Experiments With Liberal Radicalism

Summary

The website content discusses the concept of Liberal Radicalism, a novel mechanism for funding public goods, particularly open source projects, through a combination of crowdfunding and matching donations, as detailed in a paper by Vitalik Buterin, Zoë Hitzig, and Glen Weyl.

Abstract

The article "Experiments With Liberal Radicalism" introduces a funding model for public goods, such as open source software, outlined in a paper titled "Liberal Radicalism." The model, known as Capital-constrained Liberal Radicalism (CLR), aims to optimize the provision of public goods by incentivizing individual contributions through a matching mechanism. This mechanism involves individuals donating to projects they value, with the total amount received by the project being proportional to the square of the sum of the square roots of contributions. The CLR mechanism is rooted in the principles of crowdfunding and matching donations, where a central entity, such as a government or philanthropist, supplements individual contributions. The philosophical inspiration for this approach is drawn from Kantian ethics, specifically the categorical imperative, which encourages actions that can be universally applied. The article emphasizes the impact of donations when matched, suggesting that such programs can significantly amplify the effectiveness of individual contributions.

Opinions

The CLR mechanism is presented as a potentially (near) optimal solution for funding public goods in a decentralized and self-organizing manner.
The paper's authors, Vitalik Buterin, Zoë Hitzig, and Glen Weyl, are credited with proposing a novel and unique approach to public goods funding.
The matching function in the CLR mechanism is seen as a way to increase the reach and impact of individual donations, making people more likely to contribute.
The article suggests that the CLR mechanism aligns with ethical principles from Kantian philosophy, implying a moral imperative to contribute to public goods.
The matching donation concept, exemplified by programs where companies match individual contributions, is highlighted as a powerful motivator for potential donors.

A crowdfund matching mechanism for public goods, like open source

A recent paper entitled Liberal Radicalism proposes a mechanism to fund public goods in a new and unique fashion. Written by Vitalik Buterin, Zoë Hitzig, and Glen Weyl, the paper introduces a mechanism called Capital-constrained Liberal Radicalism (‘CLR’) which I’ll explain in greater detail below.

A summary of the paper (and the CLR mechanism) from the paper is as follows.

We propose a design for philanthropic or publicly-funded seeding to allow (near) optimal provision of a decentralized, self-organizing ecosystem of public goods.

Individuals make public goods contributions to projects of value to them. The amount received by the project is (proportional to) the square of the sum of the square roots of contributions received.

Soon, we’ll dive into ‘the square of the sum of the square roots’, which is the crux of Liberal Radicalism. It’s worth taking time to explain. Before that, we’ll start with the two basic components of the mechanism: crowdfunding and matching donations.

Crowdfunding: Individuals crowdfund donations towards public goods (for example: open source software).

Matching donations: These individual contributions are ‘matched’ or ‘topped-off’ by a government, grants program, or private philanthropist

Crowdfunding, with a matching function. That’s it. The philosophical undertones here come from Kantian ethics — specifically, the categorical imperative.

Act only according to that maxim whereby you can, at the same time, it should become a universal law.

By making an individual donation, you contribute to a public good. This funding is guaranteed to be met by matching funding, widening the reach of your donation. What you do becomes “law.”

By donating with one to one matching, you increase the power of any single donation in direct proportion to the size of the donation, making people more likely to feel like their money is having an impact. This is the premise of “Donate $1, [Company X] will match $1” programs.

Experiments With Liberal Radicalism

A crowdfund matching mechanism for public goods, like open source

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