Autorepair
Every system that lasts must keep running while something inside it breaks. The repair loop that does this is never perfect, and its imperfections are where change comes from, in genomes, in software, and in institutions.
Framework and philosophy
Foundations
The framework we use to evaluate institutions, plus a separate shelf of philosophy, political theory, and systems thinking. These pieces are kept apart from the practical policy work so each can be judged on its own terms.
The evaluation rubric
Condensed from Articles 1–7 of The Alignment Manifesto. Used to score every bill, brief, and court practice on this site.
- Article 1. Does it avoid making anyone's success depend on suppressing another person's interests?
- Article 2. Do those who impose costs bear them?
- Article 3. Can the institution be corrected from outside? Is the data public?
- Article 4. Is the rule predictable?
- Article 5. Does income flow from contribution rather than position or conflict?
- Article 6. Is exit or appeal real, not merely formal?
- Article 7. Is it testable and revisable, with a sunset or review clause?
Test question: Does the arrangement make each person's success depend on others' success, or on others' frustration?
The shelf
The Architecture of Adversity
Removing cruelty from childhood was right. Removing friction, competition, and honest feedback along with it may not have been. The alternative to bullying is not the absence of adversity but adversity with structure.
Good and Evil
Good and evil are old words for an old problem: how to live together when living together is not optional. Read structurally, they name a durable split between thought that hides power and thought that makes it visible.
Law and Violence
Law is force made legitimate by a shared story. When enough people stop believing the story, the force doesn't go away. It just stops being invisible.
How We Evaluate Institutions
A society is healthy to the degree its institutions make each person's success depend on helping others succeed. This is the standard we apply to every bill and court practice.