A New Theory of Value for Post-AGI Economics

2026-08-02

AI Summary

Traditional economic value theory struggles to capture genuine human and societal well-being in the age of artificial general intelligence (AGI). This work proposes a Flourishing Value Theory (FVT), defining value as the counterfactual and distributionally sensitive contribution of systems, institutions, or interventions to the enduring capacity of individuals and communities to flourish within social and ecological constraints. Moving beyond the scarcity paradigm, FVT establishes a multidimensional, non-compensatory, and regenerative value framework centered on flourishing, clearly distinguishing value creation from value capture and reorienting economic objectives toward the expansion of collective agency and equitable flourishing. Integrating insights from AI economics, capability theory, and ecological economics, the framework introduces a layered governance architecture featuring flourishing metrics and a Return on Flourishing (RoF), offering a new benchmark for national accounting, corporate governance, AI regulation, and workforce transformation in the post-AGI era—shifting the economic focus from output maximization to equitable and sustainable human and planetary flourishing.

Abstract

Artificial general intelligence (AGI) may weaken scarcities in labour, expertise, information, and productive capability that underpin established theories of economic value. If cognitive work becomes widely automatable, market price, labour input, revealed preference, profit, and gross output may diverge sharply from human and societal benefit. This paper develops Flourishing Value Theory (FVT) as a foundation for post-AGI economics. FVT defines value as the counterfactual, distribution-sensitive contribution of a system, institution, asset, or intervention to the durable capabilities of persons and communities to flourish within social and planetary constraints. It treats societal value as multidimensional, agency-preserving, regenerative, and non-compensatory at critical thresholds. Drawing on the economics of AI, welfare and capability theory, automation, digital valuation, and ecological economics, the paper distinguishes value creation from value capture and retains price, profit, productivity, and GDP as partial signals rather than final measures of progress. It develops the shifts from scarcity to governed abundance, transaction to transformation, and zero-sum rivalry to positive-sum and infinite-game dynamics, with collective expansion of consciousness as an agency-preserving form of regenerative value. Building on Flourishing Metrics and Return on Flourishing (RoF), it proposes a layered architecture for firms, governments, work transitions, AI governance, and national accounting. The central post-AGI economic problem is not how to maximise output, but how to convert abundant intelligence into durable, fairly distributed human, societal, and planetary flourishing.

Problem

• AGI
• economic value
• scarcity
• flourishing
• post-AGI economics

Innovation

• Flourishing Value Theory
• post-AGI economics
• value creation vs. value capture
• regenerative value
• Return on Flourishing