About

Build Vector is a Substack about progress and how it is built, both literally and figuratively. It is premised on the idea that human flourishing is good, that this needs saying, and that we, as a society, need to maximise the ingredients available to deliver it. An abundance of housing, energy, infrastructure, ideas, and (meaningful) discussion are the bedrocks of progress.

Subscribers can expect solutions-oriented analysis of politics, economics, technology, culture, and anything else I think needs to be said. I’m based in the UK and my writing is a mixture of Britain-focused content alongside missives on the world and essays not tethered to any particular geography.

The dividing line in 21st century politics is between progressives and reactionaries. By progressives I don’t mean damp leftists – I mean people who believe in abundance, in science and technology, in human flourishing, and that the future can and must be better than the past. This coalition spans from technologically-minded social democrats to pro-market liberals, united by shared end-goals even where they disagree on means.

The reactionaries transcend old political categories too – bringing together nostalgic socialists and ethno-nationalists, zero-sum thinkers and democracy sceptics. They’re supported by the West’s adversaries abroad. To defeat them requires defending the conditions for human progress, which in turn means building more and thinking harder about which technologies and institutions enhance human capability.

Build Vector exists to help define what progress means and to dismantle the barriers standing in its way. I hope you’ll find it an interesting place to be.

Who are you?

I’m Jack Rowlett, a British political writer and commentator. I appear regularly on UK television and radio and my words have featured in various publications on both sides of the Atlantic. You can find me (reluctantly) on X @Jack_Nostalgic