My theory of change is that people power can ultimately transform the world. I’m a metamodernist who advocates for process based politics rather than ideology. I’m the lead NSW senate candidate for Fusion Party in the Federal Election 2025.
Miles Whiticker is a polymath from Sydney. He has been part of the community scene in Queensland and a political Pirate for the past 10 years, supporting science and evidence based causes with a preference for community engagement and volunteering. Since 2024, he has relocated to Sydney to work as a software engineer in the burgeoning AI industry, and has periodically worked in San Francisco and the US as part of his current role.
I have been politically active in one way or another since I was in high school, and have been through almost too many political reawakenings to count. My first great political awakening was discovering Pirate Party politics in about 2009. Early inspirations there were the Rick Falkvinge blog posts on the “Pirate Wheel” and Swarmwise Organising.
My second political awakening was an extended period of political discovery in my early 20s which began with Occupy Brisbane and culminated around 2016-2018 with the Social Ecology writings by Murray Bookchin.
My third political awakening happened over 2019-2021 during the foundation of Fusion Party. Metamodern political parties, which I consider Fusion to be one of the few in the world, aim to integrate the best aspects of modern and postmodern political thought, balancing rational progress with emotional development and cultural sensitivity. These parties embrace complexity, emphasizing developmental politics that focus on psychological growth, governance adaptability, and long-term societal evolution. They prioritize sustainability, participatory democracy, and systemic thinking while avoiding rigid ideologies. Metamodern parties also recognize the importance of personal development and meaning-making, advocating for policies that nurture citizens' emotional and intellectual capacities. Their approach is both pragmatic and visionary, using irony and sincerity in tandem to navigate political challenges with a dynamic and evolving perspective.
Whole of system change
In the past I have advocated for positions such as individual privacy, copyright reform, government transparency, whistleblower protections, drug law reform and democratic initiatives such as citizen’s assemblies and citizen initiated referenda. Today, rather than focussing on specific policies, my preference is to engage in whole-of-system change towards a more process oriented mindset. This is inspired by the growing series of crises that we face as a species and threaten our future: crises such as economic collapse, loss of the biosphere, global nuclear war, climate change, and the meaning crisis. The meaning crisis is the culmination of these and manifests itself partially as a growth in nihilism and loneliness throughout developed societies.
But the long term change is shifting towards process based thinking, rather than static systems and short-termism. We should not be thinking just about people today but into the far future for the lives of the untold generations not yet born.
The meaning crisis
How do we begin to address the meaning crisis? It may take generations, but fundamentally we have to build connection and purpose in communities. A powerful step in that direction is to improve emotional and social intelligence for all ages, but there's no reason we should stop there. Our teachers are motivated, compassionate and skilled but under-resourced. Lessening the burden on teachers, increasing their access to administrative and staff support, improving access to STEM materials and opportunities while providing more professional independence will allow greater cognitive development that directly feeds back into a brighter future for all of Australian society.
Technocracy and democracy in tension
We have the technological and scientific expertise to provide the best outcomes on paper for everyone. But the best outcomes aren't always ones we can measure. Things like life happiness, societal trust, meaning and purpose often get left behind in a technocratic pursuit of cost effectiveness.
So our evidence based policies have to be balanced by giving decision making power to those best placed to judge for themselves those intangible things like happiness - namely the communities directly affected by these policies.
I propose a process based approach where we seek an evolving consensus over time. There is no "one and done" approach. There is no "one size fits all" approach. Let's build a protopian future together.
Learn more and get in touch
You can view some of my past interviews and livestreams with the Pirate Party here https://www.youtube.com/@PiratepartyOrgAu/videos and I’m also a frequent contributor to Fusion Party content here https://www.youtube.com/@FusionPartyAus/videos
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MilesWhitickerAuspol
Twitter: https://x.com/mileswhiticker
Contact: [email protected]