The Elysian is a media collective exploring utopian futures, now we have a manifesto—one way the world could go from here.

The Manifesto is three paragraphs in length, followed by 10 essays expanding on those ideas:

• Mondragon as the new City-State • The Cooperatist Manifesto that inspired Mondragon • Every company should be owned by its employees • Founders can get much richer by selling to employees • Companies will usurp the nation-state • US states should have autonomy—like EU countries • We should create more US states • Opening our borders will solve just about everything • What if countries had to compete for citizens? • Decouple federal government from nation-states

As with the social reformers who came before me, this Manifesto is not right or wrong but merely a provocation—one way the world could go from here. During key moments of inflection, our better ideas might be trialed by governments and organizations, our worst ones will be discarded, and future thinkers will adapt and adjust them as we go.

But we’re in a period of inflection now and it’s worth considering what we want the world to look like from here. Our future is not fixed, and in fact it is in dire need of reimagining. We can’t just sit back and watch it all burn. We need to be visionary thinkers once more and come up with a better world worth working toward!

That starts here. The Elysian is the Enlightenment-era social club made modern, and this Manifesto is my entry into that tradition. I hope it encourages you to write and think too—to become a utopian thinker in your own right so that we might build a better future together.

Thank you for supporting this work and for joining us as a member of The Elysian League.

Sincerely,

Elle Griffin Founder, Elysian Collective