We Should Own The Future

A vision for a world that works for our benefit.

I believe the world should work for our benefit, and I explore that the way visionary thinkers always have: Through essay collections, print pamphlets, and books. In the vein of my literary heroes, I call this work utopian.

Paid subscribers get every essay collection I publish online. Collectors get every series as collectable print pamphlets—about 4-6 each year. Join us to get the next one. 👇🏼

In 2026, I crowdfunded $85,000+ to turn my body of work into a book called We Should Own The Future. I’m currently writing it in public—paid subscribers unlock every chapter, and receive future chapters as they publish.

Here is the manuscript so far:

We Should Own The Future

A new vision for a world that works for our benefit

Part I. We Should Own Our Land

Cities should benefit residents

• The Scottish island that bought itself

• Cadbury built a city for workers—then gave it to them

• Ebenezer Howard built a better city than the government

• San Francisco should be profitable—instead property owners are

• Disney World has more autonomy than any US city

• Cities should own their land—like Vienna and Amsterdam

• Singapore—where your home loses value and everyone’s better off

• Stop idolizing Hong Kong, Shenzhen, and Próspera

• An indigenous nation just built a better city than California Forever

• Decentralize America: The case for cities that don’t need Washington

States should provide welfare

• US states should have autonomy—like EU countries

• We should create more US states

Federal governments should be à la carte

• Let states choose their federal governments à la carte

Part II. We Should Own The Economy

Economies should benefit stakeholders

• Mondragon as the new City State

• The Cooperatist Manifesto that inspired Mondragon

• How Silicon Valley got rich

• Every company should be owned by employees

• Founders will get much richer by selling to employees

• Who should control AI?

• [Large section coming soon]

Part III. We Should Own The Future

We should build this future without waiting around for governments to do it.

• [Large section coming soon]

Thank you so much for reading and supporting journalism that researches the most important ideas of our time and how we can create a utopian future for us all. Your subscriptions, comments, and shares make all of it possible!

See you in the community,

Elle Griffin
Author, The Elysian