🧪 Can AI "fix" Capitalism? (The Citizen Ownership Experiment)
I was going back and forth with an AI this morning, trying to solve a specific frustration that I think some AI powered thinking could help with...
Here's the question...
Why does "Good Business" often feel bad/short sighted for society/country?
We usually think we have to choose between Capitalism (growth) or Regulation (fairness).
It’s a binary fight.
(And when there are only two options available my "Inner AI Operator" kicks in letting me know I'm missing some obviously useful third option.)
So I asked AI to find that third option...
What if we didn't change the rules, but just changed the incentives using data?
I ended up drafting a concept called around "Citizen Ownership."
It’s a bit wild, but I want to drop the raw summary here for any builders who may come across this to "Red Team" (poke holes in this!).
The Core Thesis
Right now, if the government invests money (like a 401k or a sovereign fund), it usually dumps it into the S&P 500. This blindly funds companies that might be offshoring jobs or crushing wages.
The Fix: Create a "Citizen Value Index" (The Patriot Fund).
Instead of picking winners based on politics, we use an AI Filter to select companies based on Stability:
- The Unity Ratio: The CEO-to-Worker pay gap must be healthy (e.g., <100:1).
- The Patriot Score: Critical supply chains must be domestic or allied (resilience).
- The Future-Proofing: R&D spending must be higher than Stock Buybacks.
The "Whale Effect"
If the government directs passive accounts into this fund (using the new $1000 Trump Accounts for example), it becomes a "Whale". (A massive buyer that creates a permanent price floor for these specific companies.)
- Result: It becomes cheaper for "Good Companies" to get capital than "Bad Companies."
- The Shift: We don't force companies to be good; we just make it more profitable to be good.
The User Experience
Imagine checking your account and seeing:
- Account Value: $18,450 (+12%)
- Impact: You funded 4,000 manufacturing jobs in Ohio.
- Owner's Discount: Because you own shares in the Index, you get 5% off at all "Patriot Corps" (Target, Ford, etc.).
🛑 RED TEAM THIS
This is just a "Paper Prototype." I want to know where it breaks.
- Is this "Capitalism Corrected" or just "Central Planning with extra steps"?
- How would you game this system if you were a greedy CEO?
- Could prediction markets or other blockchain mechanisms be useful?
Drop your critiques in the comments. Let’s see if this idea survives the Playground.
The bad companies won't be eager to let this thing pass. How do we align incentives that allow them to relax?
brian massey Great question!
Could be that the "Citizen Index" companies acquire them (and would filter out whatever makes a company "bad" in the process).
Ideally the incentives (benefits) from being a part of the "Citizen Index Qualified" would allow it to be a no brainer for any company to be a part of (or get acquired by a company already in there).
If the companies in the Citizen Fund are aligned to support and reinforce what society values the alignment should be pretty natural (because those who make up the company are also part of the society).
Feeling spicy today... there are numerous fundamental assumptions or biases built into your original question. If you want a different solution then start from as blank a slate as possible, or at least outside as many current parameters as possible.
"Good business" means different things in different societies / countries. What if you asked this question from the perspective of different countries with different meanings of "Good business"? Does good business really feel bad everywhere? What if the measure shifted from profit to value? What if corporate structures were based on 1 shareholder = 1 vote instead of 1 share = 1 vote. Would also say Environmental Impact or Resource Intensity is a critical missing from the Stability criteria.
I might be inclined to expand the choices to growth, value, protection (regulation), legacy, and fairness as a starting point.
Lorraine Watson Love this thinking! It's not about "thinking outside the box" but rather "what if there never was a box at all?" ;)
Can't wait to see where the world goes with this!