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Imagine for the moment that you have benevolent godlike powers. If our species could have whatever it wants, what would you start with? Let's imagine a handful of easily likable stuff that all seven billion of us can agree on and build our lives around.
Our current civilization has evolved under the influence of ideas spread over centuries. Let's take all of what's good, and add qualities that make it better.
Here is my favorite list of design goals that we think will form a robust bedrock on which societies of all kinds can happily thrive.
By regard, we mean: care, consideration, esteem, respect, approval, notice and thought. Money, is often the opposite of regard, and motivates corruption, indoctrination, crime, advertising, disinformation, egregious fees, war, and over-consumption of natural resources. Let's base the 2.0 economy on regard. This won't fix everything, but it will fix a lot.
We're quite good at producing and distributing goods and services, and have enough to meet everyone's basic needs. If we fill basic needs at no cost, we massively reduce fear, stress and crime and increase truth and trust. Further, we allow everyone to select jobs that lead or appeal to their passion.
Suppliers of merchandise and services must currently advertise in order to generate income. This strikes us as backwards. We all have needs. Adding more needs through ads almost always feels like adding to an already full cup. We propose that needs shall be requested, tracked and made available to would-be suppliers. This will allow the latter to focus their best efforts on filling a known need, rather than guessing what those might be.
Individualism is popular. It has fueled the construction of our world the way it is. Unfortunately, unbridled, it does not scale well, and with seven billion individuals, our focus on superficial differences is tearing us apart and reckless disregard is gobbling up dwindling resources. Let's thoroughly mix the idea of "us as a species" into the idea of the individual. Let's create the best nurturing environment for our species and the planet. This will easily and more efficiently provide for the needs of every individual.
Kindness is an almost pure opposite of selfishness. Being kind allows us to easily do things together. Let's reward being kind, train our grumpy brains to do what our genes don't.
Our current legal system dispenses imperfect justice. It generates more money for lawyers and the wealthy than for most of the rest of us. Judges have guidelines that impose one-size-fits-none rulings. At 2.0, we think that the complexity involved is not neither needed nor reliable. We are curious if we start with "Everything is legal, except harm." Focusing instead on what causes harm, and on what does "harm" mean?
Truth, accountability, reliability and consistency allows us to trust and depend on others. We create a way for deception to be reported so we can all either avoid or disregard it. We want all the information at our fingertips to be useful as is.
Should we build on top of this bedrock?
As you accumulate regard points, let's make resources available to help you pursue your passion. You are helped throughout life to best understand yourself. In 2.0, seven billion people are pursuing their passion. Basic needs are met by the vigor and pleasure of these same seven billion. That's a thriving civilization.
The industry standard scaling strategy is to maximize profit and minimize costs. This creates abundance at the cost of quality. We look for patterns of bucking this trend. Some examples: a waitress who goes the extra bit, tech support that is darned helpful, a refrigerator that isn't cheesy. High quality seems a natural enough consequence of being 2.0. On the path there, let's look deeply at current patterns that accomplish this and learn.