What this is

Like many Americans, I spent the months following the 2024 election wondering how my country had gotten to this place. I started writing my thoughts down to share with friends and family, and I came to believe that the problem was that there was no strong, positive vision for America’s future that could compete with the dark and foolish one that had won. The writing became a way to define one.

When my congresswoman announced she was retiring a few months later, I decided to run to replace her, and the writing became the basis for my platform. I didn’t win, but after talking to countless people in my community through my campaign, I believe more strongly than ever in this project.

New American Century is where I’m continuing it. It’s grounded in the urgent need for a politics of the future, one that recognizes the contradictions of progress and commits nonetheless to moving forward with conviction.

The work here is organized around five of those apparent contradictions. Each is a pair of core American values that have to come to seem at odds. The fractures in our politics often sit on these:

1. Prosperity and Care — How do we expand our capacity while directing it toward human flourishing?
2. Discovery and Dignity — How do we push the frontier while preserving human value?
3. Openness and Cohesion — How do we embrace the world while holding together as a society?
4. Democracy and Strength — How do we preserve political freedom while rising to meet urgent challenges?
5. Truth and Expression — How do we defend what’s true while protecting the freedom to disagree?

These are false binaries. In every case, we have to choose both.

I’d suggest starting here:

How it’s organized

New American Century includes short notes published a few times a week and longer essays published about every other week.

If you want to keep up with the argument, you can subscribe. I’ll send out an email whenever a longer essay comes out, sharing that piece and recapping the notes since the last update. I get too much email and don’t want to send you anything more frequently than that. There’s also an RSS feed.

I’ll be adding more features soon, including a way to submit thoughts and input.

Thanks,

Nick Pyati