the world is a pliable place

what might it look like to reimagine human thriving outside the paradigm of the economic participation?

how could we create economies that are resilient and fruitful in a post-growth world?

what does it mean for a population to graduate from growing to grown up?

in whatever we might do, can we ask: what would love do?

how might we suggest bug fixes to this universe?

June 22, 1972. 

John Calhoun stood over the abandoned husk of what had once been a thriving metropolis of thousands. Now, the population had dwindled to just 122, and soon, even these inhabitants would be dead.

Calhoun wasn’t the survivor of a natural disaster or nuclear meltdown; rather, he was a researcher at the National Institute of Mental Health conducting an experiment into the effects of overcrowding on mouse behavior. The results, laid bare at his feet, had taken years to play out.

copied from here, full article

the experiment of universe 25 may bear resemblances to urban society

concluding notes from the article on Universe 25:

Finally, from an ethical standpoint, Calhoun’s experiments would not be permitted today. The mouse universes that Calhoun created intentionally placed its study subjects into constructed environments that caused harm. The study conditions were maintained despite evident animal distress, and many preventable casualties ensued.2 This goes against current regulatory safety standards for animal research.5

it could be argued that cities are constructed environments

it could be argued that homeless deaths constitute animal distress

it could be argued that cities which do not house all its citizens... are maintaining conditions

... that produce "many preventable casualties"

while real estate stands empty, wasted by waiting for market solutions

human lives are lost with less concern than animal distress in research

it could be argued that some humans are less protected than mice