Do Social Experiments Even Work?
Think about it: Nearly everything in our lives is a social experiment happening around us or is because of a social experiment that is going on around us. Everything! Religion, government, economic systems, medicine, laws, business, music, education, media, even ideas! It could go on ad infinitum.
That means, by default, that social experiments are inherently poorly designed. If they are all ongoing and happening at the same space-time, there is no control of variables for any of them. Also, it is virtually impossible to measure their results. If they are poorly designed, they are unreliable. So, what are we supposed to learn from them?
While we are busy implementing these poorly designed social experiments, maybe we can learn some historical lessons about which experiments may not work after trying them again and again. Of course, what we mean by “working” is a little subjective.
Even though social experiments are inherently unreliable, we keep trying them. Sometimes over and over again. Maybe we should get rid of some old ideas and try some new experiments and see how they go. Or return to some old ideas that somehow fell out of favor. Maybe we could ponder some ancient wisdom and see if there are any experiments it could inspire.
Who even has the power to create a social experiment? Do you have to be wealthy or powerful? Or have access to some societal levers that you can manipulate? Can artists create social experiments? Or can average people try their own experiments?
I don’t really have wealth or power or access to societal levers. I’m not an artist — just an average person. But I have some social experiments I would like to see enacted.
Here are a few:
What if we created a Children’s Congress to oversee lawmakers’ decisions that affect the future that their policies create for successive generations?
What if we try creating a society that is egalitarian and inclusive as opposed to hierarchical and exclusive?
What if we try creating a society that values all lifeforms and peace and stability over profit and status.
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What if we created a constitutional amendment that ushered in the separation of corporation and state?
What if we try decoupling wealth and power?
What if we implemented rank choice voting and national primaries?