Writer, editor, and founder of The Elysian, Elle Griffin joins me on Infinite Loops to discuss her vision for participatory capitalism, a world where ownership, reputation, and creativity are shared more broadly across society.

We explore the evolution of capitalism from the industrial era to the networked age, how broad-based ownership could rebuild the middle class, why optimism is revolutionary, and how storytelling shapes our collective imagination.

We also discuss how reputation is becoming a new form of capital and how writers can become architects of meaning in a world reshaped by AI and automation. I hope you enjoy this conversation as much as I did. For the full transcript, episode takeaways, and bucketloads of other goodies designed to make you go, "Hmm, that's interesting!," check out our Substack.

Important Links:

Show Notes:

The New GI Bill for Stock Ownership
Rethinking ESOPs, RSUs, and Equity for All
The Founder’s Dilemma: Risk, Ownership & Exit
Tax Incentives for Employee Ownership
A Tale of Two Experiments
The Ownership Czar for the Day
The Future of Work
The State with Baby Bonds
The Problem with Worth and Deserving
The Power of Utopian Fiction
The Currency of Belief and Reputation
Empress of the World Question

Books and References Mentioned:

Obscurity; by Elle Griffin
The Elysian; by Elle Griffin
The Beginning of Infinity; by David Deutsch
The Lessons of History; by Will & Ariel Durant
The History of Civilization; by Will & Ariel Durant
Why Greatness Can’t Be Planned; by Kenneth O. Stanley
Looking Backward; by Edward Bellamy
Herland; by Charlotte Perkins Gilman
Les Misérables; by Victor Hugo
Frankenstein; by Mary Shelley
The Republic; by Plato
Das Kapital; by Karl Marx
The Count of Monte Cristo; by Alexandre Dumas
20,000 Leagues Under the Sea; by Jules Verne
A Tale of Two Cities; by Charles Dickens
White Mirror Stories; by Infinite Books

Elle Griffin — Rethinking Ownership and the Future of Work (EP. 287)

Infinite Loops