The Planetary Steward is a philosopher who isn't a king. I imagine about 70 million human stewards, and as many nonhuman ones, maintaining metabolic order at every scale. A steward has to be a good neighbour and a good ancestor at the same time.
How the word moved
In Feb 2026 I brought in the steward to replace Plato's philosopher-king, combining three earlier figures, the Architect, the Connector and the Elephant. In Mar 2026 I added time: stewards govern through protocols across the longue durée, on a trustee conception of sovereignty.
In my words
"We do not need a king of the world; we need planetary-stewards."
from The Planetarity Syllabus. Governing the Planet, Part 3: The Planetary Steward, 26 Feb 2026
"The planetary steward is responsible for both spatial and temporal flourishing, for being a good neighbor as well as being a good ancestor."
from The Planetarity Syllabus. Governing the Planet, Part 3: The Planetary Steward, 26 Feb 2026
Related
- Related Elephant - the steward is also the Elephant.
- Related Architect-Designer - the steward acts as Architect.
- Related Connector - and as Connector.
- Related Metabolic Order - stewards are the ones who maintain metabolic order.
- Related Planetary Duree - stewardship runs across deep time.
- Related Planetary Politics - the steward is the governance figure for planetary politics.
Still open
Is 70 million stewards realistic? I admit we might not get there even by the end of this century.