welcome to the nonlinear library, where we use text-to-speech software to convert the best writing from the rationalist and ea communities into audio. This is: Institutions for Future Generations, published by tylermjohn on the effective altruism forum. Given the plausibility of longtermism, many effective altruists are interested in identifying tractable ways to shape the very long-term future for the better. One neglected and potentially tractable way to vastly improve the value of the long-term future is by identifying future-beneficial political and economic institutions and policies and acting to increase the probability of their implementation at various levels of political organization. Will MacAskill recently advocated age-weighted voting as one such strategy for better-aligning the interests of governments with the interests of future generations to improve the value of the future. We can in principle imagine many more, and potentially more promising design and policy proposals for aligning institutional incentives with the interests of future generations so that States will be more likely to use their massive resources and influence to reduce the likelihood of catastrophic risks and put the world on a more positive long-term trajectory. To that end, I've recently undertaken the project—funded by the Forethought Foundation—of identifying and taxonomizing as many future-beneficial political and economic institutions and policies as possible and evaluating them along at least the following dimensions: How effectively could this design promote value in the very long-run? How politically feasible is this proposal? How likely is it to be co-opted by other (esp. shorttermist) interests? How well could it function as a symbol for a wider longtermist movement? To date, I've identified 33 distinct institutions and policies, ranging from the very incremental/realist to the relatively utopian. I'm writing to solicit your help identifying more potentially future-beneficial institutions and policies. Anything that comes to mind off the top of your head would probably be useful, as this topic is very under-theorized and if I don't list the idea here it's relatively likely that it hasn't been considered at any length anywhere else. I'd also be interested in general feedback on anything relevant to the project, especially suggested amendments to the evaluation criteria and any useful empirical research that would be relevant to making these evaluations. I list all 33 designs below along with a brief and general description. Once the project is finished, it'll be publicly available as a report and I will be happy to share it back here. Note that very few of these ideas originate with me; some of them are in existing literature, and others come from people who I've spoken to, who I acknowledge at the bottom of this post. Note also that not all of these proposals are expected to be good proposals. In the final report, less promising proposals will receive a more shallow review and more promising proposals will receive a more thorough review. Many might turn out to be quite unpromising. Thanks in advance for your feedback! Proposals Voting by Guardianship Future people are granted suffrage which is exercised through ballots cast by a formal body of existing people selected to represent future people and who vote with the express purpose and function of voting on behalf of future people. Demeny Voting Some (possibly all) voters are given an additional vote which they are told to cast on behalf of future generations. Special Voting Rules Specific voting rules for matters concerning future generations, especially in the legislature. One model is a sub-majority rule model: if a pre-determined numerical sub-majority of the legislature determines that a bill is in contempt of future generations, the bill can be stalled or vetoed (subject to overturn by the Courts). Ombudsperson for Future Generations Receives and investigates public complai...