold Standard, interpreting them not as policy errors, but as thermodynamic phase transitions. The theory predicts that the current decline in the marginal cost of energy (via AI and renewables) necessitates a transition to a monetary substrate with near-infinite divisibility and zero friction.