Kairopolism

Diagnostic Rubric

A 10-dimension scorecard for civilizational assessment. Rate your subject on each dimension from 1 (strongly predatory) to 5 (strongly steward).

0/10 dimensions scored

1. Energy & Resource Systems

Does the civilization harvest energy and materials in ways that deplete or regenerate the living systems it depends on?

2. Economic Incentive Structures

Do the rules of the economy reward extraction and concentration, or cultivation and broad flourishing?

3. Governance & Institutional Design

Are power and decision-making arranged to enable domination by the few, or trusteeship for the many?

4. Information & Media Ecosystems

Does the information environment enlighten and empower deliberation, or manipulate and polarize?

5. Education & Cultural Transmission

Does education produce compliant consumers and competitors, or wise stewards and cooperative citizens?

6. Ecological Relationship

Is nature treated as a warehouse and dump, or as a living partner to be respected and regenerated?

7. Technological Development Priorities

Is technology developed to amplify domination and consumption, or to amplify wisdom and care?

8. Intergenerational Ethics

Does the civilization borrow from the future to feed the present, or invest in the future at the expense of present excess?

9. Cosmic / Space Expansion Approach

Does the civilization approach space as a new frontier for extraction and escape, or as a domain of wonder, cooperation, and trusteeship?

10. Crisis Response Capacity

When shock hits, does the civilization fragment into zero-sum competition, or coordinate adaptive resilience?

How to Use This Rubric

  1. Choose your subject. The rubric works for nations, corporations, technologies, institutions, social movements, and individuals.
  2. Gather evidence. Rate each dimension based on observable behavior and documented outcomes, not stated intentions or marketing claims.
  3. Rate honestly. Use the scoring anchors. If a dimension is genuinely mixed, score 3. Resist grade inflation and deflation.
  4. Sum and interpret. Use the composite guide to name your result. Then ask: Which single dimension, if improved, would most shift the total?
  5. Track over time. Re-assess annually. The question is not where you stand but which direction you are moving.
  6. Use for dialogue. The rubric is most powerful when used in groups. Collective scoring surfaces blind spots and builds shared commitment to change.