Alignment with Sustainable Abundance & The Network State

A vision of humanity's future written at the inflection point of March 2020, and the journey that followed.

"A future of sustainable abundance" is the optimistic case that Elon Musk gives for the future trajectory of our development — echoed in this story from 2020.

In the future, there are no more nation states.

Sure, remnants from the names of countries past remain as geographical identifiers, but the human family is no longer in competition with itself. Instead, that energy has shifted individually toward competition with oneself: how can I become more free, more fine, more capable of deep thought, feeling, and expression? Collectively, humanity works together to protect itself from the real physical dangers presented by time and nature.

Our economy is no longer built on human work for income to survive. Our rapid advance in technology has proven the old model a waste of our potential, as automation and self-sustaining systems harmoniously manage, recycle, and restore natural resources, as well as provide free and abundant food of the highest quality with unfathomable diversity and creative presentation for all human beings. With an end put to scarcity, the human cost evident in the models that created countries of winners and losers is as obvious as a substance that feeds the kidney while it rots the liver. There is one human organism that thrives and suffers together.

Our homes are clean and comfortable, beautifully integrated with the natural environment's earth, water, sky, plants, and animals. Some people stay in one place for many years, while others never seem to stop moving around. These polarities of personal style are easily accommodated through our advanced building systems. Even with a population of over 30 billion, opportunities for social engagement and solitude are endless.

The family structure morphed as couples no longer depended on each other for survival, or to get a "leg up" in life. There's no shortage of mature love and commitment, or bold and foolish experiments, but we have grown away from any culturally uniform ideals. We've discovered infinitely unique relationship and family models and arrangements that meet our changing needs through different chapters of life.

Education & Development

There are natural homes for the unique qualities, talents, challenges, and natures of our children, with no defined separations between "school," "life," and "work." Our food, environments, and rhythms support balanced bodies, minds, and emotions. People of all ages are free to research, explore, create, and develop in every field of interest with their peers and mentors, and their mentors' peers and mentors. Leaders across every field are in regular communication with each other, regardless of physical distance.

Weighted Voice

We have no elected representatives, but govern through Weighted Voice. Acknowledging we all have strengths of vision and experience in some areas, and blindness in others, our complex and subtle legal structure is a living algorithm informed by our entire population. Each individual's needs, goals, desire, expertise, experience, perspective and understanding inform policy around universal priorities for human and ecosystem health and consciousness. So, how did we arrive here?

The Inflection Point

In the year 2020, we were hit with a new strain of coronavirus leading to a disease known as COVID-19. In an effort to "flatten the curve" or reduce the number of casualties, countries required their citizens stay indoors for anything beyond "essential" activities and services.

People were at home…with each other…with themselves…with the Internet.

The New Channel

A new and surprising — and deeply refreshing — form of content emerged. A new YouTube channel was formed by a group of futurists, humanists, billionaires, scientists, and engineers who had negotiated a sovereign land purchase for the formation of an experimental new country.

Through tests of their aptitudes and experience combined with AI-generated probability data and evolving metrics for the guiding priorities, a system of checks and balances was formed. People contributed and positively influenced the direction of specific policy while bias and agenda were vetoed by impartial data and shared benefit.

The Migration

100,000 people from the pool of Weighted Voice participants were invited to move to the new world as citizens. Their successes and the beauty of the results that emerged were so magnetic that their channel became the most subscribed of all time. One by one, the states of the old world fell peacefully toward the new future.

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The Origin Story

March 2020. COVID lockdown begins. I'm highly interested in this inflection point for humanity — the first time where everyone on the planet has their attention on the same thing, and for an extended period of time. I'm inspired to write a highly optimistic vision of the future.

The next day, I wonder: "Is anyone else thinking like this?"

That same week, while searching for content on a 4-hour drive home, I find a 4-hour interview of Balaji Srinivasan on Tim Ferriss' podcast. I'm immediately drawn to listen, feel incredible alignment throughout, and my question had been answered. The Network State is a social network with a moral innovation, a sense of national consciousness, a recognized founder, a capacity for collective action, and a physical footprint.

Over the next 6 years, I would digest everything Balaji put out, gaining much from his mental models and depth of knowledge across multiple domains. After 6 years of friendship "in the cloud," I would go on to attend his Network School and finally meet "on the land." Arc & Fork OrientationThe Network StateNetwork School