Philosophical Foundations

The Empowerment Economy stands on centuries of moral and political thought, reframed for a world where intelligence can be automated.

• Rawls — Veil of Ignorance. No rational agent would choose a system that ties survival to jobs that are guaranteed to disappear.
• Rousseau — Social Contract. A portion of AI-driven productivity must be ceded to guarantee universal survival and dignity.
• Kant — Dignity. Humans are never disposable inputs; labour markets that reduce people to replaceable parts violate that principle.
• Sen & Nussbaum — Capabilities. True freedom requires health, education, and participation. Without access to AI tools those capabilities wither.
• Aristotle & Arendt — Flourishing. Automation can free humanity from drudgery, creating the space for excellence, creativity, and political life.
• Nietzsche — Risk and Creation. Guarantees empower courage and experimentation; they are the stage on which struggle becomes creative.
• Jeffersonian Tradition — Sovereignty. Where land once signified independence, today it is digital and economic agency.
• Foucault & Marx — Warnings. Monopolised intelligence becomes domination. Distributed agency disperses power and resists capture.

This synthesis grounds the manifesto in familiar ethical terrain while insisting that new technological realities require fresh institutional responses.