If we are serious about creating a better world for everyone, the starting point must be agreeing on a small set of shared (measurable) objectives for humanity. Without common goals, progress is fragmented, reactive, and often misaligned with what truly matters.
Once these objectives are defined, the next step is practical: clearly outlining how individuals, communities, organisations, and governments can contribute to achieving them. People are far more likely to act when they understand both what the goal is and how their actions, however small, meaningfully contribute to it.
Equally important is creating an environment that makes contribution easy rather than burdensome. Systems, incentives, and structures should reduce friction and enable participation by default, not require exceptional effort or sacrifice to do the right thing.
A simple question helps illustrate this thinking: in an advanced, civilised society, why should anyone go hungry? If we have the resources, knowledge, and infrastructure to produce sufficient food, then persistent hunger is not a technical failure – it is a failure of priorities and coordination. One potential shared objective could be this: everyone should be able to eat three meals a day, regardless of income or economic output.
From there, solutions can emerge across levels – individuals reducing waste or supporting local food initiatives, organisations redesigning supply chains and surplus distribution, and institutions aligning policy, logistics, and incentives around food security as a non-negotiable baseline.
When objectives are clear and shared, contribution becomes purposeful, and collective progress becomes achievable.
If it was up to you, what objectives, excluding saving the planet (aka climate change), would you recommend and in what order?
A shared universal objective for humanity: A path towards a post-work society
First dropped: | Last modified: January 31, 2026