UX for New Societies

As we find ourselves at the beginning of a new era in nation-state formation and iteration there is growing opportunity to reinvent how we approach the challenge of building resilient, flourishing societies. If we are to envision a future that has any level of ancap flavoring, then it may be useful for us to begin leaning into the analogy of nation states as products that compete for the attention and financial resources of prospective citizens.

So then, the primary offerings of e-residency applications feel less like exciting product features and rather the baseline backend-driven MVP that lets someone gain access without even a simple CTA to keep new citizens engaged. With a dozen plus new passport-style memberships coming online over the past year, few if any get people participating immediately through ritual.

One key factor to consider here is that new societies are rarely solving for an immediate need for most people. If there were for instance jurisdictions that promised access to abortion in regions where it is not accessible, immediate healthcare coverage, shelter from domestic violence/abuse, or low barrier financial stability then we'd likely see a much larger pickup in the utilization of new societies globally.

Currently, most of the new societies movement thrives more from a strong leaning into narrative around dystopian future than into solving key painpoints for citizens today.

Is there a need for libertarian entrepreneurs, bitcoiners, and social movement architects  to surround themselves with community and the "freest" regulatory environments and community systems possible? Yes. But will it lead to mass adoption? Most likely not.

The parallel institutions being built within the new societies movement across finance, education, media, and science are all extremely compelling, but they'll all move at vastly different adoption speeds depending on the core need that they solve rather than just the general sense of anti-establishmentarianism, which currently feels like the main fuel of the movement to date.

What are the immediate, core needs that our community can focus on? What dangers, threats, and pain points can we address that social benefits, nonprofits, corporations, and grassroots movements can not solve as efficiently? That's where at least a portion of our community needs to focus. Doesn't have to be everyone, but it's definitely an underrepresented share of builders in our space.