About
Our Mission
RadicalxChange aims to build a coherent and sustainable alternative to capitalism.
We are deeply concerned about worsening economic inequality, ideologically divided societies, and decaying democratic institutions. And we are equally concerned that these difficulties tempt many towards the “quick fixes” of more authoritarian governance.
We believe that the path forward leads instead through a rigorous, clear-eyed reexamination of the basic building blocks of capitalism and democracy.
Just because something calls itself a “market” doesn’t mean it’s fair. For example, poorly-designed private property schemes reward rent-seeking. Our economy will never be just (or efficient) if the reward for success is the privilege of exploiting the labor of others. Likewise, we are failing to grapple with the challenges of the data economy, to adequately fund public goods, and to carry out common-sense antitrust reforms.
Democracy, too, could use an update. The principle of self-governance is one to which we are absolutely committed. But the voting protocols that we now use–largely inherited from the 18th century–lend themselves to serious problems. More modern voting methods can mitigate old challenges such as the oppression of minority groups and the outsize influence of zealous factions. Such reforms have the potential to enhance the legitimacy of democracy itself, restoring public faith in democracy as a system of governance, and revitalizing many institutions.
The challenges that RadicalxChange seeks to address are becoming more acute as the world changes. New technologies have already created unforeseen challenges for economic justice and democracy. To address the even greater challenges on the horizon (both technological and environmental) we will need better and fairer institutions, capable of balancing the competing demands of acting decisively and while managing exceptionally broad-based participation in power.
Our work is guided by a commitment to more egalitarian and democratic societies, as well as by an embrace of markets, community, decentralization, and a determination to collaborate across difference. We hope you will get involved!
Our Method
RadicalxChange develops ideas, communities, and organizations that practice fairer and more efficient forms of organization.
- We challenge basic inherited institutions by building better ones.
- We seek to increase public knowledge about the emancipatory potential of new ideas in mechanism design.
- We seek to evolve our vision from the bottom up, nurturing a community of RadicalxChange-affiliated activists, artists, technologists, and academics.
- We strike a balance between working alongside and within existing communities and institutions, while also challenging them by building better institutions and new public goods providers.
Core Values
- Openness: RadicalxChange is open. It seeks to facilitate a free exchange of ideas in an environment of thoughtful discourse.
- Egalitarianism: Many of the ideas at RadicalxChange are animated by a belief that hyper-concentrations of wealth are not natural or efficient, and that a more genuinely competitive market system would result in a broader distribution of wealth.
- Dignity: Every person’s well-being (financial or otherwise) is a good in itself. We want our work to reflect and express this.
- Social Innovation: At RadicalxChange we embrace the challenge of overturning stale categories and assumptions! We believe that thoughtful, collaborative innovation can help build better social institutions.
- Respect: RadicalxChange community members treat each other as epistemic and social equals and should aim to empathize with the intellectual and personal perspectives each member of the community brings to the table.