RadicalxChange is a think tank focused on promoting technological approaches, especially blockchain-related technology, to governance and economic issues. These solutions often include radical innovations and departures from traditional mechanisms, such as the implementation of “quadratic voting” and claims to transcend capitalism and communism. ^{1 2 3}

Founding and History

RadicalxChange was founded in 2018 after the publication of the book Radical Markets, coauthored by the organization’s founder, E. Glenn Weyl, an economist at Microsoft Research, and Eric Posner, a University of Chicago legal theorist. After its founding, the organization garnered a great deal of attention, especially among the technology enthusiast community, and has several notable board members, including Audrey Tang, the Minister of Digital Affairs of Taiwan; Vitalik Buterin, the creator of the Ethereum blockchain; and Democratic foreign policy operative Anne-Marie Slaughter. ^{4 5}

Finances

In 2021, RadicalxChange reported $1,183,620 in revenue, all of which was received from contributions and grants. It reported $626,791 in expenses, of which $240,807 was spent on salaries and compensation, and it ended the year with a surplus of $556,829 and net assets of $876,515. ⁶

Funders of the organization include the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, the Charter Cities Institute, FTX Future Fund Regranting Program (related to the bankrupt FTX hedge fund and crypto currency exchange run by Sam Bankman-Fried who as of 2024 has been convicted of various offenses related to the exchange’s collapse), the Hewlett Foundation, the Kauffman Foundation, Microsoft (where founder E. Glenn Weyl is employed), The Osa Foundation, and the Rockefeller Foundation. ⁷

Organization Philosophy

RadicalxChange is focused on what it terms to be “next-generation” political economy and is concerned with advancing what it terms plurality, equality, community, and decentralization by “upgrading” social institutions through the use of technology. The book Radical Markets, which was coauthored by founder E. Glenn Weyl, plays a large role in the vision of the foundation, and the book’s publication in 2018 served as the launch point for the organization. ^{8 9}

Policies and Projects

Plurality

RadicalxChange researches and advocates for what it terms “plurality” concepts. These include alternate forms of vote casting and tabulation such as “quadratic voting” that allow participants to indicate the level of their conviction for a choice in a collective decision-making situation. RadicalxChange claims that plurality systems would reduce the danger of “tyranny of the majority” and “factional control” issues. ¹⁰

It also proposes a similar approach to the funding of public goods, called “plural funding”; “plural property” as a system of asset management that is supposedly more efficient and fairer than capitalism or communism; and “plural money” that would facilitate alternatives to the private ownership of private property and would instead facilitate community ownership via “intersectional identities.” ^{11 12 13}

Technology

RadicalxChange promotes “data dignity” or democratic control over one’s online data, and promotes a collectivized “social” control over such data. It also promotes various methods of increasing verifiable online identity that can be used to invalidate deepfake materials and establish “credible” sources of information through the use of Web3 tokens and the like. ^{14 15}

Leadership

Matt Prewitt is the president of RadicalxChange. He is a former anti-trust litigator and a blockchain industry advisor. ¹⁶

Glenn Weyl is the founder and chairperson of RadicalxChange, which he founded after the publication of his co-authored book Radical Markets in 2018. He is a political economist, is a principal researcher at Microsoft Research, and lectures at Princeton University. ¹⁷

Vitalik Buterin is a board member of RadicalxChange and is the creator of the Ethereum cryptocurrency. He is the head of the Ethereum Foundation’s research team. ¹⁸

Anne-Marie Slaughter is a board member of RadicalxChange; she is the CEO of New America, a left-of-center think tank; and is a former State Department official. ¹⁹

Board member Audrey Tang serves as Minister of Digital Affairs of Taiwan in the cabinet of Premier Chen Chien-jen. ²⁰

1. “About.” RadicalxChange. Accessed August 15, 2023. https://www.radicalxchange.org/about/.
2. “Plural Voting.” RadicalxChange. Accessed August 15, 2023. https://www.radicalxchange.org/concepts/plural-voting/.
3. “Social Identity.” RadicalxChange. Accessed August 15, 2023. https://www.radicalxchange.org/concepts/social-identity/.
4. “RadicalxChange | Next Generation Political Economy.” Accessed August 15, 2023. http://radicalxchange.com.
5. “About.” RadicalxChange. Accessed August 15, 2023. https://www.radicalxchange.org/about/
6. RadicalXchange Foundation, return for and organization exempt from Income Tax (Form 990). 2021, Part I.
7. “About.” RadicalxChange. Accessed August 15, 2023. https://www.radicalxchange.org/about/.
8. “About.” RadicalxChange. Accessed August 15, 2023. https://www.radicalxchange.org/about/.
9. “RadicalxChange | Next Generation Political Economy.” Accessed August 15, 2023. http://radicalxchange.com.
10. “Plural Voting.” RadicalxChange. Accessed August 15, 2023. https://www.radicalxchange.org/concepts/plural-voting/.
11. “Plural Funding.” RadicalxChange. Accessed August 15, 2023. https://www.radicalxchange.org/concepts/plural-funding/.
12. “Plural Property.” RadicalxChange. Accessed August 15, 2023. https://www.radicalxchange.org/concepts/plural-property/.
13. “Plural Money.” RadicalxChange. Accessed August 15, 2023. https://www.radicalxchange.org/concepts/plural-money/.
14. “Data Dignity.” RadicalxChange. Accessed August 15, 2023. https://www.radicalxchange.org/concepts/data-dignity/.
15. “Social Identity.” RadicalxChange. Accessed August 15, 2023. https://www.radicalxchange.org/concepts/social-identity/.
16. RadicalxChange. “Team.” Accessed August 15, 2023. https://www.radicalxchange.org/team/matt-prewitt/.
17. “Board.” RadicalxChange. Accessed August 15, 2023. https://www.radicalxchange.org/board/e.-glen-weyl/.
18. “Board.” RadicalxChange. Accessed August 15, 2023. https://www.radicalxchange.org/board/vitalik-buterin/.
19. “Board.” RadicalxChange. Accessed August 15, 2023. https://www.radicalxchange.org/board/anne-marie-slaughter/.
20. “Board – Audrey Tang.” RadicalxChange. Accessed May 1, 2024. https://www.radicalxchange.org/board/audrey-tang/.