Resource Exchange and Allocation (A Generalized Thermodynamic Approach). I

The paper is an attempt to reveal resource exchange and allocation mechanisms common for processes of various nature (economic, sociological, physical, etc.). The paper will consist of four parts. The first will describe an equilibrium model assuming the existence of a “structural function” (interpreted as entropy in thermodynamics and a utility function in mathematical economics). The conditions for equilibrium of a composite system are described for the case where the subsystem structural functions are additive.