The Autophagic Polity: Semantic Inflation and the De-Differentiation of Democratic Systems

Democratic states face a paradox: inclusionary expansion coincides with decisional paralysis. This article diagnoses "medium inflation"—the devaluation of political power through promissory over-circulation—and models its pathological feedback loop using systems theory. Unlike actor-centered explanations (polarization, populism), I argue that semantic saturation overloads systemic processing capacity, triggering autophagic consumption of institutional buffers. Through process-tracing of Weimar Germany, Chile 2022–2023, and U.S. debt ceiling crises, I demonstrate how claim-communication volume exceeding binding capacity produces de-differentiation. Cases yield diagnostic evidence unavailable to alternative theories (elite conflict, economic determinism). The article operationalizes key variables (claim intake C, binding capacity B, legitimacy reserves L) and proposes "filtering veto-points" as constitutional insurance against inflationary pathology. This represents not epistocratic abdication but procedural pre-commitment—institutionalizing scarcity acknowledgment to preserve autopoietic capacity.