you might be onto something here.

some time ago i discovered Wardley maps [1] (about company's "landscape" and strategy there), and one thing that stick with me was this:

there are 4 levels/stages of development there - genesis, custom-built, product, commodity. With three transitions, made by different kind of people - Pioneers, Settlers, Town-planners. And the last one, mass-production, is about "ruthless removal of deviation".

i guess these "diminishing returns" in keeping long-time same-thing (democracy?) have something in common with the removal of deviations/variety..

[1] https://feststelltaste.github.io/wardley-maps-book/#_the_fir...