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Why we are doing this

The era we live in is unquestionably the most prosperous in humankind’s history. But progress, the economic, technological, and organizational advancements that gave rise to modern civilization, is woefully understudied, and risks greatly underappreciated. Our ignorance of the foundation upon which society is precariously perched presages its possible collapse.

Research on ancient civilizations tells us that to prevent societal decline and collapse, we must maintain economic growth and double down on our problem-solving capacity (innovation).

The Lianeon Project is a social enterprise whose mission is to advance progress studies, evaluate risks to society, and build a “best practices” policy framework that ensures the continued march of human progress.

Pilot First, then Launch

The below proposals should be adopted rashly, there is simply too much at stake. We support piloting these concepts in pilot zones first, as outlined here. There, experimentation and data collection can help tweak and improve those concepts before they are rolled out more broadly.

Healthcare/Longevity

Every person brings with them unique knowledge, wisdom, and capability that they share with society. Chronic illnesses and death detract from humanity’s most valuable resources: its people. We should strive to keep every human consciousness alive and healthy as long as possible.

But healthcare is an incredible challenge. Prices are high, there is unequal access, and new chronic health conditions threaten to undo generations of advancements in longevity. The core challenge of healthcare is simultaneously preserving innovation while constraining prices and ensuring equal access.

The solution is to design healthcare policy that neither blindly accepts the “free market” as a savior, ignoring obvious market failures, or stifling innovation with heavy-handed government controls. In short, let markets work where they work and correct them where they don’t. The basic principles for doing this are as follows:

• Tort reform to constrain healthcare prices

• Utilize risk-adjusted vouchers for affordable/universal care funded by a VAT

• IP reform to avoid monopoly pricing (discussed below)

• Investments targeting aging

Education, Science, and Technology

Education is our means of transferring knowledge from one generation to the next. The more efficiently and quickly we can do this, the faster we can innovate. It is innovation that underpins not only economic growth and human progress, but the sustainability of civilization itself.

It is foolish to assume that technology, like time, is asymmetric and always moves in one direction. Technology can, and has, moved in the reverse direction. Today, extractive government policies threaten long term innovation and growth potential, and by extension, society itself.

If we are to avoid this fate, we must continue to innovate with greater ferocity. We must do everything we can to sustain and accelerate technological advancement. This can be done via:

• Launching HARPA, a government agency dedicated to advancing transformative technology

  • Investments in revolutionary new transportation technology, such as reusble rockets, hypersonic travel.

• IP Reform (Patent Buyouts Auctions and/or Harberger Taxation on IP)

• Education vouchers to spark innovation in general education

• Financing higher education through Income Sharing Agreements, not loans

Economy

Economic growth is necessary as it expands the opportunities and capabilities of citizens. There exists a reciprocal relationship between the society and the individual, each contributing to and enabling, the other. When people live out their full potential, they can contribute more meaningfully to society.

First and foremost, we need to have a better understanding of what “growth” really is. GDP, our primary measure today, fails to differentiate between positive and negative economic activity, or its sustainability. We need new metrics that measure genuine progress.

Second, as history illustrates, economic growth must be inclusive for it to be sustainable. Growth should also strive to minimize environmental damage, at least as far as possible without violating the laws of conservation of energy and matter. Better, more inclusive growth can be achieved via the following:

• Free trade with possible pigouvian exceptions.

• A Negative Income Tax UBI to replace inefficient welfare systems and the minimum wage.

• Occupational license reform alongside regulatory streamlining

• Replacing income taxes with Land Value Taxes

• Optimal zoning and land use regulations that don’t artificially prop up housing prices

• IP Reform (discussed above)

• Eased Border Restrictions

• Pro natalist policies to prevent depopulation

• Retirement options that work for both society and the individual

• Infrastructure sustainably funded through user fees and value capture

Society

Society is increasingly threatened by ideological extremist elements. While some disagreement is normal and healthy, this extreme level of social and political polarization is unsustainable.

The prevailing structure of the media and political system gives outsized voice to the extremes, the societal outliers, who gain disproportional attention and representation, despite not speaking for the majority. To limit this extremism, we must:

• Understand and address the limitations of modern corporate media

• Counter misinformation through critical thinking

• Promote understanding of the scientific process

• Promote understanding of the horseshoe theory to discourage radicalism

Government

The inclusiveness of the economy and society’s capacity to innovate (and therefore its sustainability) is inextricably linked to government design and policy. The more effective government is at generating sound policy, the more growth and development that will result.

There is a tendency to treat Western-style representative democratic government as the ultimate form of government. It is seen as an “end,” which began with absolute monarchs, evolved into limited monarchies, and then into modern representative democracy.

We propose that representative democracy is not an end, but another step along a path toward more effective governance. We propose to introduce new forms of democracy that could prove to be more efficient and less prone to capture by vested interests.

• Direct democracy through sortition

• A proactive government structure that allows easy modification/deletion of existing law

• Clean and efficient administration through an incentives based anti-corruption approach

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