[p2p-research] All Work is Created Equal

[marc fawzi]

Trying to get started on a $$ project but the P2P Economy keeps pulling me
back in <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FKR3QU3dB0M> ! :-(

I was encouraged by certain folks, especially Chris Watkins, to produce an
easy-to-read plain English version of the P2P Energy Model, for end users
rather than developers.

In the process, a lot of clarity was gained and very powerful themes started
to emerge.

These powerful themes are almost entirely backed up by the model's logic,
which has now been further clarified for those who are technically inclined.

Anyways, the populous themes that have emerged are:

[edit<http://p2pfoundation.net/P2P_Energy_Economy?title=P2P_Energy_Economy&action=edit&section=7>
]
All Work Is Created Equal

Technically speaking, in the P2P Energy Economy, tokens of the currency
(i.e. money) are created in proportion to the increase in the amount of
electric energy flow from nodes with energy surplus to nodes with energy
deficit, including households, charging stations, electric vehicle grid, and
neighboring communities, which is then converted by those nodes into new
work energy, which gives the tokens a real and absolute work value (in
joules) in spent energy, which enables its use in trading the goods and
services defined under this economy, at the cost of energy it takes to
produce and deliver them.

To restate this in plain English, it suffice it to say that in the P2P
Energy Economy all work is equal because all work is measured using the same
unit of energy, i.e. the Joule, so a dentist's work is not any more valuable
than a teacher's work, while still allowing those who work harder get more
back. In other words, it values all work equally while allowing people to
work as hard as they please and get compensated based on the absolute value
of their work energy not the subjective value of their work.

The conditions of sustainable abundance, given below, must be met for all
goods and services to be traded under this model. These conditions, when
combined with the currency defined under this model, enable a complete
departure from today's scarcity enforcing economic model by allowing
everyone who wishes to get a given good or service to do so at the absolute
work value of the energy it takes to produce and deliver that good or
service.
1. On-demand production (which permits predictive inventory management so
producers don't have to over produce, which causes waste and inefficiency
and is therefore unsustainable, or under produce which causes shortages and
high prices, which is also unsustainable) 2. Decentralized production (which
assures there's no dependence on a few suppliers) 3. Renewable production
(which assures there's no dependence on scarce resources) 4. Scalable
production (which assures that volume is not limited by the production
process) 5. Open source production and "share alike" licensing (which
assures that the good or service can be produced by anyone, while enforcing
social and moral rights of the originator, not their right to a monopoly.)

When the above conditions are met, for any given good or service, that good
or service should be available to everyone who wishes to have at the cost of
energy it takes to produce and deliver it.

So if health care (as a service) was to meet the above conditions then a
visit to the dentist should not cost more than what it takes in energy to
render that service.
[edit<http://p2pfoundation.net/P2P_Energy_Economy?title=P2P_Energy_Economy&action=edit&section=8>
]
Things Cost Less Over Time

Given continuous technological progress, work done today should take less
energy to do in the future.

While that's true for the current economy, the P2P Energy Economy channels
the profit motive (or greed) into achieving higher and higher efficiencies
in the use of energy (in producing and delivering products and services) so
given the currency does not lose its work value in energy more and more can
be purchased with less and less currency.
[edit<http://p2pfoundation.net/P2P_Energy_Economy?title=P2P_Energy_Economy&action=edit&section=9>
]
Good Things Come to Those Who Care

In today's economy socially, environmentally and ecologically conscious
producers of goods and services are beginning to see increased sales, but
only in very limited niches and local markets.

In the P2P Energy Economy consumers identify, as part of each purchase of
goods or services, the required attributes (for the given good or service)
as well as their social, environmental and ecological values, which allows
them to find producers (of the given good or service) who support their
values. This means that money flows more in sync with society's values.
[edit<http://p2pfoundation.net/P2P_Energy_Economy?title=P2P_Energy_Economy&action=edit&section=10>
]
The More You Share, The More You Have

In the P2P Energy Economy, in order for producers to grow their revenue they
have to share it with others.

The way it works is by rewarding producers who lend money to others (with no
interest) with bigger access to the market, such that the more they lend the
bigger their to the market.
[edit<http://p2pfoundation.net/P2P_Energy_Economy?title=P2P_Energy_Economy&action=edit&section=11>
]
Increased Autonomy Through Increased Inter-Dependence

In the current economy, reliance on one or few major players in each given
market has created an unsustainable system. When the top 2 or 3 investment
banks in each country failed the entire global financial industry collapsed,
which has caused the global economy to falter (search: global economic
meltdown 2008.)

In the P2P Energy Economy, increased autonomy is achieved by putting power
with the whole rather than with one or few major players.

The current economic meltdown (search: global economic meltdown 2008) is a
proof that we have reached or are reaching the limits of sustainability for
the current economic paradigm, and that 'peer production' (the production of
energy, goods and services by individuals as opposed to utilities and
factories,) will make the system dependent on the people as a whole, instead
of on one or few major players, which, as we can see, based on the current
paradigm, makes the people dependent on the system and renders them helpless
in times of instability, thus perpetuating and even deepening their
dependence on the system.

The key concept behind the P2P Energy Economy is that it replaces increased
dependence by the people on the system (i.e. on the major players) with
increased inter-dependence between equally empowered peers, which puts the
power with the whole and allows both the individual and the system to enjoy
true autonomy.

Monopolies are eliminated in the P2P Energy Economy due to the following
conditions:
1. All goods and services meet the following criteria for sustainable
abundance: a. On-demand production (which permits predictive inventory
management so producers don't have to over produce, which causes waste and
inefficiency and is therefore unsustainable, or under produce which causes
shortages and high prices, which is also unsustainable)  b. Decentralized
production (which assures there's no dependence on a few suppliers)  c.
Renewable production (which assures there's no dependence on scarce
resources)  d. Scalable production (which assures that volume is not limited
by the production process)  e. Open source production and "share alike"
licensing (which assures that the good or service can be produced by anyone,
while enforcing social and moral rights of the originator, not their right
to a monopoly.)  2. Consumers are automatically and anonymously matched to
producers based on the required attributes for the given good or service and
the affinity between the consumer's and the producer's social, ecological
and environmental values.
[edit<http://p2pfoundation.net/P2P_Energy_Economy?title=P2P_Energy_Economy&action=edit&section=12>
]
~~

The rest of the model, including the beginning sections of the User Manual,
can be found at: http://p2pfoundation.net/P2P_Energy_Economy

All the best,

Marc
p.s. Michel, would love to blog this on P2Pf once James gives me access.
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