# Feasible State Space **Domain:** Systems Theory / Governance / Optimization **Doc Type:** Concept Node **Maturity:** Developed ## Definition **A feasible state space is the set of outcomes a system can actually reach under its current resources, permissions, standards, interfaces, incentives, and constraints.** Formal options outside that space are nominal rather than operational. ## War With Empire Context [[wiki/War With Empire|War With Empire]] uses feasible state space to distinguish visible choice from practical agency. A regulator may still vote, a company may still design, and a user may still choose while infrastructure, certification, or protocol dependencies make consequential alternatives impossible. [[wiki/Affordance Engineering|Affordance Engineering]] shapes the state space; [[wiki/Substrate Capture|Substrate Capture]] occurs when another actor controls enough of it to constrain meaningful outcomes. ## Key Insight **Power can preserve choice at the interface while controlling which choices can succeed.** ## See Also [[wiki/Agency Under Constraint|Agency Under Constraint]], [[wiki/Infrastructure as Governance|Infrastructure as Governance]], [[wiki/Model Contestability|Model Contestability]], [[wiki/Practical Sovereignty|Practical Sovereignty]]