What If Radical Thinking Can Help Create a More Balanced Economy?

When I was diagnosed with Attention Deficit Disorder at the age of 29, I decided to combine my collected knowledge in psychology and film production to make a documentary about the disorder that was affecting so many people. I interviewed a handful of local professionals that specialized in the field, and had a cameraman follow me around as I rambled on about what it was like to be disordered and how it had been evidenced in my life. When I asked the professionals about what the afflicted could do to help themselves lead a successful life, the most common answer was “structure”.

Photo by JJ Ying on Unsplash

Although I initially shirked the structure while creating a new life for myself, traveled across the country, wrote a few books, songs, and poems, and found other opportunities to excel as a performer and lifestyle stuntman, I have since seen where structure can be helpful. However, while my way of operating in the world is not always conducive toward supporting the economic structure currently in place, I feel that it would be very wise to reconsider what our economy is actually supposed to do, and develop a structure that will truly help us reach our actual goals.

While our current economic structure is built on a hierarchical model that is increasing economic inequality, squandering our resources, and damaging the environment, I believe that a more democratic economic structure can be developed considering the technologies now available to us.

Granted, I am often called a “radical”. The funny thing is that it is used as an insult. Considering that the word comes from radicalis , which means “root”, I have long considered myself a proud, radical pragmatist in that I don’t make the assumptions than any of the traditions I’ve been handed are best practices and we can make more lasting and fundamental changes by exploring the foundations upon which we are building our systems. Just as we are having to get to the root our our systemic racism, we also have to get to the root of our systemic economic problems.

The structure I would like to see built is an economic channeling system that can contribute to the continued evolution of human civilization by more greatly empowering people to participate in our development, both personally and collectively. Because the…