"When the Old World crumbled, we were compelled not only to rebuild, but to reimagine. At the centre of that world we once knew stood the State – a living yet artificial entity, sovereign, formidable at times even fearsome: a Leviathan. To rebuild it, we first had to redefine it, clarifying its purpose and its place in our lives. Should the State remain at its core, with individuals orbiting around it like satellites? Or should each person become the centre, supported but not overshadowed by the edifice of the State?"
The modern state faces formidable challenges – it is expensive, often ineffective, and seems destined to disappoint. Yet as social tensions mount and democracy comes under strain, we continue to look to the State for answers.
For centuries – from Hobbes to Beveridge, from Lenin to Fukuyama, from Thomas More to Rutger Bregman – we have debated the origin and functions of the state. Today that question is more urgent than ever. Can we reimagine a better state for the 3rd millennium? What would it take to create it?
After the Leviathan offers a Vision for a Future State – conceived afresh on a blank page, informed by what we know of human nature and the world, unencumbered by a veil of ignorance. What should such a State look like? What should be its purpose? How should it be governed, administered, and funded and how should it manage its monetary affairs?
These are the questions that our narrator confronts on her journey to that Future State. This is the report she sent back.