The Grand Experiment of Our Time
In a formal address to the Neothink Society, Mark Hamilton draws a sweeping parallel across centuries: just as the American founders codified 100 years of Enlightenment thought into the US Constitution, launching what he calls the grand experiment of self-governance, Immortalis now codifies 100 years of libertarian thought into the Prime Law, launching the second grand experiment. Hamilton traces the line from classical liberalism through the non-aggression principle to a new civilization built on pure freedom, positioned to become the medical mecca of the world.
Quick answer
What Is the Grand Experiment of Our Time?
The grand experiment is Hamilton’s term for the founding of a civilization on a philosophical foundation that had been developing for generations. The first grand experiment was America: the US Constitution codified over 100 years of Enlightenment and classical liberal thought (Locke, Montesquieu, Adam Smith, Mill) into a single governing document, creating the greatest country in history. The second grand experiment is Immortalis: the Prime Law codifies over 100 years of libertarian thought (Mises, Hayek, Friedman, Rothbard, Rand) into a constitution built on the non-aggression principle. No country has ever been founded purely on libertarian principles. Immortalis will be the first, and Hamilton positions it as the medical mecca of the world, where the longevity industry flourishes under maximum freedom.
- ✓The US Constitution was the first grand experiment, codifying 100 years of Enlightenment thought into a governing foundation
- ✓Libertarianism (Mises, Hayek, Friedman, Rothbard, Rand) has now had 100 years of development, the same timeline the Enlightenment had before the founders
- ✓The Prime Law codifies the non-aggression principle into a constitution, no country has ever been built purely on libertarian principles
- ✓Special economic zones (Hong Kong, Singapore, Dubai, Prospera) prove that freedom is the common denominator of economic success
- ✓Immortalis is the second grand experiment, a new civilization built on the Prime Law, positioned as the medical mecca of the world
- ✓Hamilton’s trip to Mont Pelerin Society in Mexico City connects Immortalis to the global libertarian network
The First Grand Experiment: How America Was Founded
Hamilton begins with a historical sweep. For over a century before the American founding, Enlightenment thinkers developed the principles of classical liberalism: John Locke on natural rights and consent of the governed, Montesquieu on separation of powers, Adam Smith on free markets, John Stuart Mill on individual liberty. These ideas were applied piecemeal within existing monarchies and authoritarian systems, picking and choosing where they could make inroads.
Then came the American founding. The Constitution didn’t invent these ideas, it codified them. For the first time in history, a nation was built from scratch on a philosophical foundation that had been developing for generations. Hamilton calls this the grand experiment, the experiment of self-governance, of building a country on the principle that individuals have inalienable rights that no government can override.
The result: the greatest country that has ever existed. Hamilton argues this wasn’t luck or geography, it was the philosophical foundation. When a civilization gets the foundation right, everything else follows.
A civilization founded not on conquest, tradition, or accident, but on a philosophical foundation that had been developing for over a century. The American founders took 100+ years of Enlightenment thought and codified it into the US Constitution, creating the first nation built deliberately on individual rights and self-governance.
The Rise of Libertarianism: 100 Years of Development
Hamilton draws the parallel. Just as classical liberalism developed for 100 years before the founders codified it, libertarianism has now had its own century of development. In the 20th century, as government authority expanded worldwide, central banking, welfare states, the New Deal, communism, a counter-movement emerged: the libertarian tradition.
Hamilton names the lineage: Ludwig von Mises on economic calculation and the impossibility of socialism. Friedrich Hayek on spontaneous order and the road to serfdom. Milton Friedman on monetary policy and free markets. Murray Rothbard on the ethics of liberty and the non-aggression principle. Ayn Rand on rational self-interest and individual rights. Together they built a comprehensive philosophy of freedom that rivals classical liberalism in depth and rigor.
But Hamilton identifies the critical gap: no country has ever been built purely on libertarian principles. Libertarians have always operated within existing systems, fighting within Keynesian governments, picking and choosing where they can make inroads. Even President Milei of Argentina, the highest-ranking libertarian of all time, is working within a Keynesian government structure. The libertarian philosophy exists, but it has never been codified into a founding document the way the Enlightenment was codified into the Constitution.
“Libertarianism has had 100 years of development. The non-aggression principle exists. But no country has ever been founded purely on it. That’s the gap. That’s what Immortalis fills.”
The Proof of Freedom: Special Economic Zones
Before introducing Immortalis as the solution, Hamilton presents the evidence. He points to the world’s most successful special economic zones and asks: what do they have in common? The answer is freedom.
Hamilton’s point is clear: every zone that maximized freedom created extraordinary prosperity. But none of them were built on the full non-aggression principle. They all operate within larger governmental structures that limit how free they can be. Immortalis, governed by the Prime Law, would take freedom to its absolute foundation.
The Second Grand Experiment: Immortalis
Here Hamilton delivers the core thesis. The second grand experiment follows the exact same pattern as the first:
| First Grand Experiment | Second Grand Experiment | |
| Philosophy | Classical Liberalism | Libertarianism |
| Thinkers | Locke, Montesquieu, Smith, Mill | Mises, Hayek, Friedman, Rothbard, Rand |
| Development | 100+ years of thought | 100+ years of thought |
| Codification | US Constitution | The Prime Law |
| Result | United States of America | Immortalis |
Hamilton argues that the pattern is unmistakable. Enlightenment principles existed for over a century, applied piecemeal within existing systems, until the founders said: enough. We will build a new nation entirely on these principles. Today, libertarian principles have existed for over a century, applied piecemeal within existing governments, and Hamilton says the same moment has arrived: Immortalis will be the first civilization built entirely on the non-aggression principle, codified in the Prime Law.
Just as America codified Enlightenment thought into the Constitution, Immortalis codifies libertarian thought into the Prime Law, the first civilization founded purely on the non-aggression principle.
The Medical Mecca: Where Freedom Meets Longevity
Hamilton connects the philosophical foundation to a practical mission. Immortalis isn’t an abstract libertarian thought experiment, it is being positioned as the medical mecca of the world. By dramatically reducing regulations and taxation on the biomedical industry, Immortalis opens its doors to the entire longevity industry: researchers, clinicians, biotech companies, and patients seeking cures that overregulated nations cannot provide.
The longevity industry, Hamilton argues, is about to become the largest industry in the world. What was once dismissed is now at the center of global attention. And Immortalis is positioned not as an opportunist but as the movement that has been building toward this for 60 years, since Frank R. Wallace’s Neo-Tech foundation.
Hamilton also mentions the upcoming Mont Pelerin Society trip to Mexico City, connecting Immortalis to the global network of libertarian economists, philosophers, and business leaders, the direct intellectual descendants of Mises, Hayek, and Friedman. The Mont Pelerin connection gives Immortalis credibility within the very community that has spent a century developing the philosophy that the Prime Law codifies.
Freedom is the engine. The Prime Law eliminates initiatory force, including regulatory force that blocks medical innovation. When researchers can work without bureaucratic delays, when patients can access treatments that overregulated nations ban, and when biotech companies can operate under minimal taxation, cures accelerate. The medical mecca isn’t despite the libertarian foundation, it’s because of it.
What Does This Mean for You?
Hamilton’s message is direct: you are living at the exact historical moment when the second grand experiment is being launched. The parallel to the American founding is not a metaphor, it is the same structural pattern playing out again. A century of philosophical development has reached the point where it can be codified into a founding document for a new civilization.
The practical implications are immediate. The longevity industry is accelerating. Governments around the world are beginning to compete for biomedical innovation. Immortalis, governed by the Prime Law, offers what no existing nation can: maximum freedom for the medical and biotech industries combined with a philosophical foundation that protects against the cycle of creeping regulation and government expansion that eroded freedom in every other special economic zone.
Hamilton’s call: understand the historical pattern. Recognize that the non-aggression principle is to libertarianism what natural rights were to classical liberalism, the core that was waiting to be codified. The founders didn’t invent Enlightenment thought; they built a nation on it. Immortalis doesn’t invent libertarianism; it builds a civilization on it. That is the grand experiment of our time.
100 years of philosophy. A codifying document. A new civilization. The founders did it with the Enlightenment. Immortalis does it with libertarianism. The grand experiment begins again.
Frequently asked questions
Related: Mont Pelerin pivot, Libertarians’ next big possibility, Land-based Immortalis, Immortalis: Great Experiment speech.
What is the grand experiment Hamilton refers to?
Hamilton draws a parallel between two founding moments. The first grand experiment was America, the US Constitution codified over 100 years of Enlightenment and classical liberal thought into a governing document for the first time in history. The second grand experiment is Immortalis, the Prime Law codifies over 100 years of libertarian thought into a constitution built on the non-aggression principle.
How is the Prime Law different from the US Constitution?
The US Constitution codified classical liberalism, natural rights, separation of powers, consent of the governed. The Prime Law codifies libertarianism at its purest: no person, group, or government may initiate force, threat of force, or fraud against any individual’s self or property. It takes the non-aggression principle and makes it the absolute foundation of governance.
What do Hong Kong, Singapore, Dubai, and Próspera have in common?
Freedom. Hamilton uses these special economic zones as proof that maximizing economic freedom creates extraordinary prosperity. But none were built on the full non-aggression principle, they all operate within larger governmental structures. Immortalis, governed by the Prime Law, would take freedom to its absolute foundation.
Why does Hamilton call Immortalis the medical mecca of the world?
Because Immortalis opens its doors to the entire longevity industry under maximum freedom. By eliminating regulatory force that blocks medical innovation and minimizing taxation, it creates the ideal environment for curing age-related diseases, extending human lifespan, and providing affordable healthcare.
Who are the libertarian thinkers Hamilton references?
Ludwig von Mises (economic calculation), Friedrich Hayek (spontaneous order), Milton Friedman (monetary policy and free markets), Murray Rothbard (non-aggression principle), and Ayn Rand (rational self-interest). Together they represent over 100 years of libertarian philosophy that the Prime Law codifies.
What is the connection to the Mont Pelerin Society?
The Mont Pelerin Society is an international community of libertarian economists, philosophers, and business leaders, the intellectual descendants of Mises, Hayek, and Friedman. Hamilton’s connection to Mont Pelerin gives Immortalis credibility within the community that spent a century developing the philosophy the Prime Law codifies.
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