Challenges

Any honest proposal for fundamental change must confront what could go wrong. Here is what we know about the risks and the mechanisms designed to address them.

Power vacuums

When an existing power structure is dismantled, someone will try to fill the gap. The transition addresses this through distributed governance structures that prevent the concentration of power — not by hoping nobody will try, but by making it structurally difficult.

Free riders

In any cooperative system, some people may take without contributing. Evidence from existing cooperative models shows this is less common than expected, and social mechanisms (transparency, community accountability) are more effective than punishment in addressing it.

The alpha problem

Some personality types seek dominance. This is part of the range of human variation. A well-designed system channels competitive energy productively rather than either suppressing it or letting it capture institutions.

External threats

Transitioned communities existing alongside non-transitioned ones face real security challenges. The Cure addresses this through detailed mechanisms for interfacing with the non-transitioned world — including defense, trade, and diplomacy.

Our own worst tendencies

Complacency, tribalism, self-righteousness, the tendency to treat today's solution as tomorrow's sacred institution. These are human tendencies that no structure can eliminate but that good structure can make visible and manageable.