The modern implementation of capitalism, founded upon the none-the-less sacred principles of individual liberty, stifles the great innovation needed to transform our society into one that is sustainable for the foreseeable future.
Innovation is achieved by creative individuals, who almost always work as part of for-profit institutions to implement their innovations. These institutions have their own preservation and profits, and not the well-being of human society as a whole, as their motivation. However, I believe that most individuals are socially conscious, and that they work for these institutions not for the institution's gain, but to fulfill their very basic needs to provide for themselves financially. This reveals a lack of options for these individuals to work in an environment which can provide for them, and allow them to provide their innovations directly for the public good.
Government has traditionally been seen as the platform upon which public works can be implemented. This is the basis for the political system known as socialism. Unfortunately, most socialistic governments have been incompatible with the basis for capitalism, individual liberty, as they are implemented with state-owned and controlled enterprises. Such governments only exist by essentially stealing from those they govern to obtain the financial and material support needed to implement their works. The result is that the creative individuals that are the true source of innovation in society are still stifled by the government's need to sustain itself.
Proposed is an alternative, a practical system for achieving ends supportive of the public good, which is compatible with the capitalistic economy that predominates.
Why not form a non-profit institution dedicated to the implementation of innovations beneficial to the public, and the support of those creative individuals doing the innovating?
Such an institution could be financed completely voluntarily by society as a whole, via donations from conscientious individuals, and an endowment would be created for long-term stability. The intellectual products of this institution would be offered into the public domain, or under licensing terms similar to those used by open-source/free software projects. Physical products would be manufactured by for-profit entities in the relevant industries, but offered to the public at the cost of manufacturing and distribution, with no profit motive for the institution itself. Alternatively, the price of the products could be subtly increased, with any income being diverted to the institution's endowment. Further financial surplus would allow for public information and educational campaigns, aimed at increasing the collective intelligence and wisdom of society as a whole.
Ideally, anyone with a good idea and the means to contribute to the implementation of that idea as an individual would be welcomed. Additionally, skilled professionals looking for work would be hired into the pool of individuals available to work on the institution's public work projects. All workers in this institution would make a stable living, and work in an ad-hoc fashion on the various projects that they could contribute to. This financial stability would allow them the peace of mind necessary to intuit and implement the great innovations needed for the future of society, and as I believe this is the true calling of most anyone, there is no doubt that they would do the best that they are capable of.
The organization and long-term plans of this institution would be transparent and open to the public. The leadership of the institution as a whole would likely be accomplished by a subset of the worker pool being elected democratically by the entire pool, preferably using a Schulze method voting system, to a board of governors who would then decide on future projects for the length of their term. This is the "representative democracy" model. Alternatively, the projects themselves could be decided by the worker pool in a similar process, a "direct democracy" model. Either way, a non-binding public polling system would allow the public to contribute to the decision making process in an advisory role.
Projects would be managed by a task force, the subset of the worker pool that primarily contribute to that particular project. If help is needed by a task force from an outside worker in the pool, the task force can nominate that worker for inclusion in the project, or request that they work on a particular individually-manageable subtask. Projects would be formally described in a mission statement that clearly outlines the goals and purpose of the project, the incidental auxiliary products of the project, and the human, material, and time resources believed to be required for implementation (i.e., a budget). Conflicts between projects and task forces due to a contradiction or overlap of goals or material requirements would be handled by the aforementioned institution-wide leadership system. Within a task force, irreconcilable differences between workers would be handled similarly, though their management would be otherwise fairly autonomous with regards to the institution as a whole, and decided upon by the task force itself. This way, larger projects can implement any larger formal systems as necessary, but smaller projects will be free to be developed by smaller task forces more intimately.
So, what is needed for this institution to become a productive reality? Well, workers, the money to support them, and an institutional identity.
Enter Curnon.
In attempting to realize the idea of this institution, we have chosen to start a public discussion around our website, Curnon. The name Curnon is derived from the Latin for "Why not?", and we believe this accurately reflects our attitude. We are open to any and all suggestions, including rebuttals to our proposals. And, of course, we are open to donations, and notices of intent from people who would be willing to join us. Everything is on the table. Our all-encompassing goal is to make the world a better place for everyone living in it, and to do so by the most efficient and appropriate means. What those means are is what this platform will help us realize.