[p2p-research] Fwd: Persistence of Manipulative/Controlling Power Due To Scarcity

[marc fawzi]

Hi all,

Just wanted to update you on the latest views emerging from P2P Energy
Economy <http://p2pfoundation.net/P2P_Energy_Economy> debate.

This, being an evolving attempt to build a better -yet inclusive- model of
the economy, may or or may not be fully congruent with any
established/entrenched views and it may contain quite a few blind spots,
depending on your viewing angle.
 *
Persistence of Manipulative/Controlling Power Due To Scarcity*

The concept of 'appreciable assets' (or assets that appreciate over time) is
incongruent with the concept of the abundance-based economy defined here.

For example, assuming the current economic system does not exist, a farm
land or a piece of real estate should, under the model defined here, always
be worth the net energy it generates in joule tokens over the lease term. So
the land would be owned by all (or the community) and leased to different
physical users (e.g. hospital, school, factory, household, etc.)

However, given the fact that land and appreciable assets in general are
scarce, there is also a manipulative logic that comes from competition for
scarce things and that factors into the price of all things scarce.

The concept of interest (or the time value of money) is also incongruent
with the abundance-based economic model defined here.

However, people can still gain manipulative power by acquiring scarce assets
(which is not what this model recommends but is not readily preventable) or
by building bigger and bigger production capacities for goods and services.
When it comes to the latter the sustainable maximum size of such capacity
cannot be more than needed to meet existing demand, so no one person's power
can be bigger than the collective power of the community (who collectively
determine the level of demand from a given producer.) Nevertheless, the
community can be fooled into empowering one peer in particular (e.g. due to
that peer's better-quality products/services and better support for social,
ecological and environmental causes.) Such behavior can be remedied through
raising awareness in the community or enforcing anti-trust rules in Lender
Credits, by having an automatic freeze of the peer's lender credit, invoked
when the peer crosses a certain relative-market-share threshold.

Therefore, it is expected that some peers will want to gain in manipulative
power through the acquisition of things that are scare, e.g. gold, land,
real estate, famous art pieces, etc.

Since scarce things (e.g. land) are more efficiently traded using a
scarcity-based currency, e.g. US dollars, the abundance based economy
defined here (the programmable virtual joule token + lender/borrower
credits,) which is model based on higher principles, applies only in a weak
fashion, e.g. for those peers who put principles ahead of their instinct to
manipulate and control.

Trying to find control with control or manipulation with manipulation is an
endless battle.

For example, forcing community ownership of all land in a community to
enable a leasing model for land that is based on the net energy the land is
able to generate, as opposed to an ownership model that is based on the
scarcity of good location, scarcity of good land, and scarcity of land in
general, i.e. a model where peers use manipulative logic in setting prices
for land, is not possible since any peer can go and purchase land right next
to the community border and build a major shopping mall. This model is not
about building an isolated community. If it's to work it must work with (or
in spite of) the scarcity based model that surrounds it and that exists at a
layer below it.

Until the concept of scarcity itself becomes history, the abundance-based
economic model defined here must co-exist with the current scarcity-based
economic model, in such a way as to train people to abandon scarcity based
manipulative behavior and adopt the "more you share, the more you have"
logic of this model.

~~

*Joule Tokens as 'Complementary Currency'*

A very important thing to note about the affinity matrix is that it is used
by buyers to distinguish between producers by the type of currency they
support, which is two types: joule tokens or other currency. The idea is
that consumers will buy more from producers that support joule tokens.

The Affinity Matrix is usable with the existing currency, e.g. US dollars
(circa 2009-nnnn,) but it was designed to be used with the currency defined
under this model, which is, namely, the virtual joule token. Using it with
the existing currency is like using scaffolding to keep an old building
standing. By contrast, the combination of virtual joule tokens and the
Affinity Matrix is like having a brand new building with a much better
architecture.

There are ways peers will price and trade things under this model:

1. People will price/trade most goods and services (all that can be made
abundantly) using joule tokens, based on the energy it costs to produce them
and transport them to the consumer. 2. People will price/trade most scarce
things (e.g. land, gold, real estate, famous art works, etc) using the
existing currency, e.g. US dollars, as scarce things are more efficiently
priced using scarcity-based currency.

Buying/consuming peers can use the Affinity Matrix to avoid purchases (of
goods and services) from those producing/selling peers who demand use of the
existing scarcity-based currency, e.g. US dollars.

~~

Also added the following under *Model's Limits*:

This model does not attempt to enforce any rule that cannot be fully
enforced.

~~

If you'd like to help shape these views as they evolve, as several of you
have done (really appreciate it) then please try to re-scan the updated
model description first R1.33.0:

http://p2pfoundation.net/P2P_Energy_Economy

Thanks for all and any contribution to the ongoing debate.

This model evolves by being open to instability (or revising its own
constraints)


Marc
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