We do indirectly work on 1 and 2 through our contacts with governments and public servants, plus by voting or working within internationalist parties. EAs are also supportive of research into e.g. prediction markets. But it’s really hard to see how you can do either of these things in anything other than an incrementalist way. Institutions in the UN and EU have been built up over 70 years, and even at that pace it has been a struggle. Unless you want to get rid of democratic accountability—which is exceedingly risky—the only way to introduce ‘evidence based policy’ is to bring politicians and the general public on board, which takes time, even when it’s possible.
3 is interesting but less obviously a good idea. If the government wishes to accumulate assets, arguably it should do so by investing in the health and education of taxpayers, or just building useful public infrastructure, rather than buying up the stock market. That avoid common problems with governments making poor decisions as active managers of companies. But I wouldn’t discourage someone suitable from doing research into ways to make ‘market socialism’ work well.
We do indirectly work on 1 and 2 through our contacts with governments and public servants, plus by voting or working within internationalist parties. EAs are also supportive of research into e.g. prediction markets. But it’s really hard to see how you can do either of these things in anything other than an incrementalist way. Institutions in the UN and EU have been built up over 70 years, and even at that pace it has been a struggle. Unless you want to get rid of democratic accountability—which is exceedingly risky—the only way to introduce ‘evidence based policy’ is to bring politicians and the general public on board, which takes time, even when it’s possible.
3 is interesting but less obviously a good idea. If the government wishes to accumulate assets, arguably it should do so by investing in the health and education of taxpayers, or just building useful public infrastructure, rather than buying up the stock market. That avoid common problems with governments making poor decisions as active managers of companies. But I wouldn’t discourage someone suitable from doing research into ways to make ‘market socialism’ work well.