From Zero Sum to the Infinite Frontier
It feels like there is a lack of norms, of a roadmap, of values alignment in American society today. We are moving past the predominance of Christianity, but haven't yet developed good successors. We are deeply divided. There is no national purpose. Nothing is sacred. Nobody’s happy with our country at the national level.
Zero Sum, Zero Hope, Endless Anger
We have a couple of warring ideologies that really don't seem to be good for people. At least they're not as terrifyingly destructive as previous ideologies. We've gone from death tolls in the tens of millions to occasional riots and constant bickering on Twitter. This generation of ideologies just leads to stagnation instead of annihilation. But is that enough?
To thrive and not just exist, we need a worldview or worldviews that give us a sense of dynamism, of moving forward, of expansion into new frontiers. That is challenging. It is an unprecedented challenge that will require a kind of societal innovation that has never before been successfully designed and implemented. We have to do it, though, if we want more than the uneasy, pessimistic, zero-sum society we have now.
Our first pass was the idealistic, optimistic liberalism that came with the Enlightenment. It worked for a while. It worked great. But it planted the seeds of its own obsolescence. The optimistic, idealistic liberalism of the Enlightenment worked great as long as there was some huge, pressing, undeniable challenge everyone in the liberal society could unite to overcome. All Western nations, even the US, had to contend with serious widespread poverty until the last few generations. Then there was the existential struggle of the Cold War.
Then the Berlin Wall fell and there was just...peace. Victory. Surreal, bloodless victory. We entered a world of peace and plenty. For the first time in history, there were no pressing, existential problems facing a large part of the world.
In hindsight, it's not surprising that this was hard to handle. A lack of existential threats turned out to be its own existential threat. Now the West is pursuing a civilizational project of self-harm and maybe ultimately suicide. Self-destructive ideas like degrowth and absolute zero are becoming more popular.
Grand, meaningful struggles, and sensible paths to conquer them, don't just drop themselves in our laps any more. We have to thoughtfully seek them out and proactively tackle them. If we don't, we will end up getting drafted into mindless mobs fighting phantoms or tilting at windmills. A person needs something challenging to struggle with, and if you don't carefully choose one for yourself, someone else will effectively choose one for you. You'll be just another soldier in a zombie army.
At the same time, there is an unprecedented array of opportunities for heroic achievement and self-actualization. We're furiously squabbling at the foot of new heights we can't imagine. We barely try to imagine a better future. We're too busy making sure the enemy doesn't eke out a win in the low-level domestic forever war.
Towards the Infinite Frontier
What might await us if we can overcome the temptations of ideological war? What frontiers are beyond this cramped, zero-sum America? We can sketch out a few.
Universal Fitness
Instead of fighting about fat acceptance, we could all be fit. This one is not even that far off. Ozempic is already having amazing results for weight loss, and maybe even addiction in general. AI will soon make personal training cheap and universal. We could transform ourselves into a society of athletes.
Universal Prosperity
AI will make us all more productive. We will all be able to harness a superabundance of intelligence to get more done in the same amount of time, which means higher earnings for everybody.
Universal Self-Actualization
More automation and higher productivity mean less time needs to be spent working, whether for an income or on miscellaneous household chores. This allows more time to think about and pursue self-actualization. And AI will make it much easier for us to explore and create through all kinds of hobbies, from scientific research to fiction to visual art.
Infinite Adventures Start with Brave First Steps
We really can't imagine what could be in front of us. We hardly know how to dream anymore. But we can learn to do it again. The shocking failures of our currently dominant institutions and belief systems might be enough to shake us out of our torpor and open our eyes to the superabundance that awaits us. When Elon Musk saw our space program faltering, he boldly took on the improbable goal of restarting it through the private sector. A thousand more frontiers await a thousand more heroes.