Accidental Gods

If the current electoral/governance system is not fit for purpose (and who could possibly imagine it was?) how can we lay the foundations for new ways of organising democracy, new ways of voting, new ideas of what governance is for and how it could work in the twenty-first century. How, in short, do we create space for future generations to be able to decide their own futures in ways that are not constrained by material or political strictures they've inherited from us? In this fourth election special, I have a profound conversation with Glen Weyl - economist, philosopher, film producer and visionary thought-leader for our time. We explore how we can break away from traditional governance structures and how spiritually acknowledging the complexity within each individual can pave the way for more inclusive, fluid, and efficient democratic systems. Glen is co-author with Audrey Tang of the ground-breaking book Plurality, which emerged partly Audrey's experiences in re-shaping the democracy in Taiwan towards connection, collaboration and - above all - peaceful resolutions of the many internal contradictions of that state. He introduces the concept of quadratic voting (of which he is the creator) as a significant innovation in this field. The conversation expands to the potential of technology in aiding governance reforms, and Glen shares insights from his work with the Plurality Institute and Radical Exchange. We also touch on the success of Taiwan’s innovative governance, influenced by Audrey Tang. Join us as we discuss creating experimental, adaptable governance systems aimed at ensuring peace and human flourishing in an ever-complex world. Glen currently works at Microsoft where he is the founder and research lead of the Microsoft Research Special Project the Plural Technology Collaboratory , though he was previously GeoPolitical advisor to the CTO. He also founded and serves on the board of the RadicalxChange Foundation the leading thing tank in the web 3 space, and is founder and chair of the Plurality Institute which coordinates an academic research network developing technology for cooperation across different disciplines. He's also senior advisor to the Getting-Plurality Research Network at the Harvard Edmond and Lily Saffra Centre for Ethics . He previously lead Web 3 technical strategy at Microsoft's Office of the CTO and taught economics at the Universities of Chicago, Yale, Princeton and Harvard. 00:00 Introduction to Polarisation and Complexity 01:04 Welcome to the Accidental Gods Podcast 01:31 The State of Global Democracy 02:15 Quadratic Voting and Governance 02:51 Defining Governance in the 21st Century 03:13 The Role of Peace in Governance 04:36 Harnessing Human Diversity for Progress 08:42 Challenges to Current Democratic Systems 11:11 Expanding the Polity and Legal Innovations 11:58 Lessons from Historical Societies 13:42 Imagining Future Governance Systems 19:42 Locality and Pluri-locality in Governance 26:39 Metaphors and Toolkits for Governance 27:33 Concrete Voting Designs 28:55 Dynamic Voting Systems 30:48 Quadratic Voting Explained 35:06 Liquid Democracy and Emotional Literacy 37:24 Taiwan's Unique Political Landscape 41:27 Audrey Tang's Impact and Philosophy 47:06 Glenn's Diverse Background and Vision 54:43 Concluding Thoughts and Future Directions Glen's website The Plurality Institute RadicalxChange Foundation Quadratic voting explained PLURALITY - the book Audrey Tang on Twitter Trailer for film biopic about Audrey Tang: The Good Enough Ancestor Project Liberty Quadratic Voting - with Ruth Catlow in Episode #193