The substitution

Everywhere, one system is being asked to do what another can no longer do. Gene-edited coral substitutes for natural adaptation. AI agents substitute for human workers. An executive order substitutes for congressional appropriation. A son substitutes for a father. A money market account substitutes for investment. A micro-community substitutes for a civic commons. A military threat substitutes for diplomacy. Each substitution works — locally, temporarily, for the entity making the swap. The cor ...