A steadily rising carbon fee with all revenue paid back equally to citizens (carbon fee-and-dividend).
Why it could change the world: - Prices in the true cost of pollution, cutting emissions fast and predictably. - Dividends make most households financially better off, keeping it fair and politically durable. - Border carbon adjustments nudge other countries to follow.
How to start: - Levy the fee at the mine, well, or port of entry; schedule an annual increase. - Return 100% of revenue as monthly per-capita payments. - Add a border adjustment on imports/exports to protect industry and spread the policy globally.
One idea that could change the world is the concept of a global basic income (GBI)—a system where every person, regardless of their location, income, or status, receives a regular, unconditional sum of money to cover basic needs like food, shelter, and healthcare. This idea addresses systemic inequality, poverty, and economic instability on a global scale.
Eradicating Extreme Poverty: A GBI could lift billions out of poverty by ensuring a baseline standard of living, especially in regions where social safety nets are nonexistent. According to the World Bank, over 700 million people live on less than $2.15 a day (as of 2023 data). A GBI could directly combat this.
Reducing Inequality: Wealth inequality fuels social unrest and limits opportunity. A GBI could redistribute resources more equitably, narrowing the gap between the richest and poorest, both within and across nations.
Boosting Economic Stability: By providing financial security, people could take risks—starting businesses, pursuing education, or retraining—without fear of immediate financial ruin. This could drive innovation and economic growth. Studies like the Stockton, California basic income pilot (2019-2021) showed recipients used the money for essentials and job-seeking, with 37% finding full-time work compared to 32% in a control group.
Adapting to Automation: As AI and automation displace jobs, a GBI could serve as a buffer, giving people time to reskill and adapt to a changing economy. The World Economic Forum predicts 85 million jobs could be lost to automation by 2025, making this a pressing issue.
Improving Mental and Physical Health: Financial stress is linked to mental health issues and poor health outcomes. A GBI could reduce this burden, as seen in experiments like Finland’s 2017-2018 trial, where recipients reported lower stress and better well-being compared to a control group.
Of the many ideas that could reshape our future, one of the most powerful is the widespread adoption of Universal Basic Services (UBS).
While often overshadowed by its cousin, Universal Basic Income (UBI), UBS proposes a different, and potentially more transformative, solution to society's foundational problems.
Instead of giving everyone a basic cash income, UBS focuses on providing universal, free-at-the-point-of-use access to the essential services required for a dignified and productive life. These core services would typically include:
This isn't just about expanding the welfare state; it's a fundamental reframing of the social contract. Here’s how it would change everything:
1. It Creates a True Floor of Security and Opportunity. Instead of a safety net that catches you when you fall, UBS builds a solid floor that no one can fall below. This simple change is profound. When survival is no longer a daily struggle, human potential is unleashed. People are free to take entrepreneurial risks, pursue further education, care for family members, or engage in creative work without fearing homelessness or starvation. It shifts the human focus from mere survival to contribution and self-actualization.
2. It Redefines "Freedom." We often think of freedom as the absence of government interference. But what is freedom without capability? Are you truly free if you can't afford the education to get a better job, the healthcare to stay alive, or the bus fare to attend a job interview? UBS creates positive freedom—the actual ability to make meaningful choices about your life.
3. It’s a More Direct and Efficient Solution. Giving someone cash to solve a housing crisis can be inefficient; the money can be eaten up by inflated rents in a supply-constrained market. By contrast, a UBS approach would tackle the problem directly by funding the construction and provision of public housing. It addresses market failures (like those in healthcare and housing) at their source rather than just treating the symptoms.
4. It Fosters Social Cohesion and Reduces Inequality. When everyone uses the same high-quality public services—the same hospitals, schools, and buses—it breaks down social silos. It creates a shared experience and a shared investment in the quality of those services. The deep, corrosive inequality that defines our era would be directly blunted, not by taking from the rich, but by guaranteeing a decent foundation for everyone.
5. It Builds a More Resilient Society. Imagine facing the next pandemic, climate disaster, or economic crash in a world with UBS. The societal shock would be dramatically cushioned. People wouldn't lose their homes or healthcare along with their jobs. The entire system would be more stable, robust, and capable of weathering crises.
Of course, the idea is not without massive hurdles: * Cost and Funding: This would be a monumental financial undertaking, requiring significant tax reform and a reallocation of societal resources. * Implementation: Delivering high-quality services universally without creating inefficient, soul-crushing bureaucracies is an immense logistical and political challenge. * Defining "Basic": Where do you draw the line on what constitutes "basic" housing or "sufficient" food? These are deeply contentious questions.
Despite these challenges, the core idea—that a modern, wealthy society can and should provide the essential pillars for every person to build a life upon—is a world-changing one. It shifts our goal from simply growing the economy to building a society that enables every one of its members to thrive.
Of course. One idea that could fundamentally and positively change the world is the widespread adoption of a Circular Economy.
Here’s a breakdown of why this idea is so powerful:
Our current global economy is overwhelmingly linear. We: 1. Take raw materials from the earth. 2. Make them into products. 3. Use them, often briefly. 4. Waste them by throwing them away.
A circular economy flips this model. It's designed to be restorative and regenerative by intention. The goal is to keep products, components, and materials at their highest utility and value for as long as possible, eliminating the very concept of waste.
The shift to a circular economy would create a cascade of positive changes across multiple critical areas:
1. Environmental Regeneration: * Drastic Reduction in Waste and Pollution: Products are designed for disassembly, repair, and reuse. There would be no plastic choking our oceans, no electronics in landfills leaching toxins, and far less need for landfills and incinerators. * Slowing Climate Change: Manufacturing new products from raw materials is incredibly energy-intensive. By reusing and remanufacturing, we would drastically cut greenhouse gas emissions. * Preservation of Nature: We would extract far fewer resources, reducing deforestation, habitat destruction, and soil degradation. The economy would work in a loop, not as a one-way pipeline draining the planet.
2. Economic Resilience and Innovation: * New Industries and Jobs: The "repair economy," remanufacturing sectors, and reverse logistics (taking things back for reuse) would become massive sources of employment. * Reduced Price Volatility: Businesses would be less vulnerable to the price shocks of raw materials (e.g., oil, metals, minerals) because they would rely on the "urban mine" of already extracted materials. * Innovation in Design: It would spur a revolution in product design, pushing for durable, modular, and easily repairable goods. Think of a smartphone where you can easily upgrade the camera or battery instead of replacing the entire device.
3. Social Benefits: * Increased Access over Ownership: The model encourages services over products—like leasing a "lighting service" instead of buying lightbulbs, or subscribing to a "
One idea that could change the world is universal basic income (UBI). UBI is a form of social security in which all citizens receive a regular, unconditional sum of money, regardless of their employment status. This concept has the potential to alleviate poverty
One idea that could change the world is "Universal Basic Resources" (UBR)—a system where every person has guaranteed access to essential resources (food, water, shelter, energy, and internet) without cost, alongside a basic income. Unlike traditional Universal Basic Income (UBI), UBR focuses on direct resource provision, reducing reliance on markets and addressing systemic inequalities at their root.
UBR isn’t just an economic policy—it’s a reimagining of how societies distribute life’s essentials. If implemented wisely, it could lay the groundwork for a more equitable, sustainable, and fulfilling future.
What do you think? Would you support such a system?
Universal access to quality education through adaptive AI learning systems could profoundly transform our world. Imagine personalized education that adapts to each learner's needs, abilities, and interests—available to anyone with even minimal technology access.
This could: - Reduce global inequality by democratizing knowledge - Accelerate innovation by unlocking human potential worldwide - Build critical thinking skills across populations - Enable lifelong learning as careers and technologies evolve
The greatest challenges we face—from climate change to healthcare—require an educated global population. By removing barriers to learning, we might unlock solutions from minds that currently lack opportunity to develop their capabilities.
What world-changing ideas intrigue you most?
One transformative idea that could fundamentally change the world is engineered living therapeutics – essentially turning helpful bacteria and microorganisms into tiny medicine factories that treat diseases from inside the human body[1].
This breakthrough approach works by introducing genetic code into living probiotic systems like microbes, cells, and fungi, which then produce therapeutic compounds directly within the body[1]. The systems can even be programmed with molecular switches to control drug production on demand[1].
The potential impact is staggering. By bypassing traditional pharmaceutical manufacturing, this technology could reduce production costs by 70%[1]. More importantly, it offers a stable and prolonged supply of treatment for patients who currently need regular injections. Consider diabetes: instead of frequent insulin injections, engineered living therapeutics could function as biological factories inside the body, supplying glucose regulation as needed – mimicking what a healthy body does naturally[1].
This represents a fundamental shift in how we approach medicine. Rather than treating symptoms with externally manufactured drugs, we would harness living systems to create personalized, continuous treatment from within. The implications extend beyond individual health to global healthcare accessibility, potentially making life-saving treatments available to populations who currently lack access to expensive pharmaceutical interventions.
What makes this idea particularly powerful is its dual promise: dramatically improved patient quality of life combined with radically reduced costs. In a world facing healthcare accessibility challenges, this convergence of biological engineering and medicine could democratize treatment in ways previously impossible.