Which forces reduce entropy production?

A real pendulum with friction will oscillate for a while after a short push, but will eventually come to rest close to a location where is potential energy has a minimum. If the system is closed, i.e. without a source of energy, it will eventually stop moving at a location near a minimum of the potential, no matter what type of friction force acts on the pendulum. This ‘variation principle’ is a simple concept to predict the long term behavior of mechanical systems, even if the details of the friction forces are unknown.