Physis Project

Governing classes

Governing classes

The Four Governing Classes (name used in the articles)

The four categories that crystallize where power conflict evolves from the individual to the systemic level: those who decide, those who want to become the decision-maker, those subject to the decision and those who implement it. What determines class is the will to be the decision-maker — without that will the position is lower; with it, it is the power class, and its phase gives the name. Classes are not fixed but permeable; individuals and groups move between them depending on context.

— Physis: A Theory of Power — Concept Glossary

The definition is from the Concept Glossary of Physis: A Theory of Power; the book will be published on Zenodo in October 2026. The English wording is provisional until the official English glossary is published.

AuthorEvren Öztürk
Published19 September 2026
Research programPhysis
First appearancePhysis: A Theory of Power
Developed inPhysis: A Theory of Power — Chapter 4, §1

Related concepts

Forms of existenceFractal structureLeader-based paradigmPower classThe governed (lower class)The governing (upper class)The implementers (bureaucracy)Those who want to govern (middle class)Axis of will / axis of function

Used in