The Long Migration of Power
Given this crazy situation in which we find ourselves geopolitically and politically, how can one not spend a considerable amount of time thinking about the subject of…
Finance and Economy
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The Community Memeplex
Much of my work is often described as community building, time co-ops, social capital, trust economies, mutual aid, mutual support, human capital, or social infrastructure. And those…
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It’s More than Just “Capacity”
A lot of modern ideology assumes humans are infinitely interchangeable units with equal ability to navigate complexity independently. But lived reality says otherwise. People vary tremendously in…
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“The Dawn of Everything” by David Graeber and David Wengrow
At its core, this book is an argument that most of what modern people assume about human history is either oversimplified… or outright wrong. The standard story…
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Frameworks for a Better Theory of Change
The Problem Statement Modern systems optimized for production and consumption have systematically dismantled the social infrastructure (trust, reciprocity, belonging, mutual obligation) that once made communities strong. And…
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Money Is Not Value; a Position Paper
Reclaiming Human and Social Capital as the Foundation of Economic Life A Position Paper by River Stephens Executive Summary Modern society has become extraordinarily skilled at measuring…
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The Economics of Solvents and Nutrients
Ernesto Van Peborgh once offered a metaphor that is, frankly… very cool. (And, thank you to Kelly Clark for telling me about it.) He suggested that extractive…
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“Blood in the Machine” by Brian Merchant
This book is essentially a re-examination of the Luddites; and an argument that we have misunderstood them for two hundred years. Most people hear the word “Luddite”…
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The Human Capital Economy
The Human Capital Economy: Making Contribution Visible in an Age of Social Fragmentation Executive Summary For centuries, societies have become increasingly sophisticated at measuring financial capital. We…
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Diversify Your Trust Portfolio
Modern society has become extraordinarily efficient at scaling trust upward, but relatively poor at cultivating trust sideways. We trust distant institutions more than our own neighbors. We…