In 1971, corporate lawyer Lewis Powell wrote a private memo telling American business exactly how to take over the country: fund the think tanks, take the courts, exert power over government — and take over education and media.
They followed the instructions and now you’re now living in the results.
But could there be a simple way to reverse it?
Out early August 2026 · PDF and epub
The wealth gap isn’t accidental. It was a plan.
You might’ve heard the names Heritage, ALEC, Cato, or The Federalist Society.
Every one of these was built on purpose, on the instructions in that memo, to do a specific job.
Corporations with lobbyists in Washington went from around 175 in 1971 to nearly 2,500 by 1982.
And now billionaires and corporations rule the world.
Fifty years later, most people have never heard of the document that was pivotal in this coordinated move to concentrate wealth and power in the hands of a few.
We think politics and protests are the answer.
But that’s feeding into the Lewis Powell’s design.
Meanwhile, we have over three hundred movements to a fairer economy, many with proven practical steps that rewire wealth and power — that no one’s heard of or understands the power of.
What if we could use the same levers but in the opposite direction?
Spoiler alert: we can.
They coordinated to concentrate power.
We coordinate to give everyone more of it.
What you’ll know by the end
Exactly what the Powell Memo did, section by section, and how we reverse each
Why the a fairer economy is losing despite already working — and it isn’t the reason you think
What 300+ existing movements are missing that would let them compound instead of scatter
The exact frameworks individuals and small groups can use to coordinate and build influence and power
Get both
Of Course: A New Common Sense is the companion guide releasing mid to late August 2026.
Where The Power Memo is the strategy, Of Course is the one you hand to someone who’s never thought about any of this.
Read more about Of Course here.
$10 — The Power Memo: How we take the economy back
$18 — Get the Bundle
Backing the crowdfunder? Both books are already included!
Jessica Friday is a wellbeing economy reporter and culture strategist. With a community wealth building story that’s been cited in Scottish Parliament and millions of views on her content worldwide, she coordinates hundreds of movements worldwide ditching the economy we have now for one that works for all of us.
To follow her journey, find her on the socials here.