I'm currently focused on building a 2nd layer contract system, which will in turn enable easy token creation among other things, and which I think will resolve some of the current disputes around rewards. I think this will also allow for more experimentation in economics without requiring hardforks.

I like that. Test things in practices without to fork.

But I don't think simply splintering off into separate token groups is the absolute best answer in the long term for organizing cooperation of human kind. It is more of a stopgap measure, IMO.

I do plan to spend some of my time starting to address that more challenging problem, after the smart contract platform is done. But while that work will utilize Hive capabilities such as cryptographic signing and maintenance of immutable data, it will exist for the most part outside the economics of Hive.

It will be a stand-alone chain that interacts with hive if I understand right? Or will the contracts work without being a blockchain at all like "standard" to use hive nodes/software can read?