Mündig — Documentation

This folder is the research underpinning the Mündig project. It is the project’s design specification, not just background reading.

Map

docs/
├── ai-assisted-research.md     # methodology disclosure: how AI is used and the failure modes
├── licensing.md                # per-component licensing framework
├── research-landscape.md       # European research centres in critical tech/AI studies (scoping reference)
└── techno-feudalism/           # the orienting critique and design notes
    ├── README.md               # the techno-feudal thesis
    ├── enlightenment-lineage.md   # philosophical genealogy (Locke, Kant, Mill, etc.)
    └── habermas/               # the bridge text (1962 + 2022) and design notes
        ├── README.md
        ├── bourgeois-public-sphere.md
        ├── refeudalization-1962.md
        ├── further-transformation-2022.md
        ├── mapping-to-techno-feudalism.md
        ├── communicative-action.md
        ├── critiques.md
        ├── open-questions.md
        └── deliberative-social-app/   # the Mündig design sketch
            ├── README.md
            ├── rejections.md
            ├── tensions.md
            ├── partial-existing-systems.md
            ├── open-questions.md
            ├── de-otio-fit.md
            └── moves/          # eight first-principles design moves
                └── ...

Where to start

• For the project’s working thesis: techno-feudalism/README.md.
• For the philosophical grounding: techno-feudalism/enlightenment-lineage.md.
• For the framework Mündig is built around: techno-feudalism/habermas/.
• For the design sketch the project is building toward: techno-feudalism/habermas/deliberative-social-app/.
• For the methodology disclosure (AI assistance): ai-assisted-research.md.
• For the licensing framework: licensing.md.
• For the academic neighbourhood (who else researches this): research-landscape.md.

A note on origin

This research originated in De Otio’s internal notes repository, where the techno-feudalism critique was developed alongside the broader De Otio strategy work. It was extracted into Mündig when the design implications became concrete enough to warrant a project of their own. The two repositories may diverge over time — the canonical Mündig research lives here.