Ancient Future
Envision a pre-colonial village where elders, championing fairness, introduced ceramic vessels as Units of Account (UoA) for grain. This system, rooted in reciprocity, would have built upon existing social agreements and traditional practices like rotational mutual-aid, intrinsic mutual credit systems already in place.
Word of this inventive method could have traveled, sparking interest and prompting neighboring villages to adopt it, thus setting off a ripple of standardization protocols across the region.
It's here that Units of Account (UoA), acting as a measurable standard for value, could have transformed these mutual credit systems. By providing a concrete reference for value, they helped in quantifying and validating the communal commitments, creating a stronger foundation for existing reciprocal practices.
With this firmer foundation, a new innovation may have been born - Bearer Instruments. These were more than just tokens. They encapsulated and represented the value of these commitments, functioning as vouchers that could travel between villages and clans, thereby extending the reach and impact of their original mutual-aid systems.
Grassroots, cooperative, non-dominating system of agreements and technology in a village could have reshaped a region's economic landscape, strengthening vibrant social economies.
"The Units of Account were agreements between us / The Currency came from within us - our shared trust." - Babu ya Ndoto
In our contemporary world, if we dared to tap into the wisdom of our ancestors, imagine the heights of collaboration and well-being we could reach?
Purpose
This document describes a means by which Human Scale Coordination, and in some cases Distributed Ledger Technology, can support the creation of a scalable system of exchange based on real Units of Account (UoA) as Bearer Instruments (Sacred Promises) in which any number of people can find themselves working together towards a common goal, while having access to resources to meet their basic needs, while at the same time, being rewarded accordingly for their contributions towards supporting the basic needs of others, and the furthering of the common goals.
A Sacred Promise
Synergy evolves when people can align in shared purpose and direction. A promise to engage in activity that furthers an agreed-upon mission allows people to have faith that by working together in harmony, and accomplishing the mission, all will benefit. A Sacred Promise does not require enforcement because it does not attempt to be punitive. When people come together to make a Sacred Promise, the only thing they have to lose is their own reputation. When a community is created around a Sacred Promise, space is held, and support is offered so that each individual may arrive at their place of highest integrity. Integrity is achieved when one’s intentions, words, deeds, and actions are all in alignment.
An Old Idea Evolved
“From each according to their ability, to each their basic needs, and more according to their ability to serve the greater whole.”
It is futile to ignore the fundamental and natural drive to always have “more”. To do so is perhaps to slow the natural evolution of the Universe, and perhaps the Universe only seeks to understand itself. Let us trust in progression, while not becoming obsessed with it or attached to it. In practical application, some folks are glad to invest only the minimal amount of energy needed to have their basic needs met. While other folks have a strong drive for “progress”, and as a result, often feel good about having access to more resources than others. Allowing that natural pattern to play out is critical to the emergence of the most optimal solutions to organizing at scale.
In order to create a scalable system of exchanges that accomplishes this, a self-evolving system of metrics is required. Such a system of metrics allows people to identify value, and then have a means to provide transparency to the greater whole when they give or receive something of value. As we align on shared values, we can begin to see the directions of flow of value exchanges that are happening (a current). When we can SEE the CURRENT of exchange in a particular type of value, we could be said to have created a Current-See (something akin to what post-modern society calls a “currency”).
A Promise to Current-See
Promisors are the critical component to the kind of ecosystem of exchanges being proposed. Ultimately, the promise consists of a few critical parts:
- A promise to accept (to see) the value others have given (or will give), and to provide value to them.
- A promise to prioritize value exchanges within the ecosystem of promisors before making value exchanges with non-promisors.
- A promise to encourage others to become promisors and to see the value you have provided (or will provide) to others, and provide value to you.
- A promise to ensure that new promisors are fully aligned with the sacredness of the promises they are making, and are fully aligned with the common goals of the ecosystem.
The Technology
Phase I: ERC-20 Token
Reliable Distributed Ledger Technology exists with the Ethereum-based blockchain, and the ERC-20 smart contract standard provides the basic operations needed for providing metrics around value exchanges. The smart contract will be modified to allow the custom functionality to allow or disallow transfers on a system-wide basis with m of n signatories. Signatories are verified by private key held by selected trustees which will be hard-coded into the smart contract. We will not attempt to create multiple value streams in Phase I.
Governance
The state of ERC-20 technology forces us to rely on a fixed set of private keys to represent the will of a management council. For simplicity, a fixed ratio (m of n) signatures from private keys will be required to execute ad-hoc operations. Great care will need to be taken in the selection of private key holders. It is critical that they hold a high degree of interest in seeing the ecosystem succeed, as well as can be counted on to maintain security around their private key(s).
Phase II: Holo-based Current-See
(to be completed)
Current-See Creation and Destruction
Current-See will be created and destroyed by m of n signatories which will be hard-coded into the smart contract.
New Current-See Distribution
Newly generated Current-See will be applied to the wallet of a Central Council. M of N signatures of Council members will allow that Current-See to be distributed ONLY to one of the 12 AdVenture Funds. The AdVenture Funds will each develop unique criteria by which they will distribute funds to Regenerative Businesses that will supply goods and services to the ecosystem. Accountability Holders will perform the work necessary for the Regenerative Businesses to operate successfully. They will be compensated with Current-See. They will then seek to exchange value with the other Accountability Holders, other Promisors, and Regenerative Businesses, thus, energetically sustaining and growing the ecosystem. From time to time, an Accountability Holder will need to exchange value with an FRN Promisor, thus, energetically leaking value out of the ecosystem.
This ecosystem attempts to create the proper balance between centralized, top-down influence and organic, emergent, bottom-up influence. The Central Council and Venture Funds will do analysis and where leaks are occurring, and seek to build Regenerative Businesses that fulfill those needs and prevent the leak going forward.
An Example Ecosystem Illustrated
RB = Regenerative Business
AH = Accountability Holder
FRN = Federal Reserve Note