[adwn]

Discussions like the current one make me wish we had huge but relatively affordable space habitats [1]. People with a radical idea for restructuring society [2] could pool their resources, build/buy a space habitat, and prove that their way is superior to the status quo (or fail miserably, or something inbetween) [3]. This way, empirical evidence could be collected, and radical ideas could be tested and adopted if they turn out to be beneficial. The best way to convince others is to demonstrate an implementation.

Unfortunately, this is not possible on Earth, because pretty much every square meter is already claimed by some entity, but there's virtually infinite room in the solar system.

[1] Like O'Neill cylinders https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/O%27Neill_cylinder or the Stanford torus https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stanford_torus

[2] Regular contenders are UBI, abolishing IP or private property, and communism.

[3] Kind of like in Scott Alexander's "Archipelago and Atomic Communitarianism" essay: https://slatestarcodex.com/2014/06/07/archipelago-and-atomic...

[breck]

This is a good point and we do indeed have it in a way: countries that have allowed piracy to flourish have seen a big boom in economic activity over the past 2 decades (China being the most notable example).

[medlyyy]

Absolutely. The fact that China almost completely disregards IP and shows no signs of "innovation" slowing down disproves the notion that you need government backed monopolies on inventions in order to encourage innovation.