Category E, and deliberately so. Not a prediction, not a plan — a description of a plausible near future written to make one thing clear: it is not fantastical.
Every element below exists somewhere today, at some scale. The thought experiment is only about generalisation. It is written in the present tense because that is how futures become thinkable.
GOVERNANCE
Every major public decision publishes its time horizon and who bears its costs. A statutory body reports annually on the interests of those with no vote. It is not obeyed automatically — but it cannot be ignored quietly.
LAW
Major watersheds have legal standing and permanent advocates. Environmental harm is prosecuted as harm rather than settled as a fee. Courts still run slowly; they now run on a longer clock.