Designing for Innovation, Not Excess

A forward-looking essay proposing a post-capitalist system that caps personal wealth while fostering innovation and ecological sustainability. It outlines frameworks for civic service, guaranteed living standards, bounded innovation, and democratic oversight, building on the ethical principles of limitarianism and insights from degrowth economics, universal services, and real-world cooperative models. The essay explores practical transition pathways, critiques potential objections, and argues that systemic redesign is necessary to secure both social equity and ecological stability.