Rewilding Civilization
Rewilding Civilization is the foundational framework of the Sanctuary Protocol, proposing a complete redesign of human governance systems based on what organisms actually need to survive and thrive, rather than inherited institutional structures.
The Performance Problem
Modern governance is characterized by a fundamental disconnect: citizens widely recognize systemic problems but feel powerless to address them. This resignation is not laziness but a rational response to systems designed to exclude participation.
Contemporary democracy has become, in practice, a spectator sport: smartly dressed professionals debate issues in formal chambers while making promises that are broken shortly after elections. Citizens pay the costs but have no meaningful input.
The Zookeeper Thought Experiment
The core thought experiment asks: If you were a zookeeper tasked with creating a sanctuary for 30 million humans on the Australian continent, how would you design it?
A competent zookeeper would not design:
- Adversarial debate chambers
- Systems where unqualified people make complex decisions
- Structures that punish vulnerability and reward performance
Instead, they would ask simpler questions:
- What does each being need?
- What hurts them?
- What makes them flourish?
Then build that.
The Sanctuary Protocol
The Sanctuary Protocol proposes civilizational redesign based on corrected reality rather than utopia. It draws on demonstrated possibilities: COVID lockdowns showed which work is essential, psychedelic therapy trials showed new approaches to mental health, Housing First experiments showed how to address homelessness, and Montessori classrooms showed different educational approaches.
Four Pillars
| Pillar | Description | Wiki Page |
|---|---|---|
| Tokenized Identity | 1 human = 1 immutable token, earned through in-person vouching | Tokenized Identity |
| Empathy Infrastructure | Structured perspective-taking as civic mechanism | Empathy Swap |
| Prevention Justice | Pattern correction, not punishment | Justice as Prevention |
| Circular Time | Intergenerational design, not quarterly metrics | Circular Time |
The Core Paradox
The structural incoherence of current systems is revealed through the age-law paradox:
In Australia, a 10-year-old can be held criminally responsible. The same child cannot vote until 18.
The system declares: you're competent enough to be punished, but not competent enough to participate.
This is not an oversight but the operating logic made visible. The system treats certain humans as objects of policy rather than participants in design.
The Trim-Tab Impulse
Buckminster Fuller understood that large systems change through small, strategically placed interventions—the trim-tab on a ship's rudder. A small adjustment to the trim-tab turns the rudder, which turns the ship.
The Sanctuary Protocol seeks these leverage points: minimal interventions that cascade into systemic transformation.
The Vision
A world where future generations look back at current practices with confusion:
"Grandpa told me in the olden days people hurt each other on purpose. How weird is that."
See Also
- Sanctuary Protocol
- Tokenized Identity
- Justice as Prevention
- Circular Time
- Empathy Swap
- Age-Based Law Incoherence
- Trim Tab Effect
- Main Page
References
- Fuller, R. Buckminster. Critical Path. St. Martin's Press, 1981.
- Yunkaporta, Tyson. Sand Talk: How Indigenous Thinking Can Save the World. HarperOne, 2020.