This paper introduces The Life-Value Framework, a diagnostic and policy architecture designed to address the growing misalignment between modern economic governance and the biological foundations of human life. Contemporary institutions largely operate according to a “money-sequence” logic in which financial growth is treated as the primary indicator of success, even when ecological systems, social infrastructure, and human well-being deteriorate. Drawing on John McMurtry’s Life-Value Onto-Axiology and Johan Galtung’s peace research, the framework proposes a Life-Value Metric that evaluates policies according to whether they expand or diminish the inclusive range of human thought, feeling, and action. Structural violence, war economies, and the erosion of public infrastructure are interpreted as measurable forms of systemic disvalue. The paper further proposes the use of AI-assisted impartial auditing to evaluate policies according to life-value parameters and universal life necessities. A staged roadmap toward planetary solvency is outlined, emphasizing investment in the civil commons and regenerative systems capable of sustaining long-term human flourishing.
