This is a short explanation of the idea I call “Optimalism”. It’s a deceptively simple idea for the almost overwhelmingly complex challenge that is human coexistence.
Optimalism is essentially a hybrid of direct democracy and science.
It’s an open source system for collective decision-making, based on universal human rights and responsibilities. Its goal is to find the optimal solution to every problem, that produces the maximum benefit while doing the minimum harm. Every decision and even the design of Optimalism itself is subject to change as new information emerges and as our understanding of how and why things happen continually improves.
In a previous essay I stated what I called the Optimalist Declaration. It was supposed to be a universally agreeable set of ideals for people to unite around. But it was too wordy and formal and, at the same time, vague. After a lot of good feedback and in conjunction with the upcoming launch of United Humans, I’ve decided to reframe the same ideals embodied by the Declaration into a more approachable form:
Optimalism is built on the pillars of love, fairness and science. Science, because it’s the best thing humans have invented for advancing knowledge and for optimizing outcomes. But without a humanitarian goal, science often strays into optimizing for things that aren’t in humanity’s best interest.
So Optimalism directs the methodologies of science to optimize for fairness. But while most people are in favor of fairness, its definition is open to interpretation, depending on one’s ideology and socioeconomic situation. In the interest of objectivity, we need an ideologically-independent basis for defining and measuring fairness.
And that basis is love. Not just love of those in your inner circle or your wider community, but love of all humans. Which, by extension, means recognizing the equality of all humans, past, present and into the future.
Optimalism uses love to define fairness, uses fairness to direct science and uses science to make decisions.
At the beginning of 2022, United Humans Foundation was formed to research, advance and promote the principles of Optimalism. Please consider joining, volunteering and supporting United Humans in its mission to make society more inclusive, equitable and sustainable.
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