Section 1

Foundational principles

The ten commitments everything else is built on.

?New here? What LifeSystems is, in 30 seconds

LifeSystems is a proposal for how society could work once AI and robots do about 99% of the jobs, leaving most people without employment through no fault of their own.

A basic income for everyone. Every eligible adult gets a tax-free monthly payment (UBI), job or no job. You can turn it off and back on whenever you like.
Living packages from co-ops. Worker-owned cooperatives compete to offer affordable bundles of housing, food, healthcare and more, paid for with that income.
Freedom stays. You can keep your home, run a business, earn more, or skip the whole system. It's a floor, not a ceiling.
Funded by land. Mainly through a tax on land value, the one resource machines can't make more of.

Tip: words with a dotted underline have a plain-language explanation. Click one, or browse the glossary.

Your turn

Which principle would you defend hardest — and which one would you rewrite?

Basic economic security is a right, not compensation for employment.
§1.1
membership and receipt of are both voluntary.
§1.2
is never taxed and is not .
§1.3
A person may and opt back in at any time, without penalty or waiting period; resumed payments are .
§1.4
Existing private homes and residential choice are respected; no mandatory property transfer.
§1.5
Independent enterprise, wealth accumulation, luxury purchases, and ordinary consumer markets remain permissible.
§1.6
are rather than conventional shareholder-profit-maximizing firms.
§1.7
AI supplies evidence and performs most operations; people retain meaningful governance and personal autonomy.
§1.8
Land, especially unique locations, remains a principal scarce resource; other real constraints may still arise in practice.
§1.9
The model should be evaluated by security, health, freedom, satisfaction, resilience, and opportunity—not employment rates alone.
§1.10