What is the long-term goal of any society?
To renew the capacity of a free, self-governing, pluralistic republic to enable human flourishing, defend itself against coercion, sustain itself across generations, reason and govern itself collectively, and serve as a credible example of democratic self-government.
The Democratic Capacity Framework
Eight domains that collectively define whether a republic can sustain itself.
Three domains currently constrain the republic’s overall capacity: Civic Life (45), Demographic Continuity (45), and Ecological Solvency (40). These are the domains where the gap between current performance and the 2040 target is widest. The Accord prioritizes these domains not because the others are unimportant, but because a chain is only as strong as its weakest link. Among these, Civic Life is arguably the most fundamental: without a shared factual baseline and minimal institutional trust, the political consensus needed for every other reform cannot form. See the Civic Life investment portfolio →
Preliminary 2029 baseline. Final scores published by the National Statistics Board upon enactment.
Many Uses, One Framework
The DCF is not a single-purpose index. It structures decisions across the full range of national policy.
The National Statistics Board
Who publishes the scores? An independent, structured institution modeled on the Federal Reserve.
- National Capacity Report (all eight domains, national scope)
- County Capacity Atlas (local scope, 3,144 counties)
- Global Credibility Index (global scope)
Every five years the Board reviews and (if necessary) revises domain definitions, indicator weights, and data sources. Changes require supermajority approval (8 of 12 members).
The National Statistics Board analyzes and reports — it does not make policy decisions.
One Framework. Three Scopes.
The same eight domains, applied at every level of analysis.
Global Scorecard
The same eight domains, scored for every country with which the United States has substantive relations.
Scores are preliminary placeholders. The National Statistics Board will publish validated scores upon enactment.