日期:2026/01/17 IAE
UN Principals / SG / Deputy SG / High-Level Officials 決策需求。
GCWPA Think Tank | Author: Frank Chen 2007-2026 / IAE Global
UN PRINCIPALS BRIEF
Life Value Governance: Reframing Freedom, Markets, and Global Economic Policy
Why This Matters Now
Over the past 40 years, dominant economic models—particularly neoliberalism—have equated freedom with deregulated markets and minimal government intervention. This paradigm has failed to deliver inclusive prosperity, democratic resilience, or ecological security.
As highlighted by Joseph Stiglitz, poverty, inequality, and environmental degradation are not side effects—they are structural constraints on freedom itself. Political philosopher Isaiah Berlin captured this risk succinctly: “The freedom of the wolf often means the death of the sheep.”
The UN faces a critical choice: continue managing crises within a failing framework, or lead a civilizational shift in how freedom and economic governance are defined.
Core Insight
Freedom is not the absence of rules.
Freedom is the presence of life-enabling opportunities.
A person without access to food, healthcare, education, or a safe environment does not possess real freedom—regardless of market openness.
The Proposed Framework: Life Value Governance
Charity Economicism & Life Value Governance redefine economic success and policy effectiveness around one central metric: Life Value.
Life Value Governance prioritizes:
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Survival and health security
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Equal and timely access to education
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Social protection and care systems
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Environmental and intergenerational sustainability
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Expansion of real opportunities (“opportunity sets”)
Markets remain essential tools—but they are means, not ends.
Why Institutions Expand Freedom (Not Restrict It)
Contrary to market absolutism, rule-based, democratic institutions often increase freedom:
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Traffic laws enable safe mobility
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Taxation funds education, healthcare, and research
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Public health measures prevent mass life loss
Such measures are freedom-enabling infrastructure, not authoritarian control.
Operational Tool: Life Value Index (LVI)
To move beyond abstract values, this framework introduces the Life Value Index (LVI)—a policy evaluation tool assessing whether economic decisions:
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Protect life and health
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Expand human capability
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Reduce structural inequality
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Safeguard ecological systems
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Secure future generations’ choices
LVI complements GDP and fiscal metrics by answering a more fundamental question:
Does this policy expand or erode real freedom?
Strategic Relevance for the United Nations
Life Value Governance directly supports:
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UN SDGs (1, 3, 4, 10, 13)
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Human-rights-based development
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Conflict prevention and social cohesion
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Long-term global sustainability
Key Takeaway for UN Leadership
A good society is not one where the strongest are most free,
but one where everyone has the capacity to live, choose, and contribute.
The UN is uniquely positioned to lead this transition—from market-centric freedom to civilizational freedom grounded in life value.
Status:
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One-page UN Principals Brief
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Suitable for SG / DSG / ECOSOC / UNDP / DESA
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Fully aligned with SDGs and existing UN mandates