A Request for Your Patronage
I’m turning on paid subscriptions and opening new opportunities for commissioned work, but I am keeping all posts freely available to everyone.
Dear readers,
After a long period of writing here freely and consistently, I am turning on paid subscriptions so that this work can continue with more regularity and depth.
I am asking for your help in one of three ways:
Become a paid subscriber
Make a one-time contribution
Commission project-based work or a collaboration
I have given this move a lot of thought. The prevailing wisdom seems to be that Substack patronage should be tied to one or another kind of exclusivity: paywalled posts, subscriber-only essays, or private spaces of various kinds.
My approach is different and has two sides.
On the one hand, I believe The Base Camp should remain freely available to all. The work I produce here is best served by open circulation. For this reason, I won’t be putting up a paywall for the Substack itself. Your support will help me keep writing, for you and for anyone else who wants to read these essays. In essence, you are helping provide protected writing time because you think public intellectual activity is a real public good, and that my specific contribution to it is worth supporting.
On the other hand, some work calls for a more focused arrangement, tied to a specific project and a specific result. If you need a philosopher, writer, speaker, editor, teacher, or advisor for your own work, we can discuss scope and format on a short call. These projects might include commissioned essays, lectures, talks, editorial review, private seminars, reading sessions, or advisory conversations for individuals, organizations, educational initiatives, philanthropic projects, or small groups.
I think philosophy needs both wide availability and more focused forms of study and counsel. In this model, the public essays on The Base Camp will remain open to everyone, while project-based work gives individuals, organizations, and small groups a way to pursue more specific questions in a more structured setting.
Below are the different ways you can support this work.
1. Substack subscriptions:
Monthly: steady support for this Substack ($9 / month)
Annual: deeper support for public philosophy ($99 / year)
Founding Patron: long-term patronage for the future of this work ($999 / year)
2. Make a one-time contribution in any amount:
If you prefer to contribute without starting a subscription, you can make a one-time contribution through Stripe:
If you prefer PayPal, I’ve included that option here.
3. Commissions and collaborations:
Commissioned writing
Lectures or talks
Editorial services or manuscript review
Advisory work for business, education, or philanthropy
Small group work, including seminars and reading sessions
For commissioned work or project-based collaboration, you can message me here on Substack or write to ae.robbert@gmail.com. I’d be glad to discuss scope and fit.
You can also read more about me and my work on my website, and I’m happy to provide more detail about my background and relevant experience on request.
If this is not the right time for you to contribute financially, no worries. The Base Camp will continue either way, but patronage can transform my ability to write more regularly and in more depth.
There is also a way to help that costs nothing. Sharing these posts, essays, and resources with your friends and networks is also a real form of support.
And, truly, thank you for reading, and for being here.
Sincerely,
Adam Eric Robbert