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Phase 6 · Aug 2026

Phase 6: Knowledge & Institutions

Emergent Order vs Designed Order

Core Question

Is order emergent from below, or designed from above?

/// Reading List

Governing the Commons (Elinor Ostrom)
Why Nations Fail (Daron Acemoglu)
Seeing Like a State (James C. Scott)
The Structure of Scientific Revolutions (Thomas Kuhn)
Debt: The First 5,000 Years (David Graeber)
The Wisdom of Crowds (James Surowiecki)

/// Interactive Works 2

6-1

Commons Lab

Order from Below
In Progress

Commons Arena, Money Origins, Crowd Wisdom Lab, Cascade Simulator — four modules on how order emerges spontaneously from chaos

Canvas 2D D3.js Agent Simulation
6-2

Institution Lab

Order from Above
In Progress

Institution Scorecard, Critical Juncture Map, Legibility Simulator, Paradigm Network — four modules on how institutions shape national destinies

Canvas 2D SVG D3.js