# policy (governance)

a set of knowledge that a system uses to control what happens

- Computed level: L8 (depth in the emergence graph, not abstraction)
- Status: review  ·  Domain: everyday  ·  Arena: policy

## Emergence
**Emerges from:** [system](https://emergencemachine.com/tools/lexicon/what-is-the-meaning-of-system.organized), [information](https://emergencemachine.com/tools/lexicon/what-is-the-meaning-of-information.knowledge), [control](https://emergencemachine.com/tools/lexicon/what-is-the-meaning-of-control.ability), [happen](https://emergencemachine.com/tools/lexicon/what-is-the-meaning-of-happen.event-occurrence), [use](https://emergencemachine.com/tools/lexicon/what-is-the-meaning-of-use.application), [knowledge](https://emergencemachine.com/tools/lexicon/what-is-the-meaning-of-knowledge.cognitive), [sets](https://emergencemachine.com/tools/lexicon/what-is-the-meaning-of-sets.grouped)

**Through:** the organized system applies cognitive knowledge as a grouped set of rules to enable control over event occurrences through application.

**Novel properties:**
- rule-based control
- collective constraint
- governance capacity

## Examples
- The U.S. Federal Reserve raises interest rates to 5.25% in 2023 to reduce inflation. *(economics)*
- The Linux kernel enforces module signing policies to prevent unauthorized code execution. *(computing)*
- The 1968 Chicago Building Code mandates fire escapes on all multi-story residential structures. *(engineering)*

## Used by
- [copyright](https://emergencemachine.com/tools/lexicon/what-is-the-meaning-of-copyright.legal) (L10)
- [governance](https://emergencemachine.com/tools/lexicon/what-is-the-meaning-of-governance.administrative) (L9)
- [rights](https://emergencemachine.com/tools/lexicon/what-is-the-meaning-of-rights.moral) (L9)

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*Canonical: https://emergencemachine.com/tools/lexicon/what-is-the-meaning-of-policy.governance*  
*Structured data: https://emergencemachine.com/tools/lexicon/what-is-the-meaning-of-policy.governance.json*  
*Every definition provably resolves to space, time, energy and pattern.*