Belonging as the Foundation of Real Democracy

Collaborative Education, Neuroconscious Democracy, and the DREX Citizen  

DREX Citizen

We live in a time of profound transformation, where science, technology, and society intersect at a historic turning point. Our understanding of what the State is, what it means to be a citizen, and how we belong to something greater than ourselves is evolving. Within this new paradigm, a powerful and innovative concept arises: the DREX Citizen — a form of direct and daily economic participation in the nation’s shared wealth.

Beyond the State: The Body of a Territory

To understand the DREX Citizen, we must first rethink what a State truly is. It is more than laws, taxes, and political institutions — it is the living history of a territory, shaped by those who inhabit it. A responsible State must serve the collective good, ensuring the well-being of all for the benefit of each.

Like our minds, which organize reality through conceptual “slices” — science, education, politics, even identity — the State has historically been fragmented. These slices help us act, but they also exclude. Only by reconnecting with the whole can we move beyond these fragmentations and build a more integrated and ethical society.

Consciousness, Connectomes, and Belonging

Modern neuroscience — often rooted in colonial and dualist thinking — separated mind and body for centuries. But decolonial neuroscience, informed by Antonio Damasio's embodied mind theory, tells a different story: our consciousness arises from the body, the emotions, and even our existential metabolism.

What we feel — joy, frustration, love, pain — are not just reactions. They are forms of consciousness. They organize our neural networks (connectomes), influence our behavior, and shape how we perceive reality.

These connectomes can be symbolically grouped as:  

- Scissors: Analytical thought (slow thinking, Kahneman’s System 2)  

- Rock: Intuitive, reactive thought (fast thinking, System 1)  

- Paper: Metacognition, humor, reflection, transcendence  

And here lies a key: these networks respond to our sense of belonging. When people feel excluded or neglected by the State, these networks destabilize. But when they feel recognized, supported, and cared for — the brain synchronizes, and the human being flourishes.

Belonging and the DREX Citizen

Belonging is not just being born in a country. It is the felt sense of being valued, seen, and supported. In biological terms, this is akin to quorum sensing — a concept from microbiology in which organisms coordinate collective behavior based on shared signals. We call this the human quorum sensing: our ability to align socially and emotionally with others when we share meaningful, consistent stimuli.

The DREX Citizen project operationalizes this idea through a retail CBDC (Central Bank Digital Currency) that delivers daily digital income to every citizen. Not as a gift, but as a right. If the people constitute the State, and the State generates wealth, then the people should receive part of that wealth — directly, fairly, and daily.

This transforms democracy from being a matter of voting alone into a neuroeconomic system of care. It ensures that no one is left behind. It gives a new meaning to freedom — not just the freedom to vote, but the freedom to come, remain, be, dissent, and leave, as defined by the concept of radical liberty.

Collaborative Education: Regenerating the Social Brain

To support this new democratic structure, education must be collaborative. The human being is not selfish by nature — we become selfish when trained in systems that reward competition and profit over community and care.

Competitive systems undermine our mental health, our relationships, and even our climate. A *collaborative education, on the other hand, aligns with neurodiversity, respects each learner’s time and context, and activates social proprioception — the embodied sense of being part of a living space, as in the Andean concept of Apus (sacred territorial guardians).

Systemic Foundations

- Damasian Mind + Apus: Cognition is bodily, relational, and ecological.  

- Triple-Aspect Monism (Alfredo Pereira Jr.): Reality is one, expressed through matter, mind, and culture.  

- Human Quorum Sensing: Belonging is neuroaffective synchronization.  

- Extended Proprioception (Apus): Space and body co-create territorial awareness.  

- Citizen DREX: A civic technology rooted in metabolic ethics and collective dignity.  

A Responsible and Regenerative State

A Dynamic State is not static law enforcement — it is the living, evolving memory of beings and ecosystems in territory. Through DREX Citizen, public policies become adaptive, informed by real-time data and community deliberation.

The State of the future will be a biosocial organism, responsive to life’s rhythms, connected to emotion, metabolism, and collective intelligence.

Summary Principles

- The DREX Citizen is a tool for social belonging and justice.  

- Belonging arises from shared signals: care, recognition, and meaningful participation.  

- Real democracy includes economic, emotional, and educational dignity.  

- Collaborative education regenerates the neurobiological foundations of cooperation.  

- A responsible State distributes wealth, respects diversity, and protects radical freedom.

Toward a Living Democracy

This is the foundation for a new era. One where the whole matters more than the fragments. One where consciousness arises from the body, and being a citizen means living with dignity, liberty, and belonging.

Let us build a democracy that is felt in the skin, not just printed on paper. One that listens, adapts, and cares — a democracy of shared metabolism, of laughter, protest, learning, and life.