Hope Drop #30: Eli Dourado: Creating a World Where the Future Feels Possible Again
"If the future doesn't look like the future, then something has gone wrong. We need to reignite optimism and drive progress through hard technology and policy reform."
In this month’s Hope Drop we speak with Eli Dourado, Chief Economist at the Abundance Institute. Eli is on a mission to reignite American economic growth through innovation, hard tech, and policy change. He offers a pragmatic take on the future of key sectors—like energy, healthcare, and transportation—and the cultural and institutional shifts needed to accelerate progress.
Hosted by Allison Duettmann, this interview explores the challenges we face today, but more importantly, the immense opportunities we have to build a future that looks like the future.
Some key topics covered:
Technological Innovation in areas like energy, housing, and healthcare
Cultural Shifts and how to overcome societal complacency
Supersonic Flight and Beyond: The potential of transportation innovation
Regulatory Barriers: How they currently hold back progress and ways to reform them
Eli’s Recommended Resources
Abundance Institute - abundance.institute
Mercatus Center at George Mason University - mercatus.org
Jason Crawford - Jason's blog, The Roots of Progress
Peter Thiel's Zero to One book - amazon.com
The Atlantic article by Patrick Collison and Tyler Cowen - The Atlantic - We Need a New Science of Progress
Derek Thompson's 'Abundance Agenda' - The Atlantic - The Abundance Agenda
Ezra Klein's 'Supply-Side Liberalism' - Ezra Klein in Vox
Concorde supersonic plane - Concorde on Wikipedia
The Jetsons TV show - The Jetsons on IMDb
National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) - NEPA Overview
Stuart Buck and the Good Science Institute - Good Science Institute
Boom Supersonic - boomsupersonic.com
Statins and Health Outcomes - Statins Overview on Mayo Clinic
Prospera - Charter City - prospera.hn
Maxwell Tabarrok's Substack - Maximum Progress - Maximum Progress Substack
Works in Progress - worksinprogress.co
Eli’s Vision for the Future: Cheap Supersonic Flights Accessible to Everyone
Eli's vision of a eucatastrophe (the opposite of a catastrophe) for the future centers on reviving supersonic flight, where planes fly faster than the speed of sound, dramatically reducing travel times. He imagines advancements in engine efficiency and materials science making supersonic travel not only feasible but affordable—allowing extreme speeds at today's economy class prices.
This transformation would bring fast, accessible travel to all, creating a more connected world where supersonic flight is no longer a luxury but a universal convenience.
Xhope Library Recommendations
Growth, Progress, Culture - Patrick Collison. Asks if growth, progress, and culture are declining and what we can do about it.
Where is My Flying Car? - J. Storrs Hall. An account of technological stagnation since the 1970s and an imaginative blueprint for a richer, more abundant future.
The Progress Dashboard - Tony Morley. A visual overview of all things progress studies.
Community Updates
The Cosmos Institute has launched with a mission to cultivate an optimistic philosophy of technology. Steering a path between dystopian risks and accelerationist transhumanism, this new organization offers a fresh perspective on our technological future. Explore their initiatives:
Fellowship program for emerging thinkers
Funding opportunities through Cosmos Ventures
Regular content including essays, debates, and podcasts via their Substack
Join us October 10th - November 10th in Edge Lanna, Chiang Mai to live in a healthy community focused on incubating novel technologies and ways of living. Read the Lanna welcome essay here. Edge City is an IRL experimentation lab for new ideas, tech, culture, and organizations, all dedicated to accelerating human flourishing.
We hope to see those of you in attendance join our Existential Hope workshop there.
Register before November the 10th for the Dubai Future forum, 19th - 20th November 2024.
This year, the summit will aim to reflect diverse viewpoints on the UN Summit of the Future and then support in implementing the core outcomes and recommendations of the Summit. It will also more broadly seek to explore the possible futures for the world’s children, in an effort to ensure that these futures remain hopeful and positive.
The Good Science Project, a non-profit think tank, is seeking ambitious ideas for policy briefs on improving federal R&D efforts. You’ll need to write a single paragraph that details an evidence-based R&D reform that you believe will make government work better. If your idea is promising, The Good Science Project will work with you on a full-fledged policy brief.
See their call for proposals here, or submit your idea directly here.
