About

Pressing the Button is about realizing freedom and justice for all – by deepening the global conversation about solutions to the world’s problems.

We all generally agree what the problems are: famine, disease, war, water provision, poverty, health care, security, inequality, environmental protection, etc.

Although many solutions to these problems have been proposed, we haven’t been considering all possible alternatives with equal weight. When there’s a problem, we tend to focus on state-based solutions…. Health care crisis? Pass a law! Rogue dictator? Invade them! Starving people? Send foreign aid!

But state-based solutions are only half the story, at best. We have an entire society out there, bubbling with ingenuity, resources, and passion, just waiting to be unleashed! The proof of that untapped potential is here.

Pressing the Button is a space for real world examples – from history and around the world – of peaceful, voluntary, cooperative, and effective alternatives to state-provided services.

Maybe non-state solutions are not always the answer. That’s what our blog, Debating the Button, is for – to be a space for a deeper exploration of what is possible.

It’s about time we begin thinking outside the box. The more alternatives we have to choose from, the closer we are to effective, liberating, and just solutions to the world’s problems.

For more on the philosophy behind the pressing the button, see the essay that inspired the project (here it is in Spanish).