Failed Transition Models

The book critiques two common transition strategies. Gradual reform is deemed too slow for exponential automation; entrenched interests can block meaningful change while the Labor Cliff arrives. Revolutionary rupture topples old structures before new ones work, creating power vacuums historically filled by autocrats (e.g., French Terror, Soviet collapse into Stalinism).

These failures motivate the EXIT Protocol’s middle path: engineered incentives to co-opt incumbents while building the Foundation Layer in Free Zones. The critique aligns with political science findings on post-revolution instability and the inertia of path-dependent institutions.

Recognizing these dead ends clarifies why a peaceful, staged, and incentive-aligned transition is central to Unscarcity’s feasibility.

References

• UnscarcityBook, chapter6
• Jack Goldstone, “Revolutions: A Very Short Introduction” (2014)
• Theda Skocpol, “States and Social Revolutions” (1979)