The entire universe is a closed system, so the second law of
thermodynamics dictates that within it, things are tending to break down.
The second law applies universally.
The second law of thermodynamics applies
universally, but,
as everyone can see, that does not mean that everything everywhere is
always breaking down. The second law allows local decreases in entropy
offset by increases elsewhere. The second law does not say that
order from disorder is impossible; in fact, as anyone can see, order
from disorder happens all the time.
The maximum entropy of a closed system of fixed volume is constant,
but because the universe is expanding, its maximum entropy is ever
increasing, giving ever more room for order to form (Stenger 1995, 228).
Disorder and entropy are not the same (Styer 2000). The second law of
thermodynamics deals with entropy. There are no laws about things
tending to "break down."
References:
Stenger, Victor J., 1995. The Unconscious Quantum, Amherst, NY:
Prometheus.
Styer, Daniel F. 2000. Insight into entropy. American Journal of
Physics 68(12): 1090-1096.
