There are many opportunities.
For instance, so many institutions have become funnels, that should really be spaces.
This includes institutions of democracy, science, and education. These have moved away from the sources of meaning that made them work.
Space-makers can start alternatives to these, but there’s perhaps a more exciting and direct approach.
One of my dreams is to make a values-based redesign “kit” that students at a university, or scientists at a lab, or citizens in a constituency, can use to overthrow a funnel-based design. When they are clear on which sources of meaning are oppressed, and clear which designs need to change to liberate them, they can pressure administrators to make the necessary changes in policy or procedure.
Beyond that, one can imagine economic policies to shift resources towards spaces.
- Most obviously, funding earmarked for space-trepreneurship, and for marketplaces, recommenders, etc to support it.
- There could be membership structures, and financial instruments that explicitly reward spaces, rather than other kinds of entrepreneurial projects.
- Most ambitiously, the structure of currency and payments could change on a deep level, to take people's sources of meaning into account. Imagine if every dollar spent counted more, if it was aligned with your sources of meaning, less if it wasn't. Or if everyone subscribed to a “meaning insurance” provider, which had the mandate to make things as meaningful as possible.