A Four-Ledger Economy: Basic, Flow, Care, Earth

[thresholdrepublic]

An economic experiment with ChatGPT. Take it. Leave it. Run wild with it.

Why money exists at all

Money is a pressure-field compression tool.
It:
reduces multidimensional value relations into a scalar,
enables coordination across time and distance,
allows deferred reciprocity,[/li][/list]
lowers transaction friction.

These functions are real and necessary in any society beyond immediate, local exchange.

The problem is not money.
The problem is when money becomes:
detached from physical and social constraints,
self-referential,
optimized independently of harm, ecology, or legitimacy.

That is a pressure-field inversion.
________________________________________
Why pure physical exchange fails
A system based only on direct goods/services:
collapses under scale,
privileges those with physical leverage,
cannot encode future obligations,
makes long-term coordination impossible,
re-introduces domination through scarcity control.

In our framework, this would:
shrink future option space,
increase irreversible harm,
amplify coercive local pressure fields.

So full de-abstraction is not ethical.
________________________________________

What a Threshold Society actually does instead

1. Plural value systems

Instead of one universal scalar (money), there are typed value tokens, each with constraints:
ecological cost tokens,
care/labor credits,
material throughput units,
time-bounded coordination currency.

No single token dominates all domains.
________________________________________
2. Constraint-coupled abstraction

Value representations must:
decay over time,
be traceable to physical reality,
include externality costs,
be non-accumulative beyond use thresholds.

This keeps abstraction grounded.
________________________________________
3. Exit-preserving exchange

No exchange system may:
trap participants indefinitely,
create irreversible dependency,
force participation under threat of survival loss.

Money systems are evaluated ethically as pressure fields, not morally.
________________________________________
The core principle (very important)
Abstraction is allowed only if it preserves future choice, ecological continuity, and legitimacy across interfaces.

Money is therefore:
instrumental, not sovereign
typed, not universal
decaying, not hoardable
auditable, not opaque


A concrete Threshold-Economy prototype

This is a deployable economic architecture for a Threshold Society: it keeps coordination benefits of money without letting abstraction become sovereign.

A. Design goals (non-negotiables)

No irreversible accumulation: wealth can’t become a permanent domination machine.
Plural value types: no single scalar “money” is allowed to price everything.
Externalities are first-class: ecological and harm costs must attach at transaction time.
Exit is protected: participation is not coerced by survival threats.
Legibility + auditability: people can see what’s happening without needing priests.
________________________________________

Minimal token set (typed value)

You can run this with four primary ledgers (tokens), each with explicit scope and constraints:

1) BASIC — universal access credits (anti-coercion floor)
Purpose: guarantee baseline survival goods/services.
Not “earned,” not tradable, not hoardable.
Think: UBI-like but typed: redeemable only for essentials.
Rule: BASIC can’t buy power, influence, or speculative assets.

2) FLOW — general exchange token (coordination without domination)
Used for most ordinary trade.
Demurrage (decay): balances slowly decrease if idle.
Max carry: above a threshold, FLOW auto-converts into public investment claims or decays faster.
Rule: FLOW is for circulation, not storing sovereignty.

3) CARE — relational labor token (health, teaching, caregiving, community repair)
Earned by verified care work or mutual-aid hours.
Redeemable for care services, respite, priority scheduling, and community supports.
Cannot be used to accumulate control over land/media/institutions.
Rule: CARE can’t be converted 1:1 into FLOW at will (prevents care extraction by wealthy).

4) EARTH — throughput/externality token (ecology as a binding constraint)
Every product/service carries an EARTH cost (materials, carbon, biodiversity impact, waste).
Producers must surrender EARTH units to sell goods above a minimal allowance.
EARTH supply is capped by ecological budgets (regionally determined).
Rule: You can’t “outpay” ecology; EARTH is a hard constraint, not a fine.
________________________________________

The “four prices” model (how things are quoted)

Instead of a single price, goods/services are listed as a vector:
"Price"(g)=⟨"FLOW","EARTH","CARE","TIME"⟩

FLOW: coordination cost
EARTH: ecological load
CARE: relational labor load (if relevant)
TIME: queueing / capacity constraint

This prevents the classic failure where money steamrolls everything.
________________________________________

Property and investment (non-sovereign ownership)

Land, housing, and core infrastructure are handled via custody rights rather than absolute property.
Use-rights are long-term and inheritable within limits, but
speculative resale is restricted, and
vacancy/hoarding triggers escalating FLOW decay + custody review.

Investment becomes “funding future capability,” not “extracting rents.”

Governance

local autonomy + global coordination without a global sovereign
You can coordinate at planetary scale with federated constraints, not one world ruler.
EARTH budgets are computed regionally but tied to global ecological indicators through treaties.
Inter-region trade uses exchange rates between token systems, but EARTH remains non-negotiable across them.
Global coordination happens by negotiating caps/standards, not by centralizing power.

Simple rollout plan (realistic sequence)

Launch BASIC + CARE locally (municipal/state scale).
Add EARTH accounting to a limited set of goods first (fuel, concrete, beef, shipping).
Introduce FLOW demurrage and max-carry only after people have BASIC security.
Expand the four-price labeling standard (consumer legibility becomes cultural norm).

Formalizing typed tokens as pressure-field operators

Now the same economy, expressed in your system’s “pressure field” language.
A. State space
Let an agent’s economic state be:
x=(b,f,c,e,k)∈R_(≥0)^5

b=BASIC balance (non-transferable)
f=FLOW balance
c=CARE balance
e=EARTH budget access (allowances/permits)
k=capability state (skills, tools, health; not a token but matters)
A transaction is a transition x→x^'plus world-state updates.

Pressure field as transition cost

Define a pressure functional Pthat assigns a “cost” to any proposed transition τ:
P(τ)=P_"eco"  (τ)+P_"harm"  (τ)+P_"legit"  (τ)+P_"lock-in"  (τ)

Interpretation:
ecological cost
harm/irreversibility risk
legitimacy (fairness, consent, auditability)
lock-in / exit-loss (does this trap someone?)
A Threshold economy is one where allowed transitions satisfy:
P(τ)≤Θ"and" Exit(τ)≥η

(“Exit” meaning reachable recovery/agency states remain available.)

Tokens as operators on the pressure field

Think of each token type as defining an operator that modifies feasibility.

FLOW operator: promotes circulation, discourages hoarding
Let demurrage be:
f(t+Δt)=f(t)" " e^(-λΔt)

This is an operator D_λacting on balances:
D_λ:f↦fe^(-λΔt)

Pressure meaning: hoarding increases cost over time; circulation lowers cost.

EARTH operator: hard constraint on ecological transitions
For a good grequiring ecological throughput ϵ(g), the sale is allowed only if:
e≥ϵ(g)

and update:
e^'=e-ϵ(g)

This is a feasibility operator H(a hard projector):
H(τ)={■(0&"if " e≥ϵ(g)@∞&"otherwise" )┤

Pressure meaning: ecology is not “priced,” it’s typed feasibility.

CARE operator: prevents extraction of relational labor
Model CARE as a domain-restricted conversion:
"CARE"↛"FLOWexcept via limited,audited bridges"

Formally, CARE-to-FLOW conversion is a partial map:
ϕ:R_(≥0)⇀R_(≥0)

with constraints:
ϕ(c)≤α"per period"

Pressure meaning: wealth can’t easily buy unlimited care; care can’t be strip-mined into capital.

BASIC operator: ensures non-coercion floor
BASIC is a protected invariant ensuring survival reachability.
Define a “survival set” S_0of states where essentials are attainable. BASIC guarantees:
∀x" "∃τ" s.t." x→┴⟡(1&τ) x^'∈S_0

This is an exit guarantee operator G:
G:x↦Exit(x)≥η_0

Pressure meaning: nobody is forced to comply with domination to stay alive.

The typed-value theorem (informal but crisp)

Theorem (Anti-sovereignty by typing):
If (i) essential access is guaranteed (BASIC), (ii) ecological throughput is hard-constrained (EARTH), (iii) circulation is enforced and hoarding penalized (FLOW demurrage/max-carry), and (iv) relational labor is shielded from full convertibility (CARE), then no single scalar can dominate all domains of value—preventing totalizing abstraction from becoming a control regime.
This is exactly your “constraint without command” instantiated economically.


What “money” becomes in this formalism

Money is no longer “the value of value.”
It becomes a family of constrained operators shaping feasible transitions—an engineered pressure field that preserves:
ecological continuity,
agency/exit,
legitimacy,
and long-horizon coordination.

Worked examples using the four-price vector

Recall the pricing form:
"Price"(g)=⟨"FLOW","EARTH","CARE","TIME"⟩

And the four ledgers:
BASIC (essential access, non-tradeable)
FLOW (general exchange, decays / capped)
CARE (relational labor, limited conversion)
EARTH (hard ecological constraint)

Example A — Buying a used car (mobility without ecological override)
Scenario: You want a used car from a local dealer.
Step 1: Listing
Dealer posts:
Car: 2016 hatchback
Price vector:
⟨2,800" FLOW"," " 38" EARTH"," " 0" CARE"," " 2" TIME"⟩

Interpretation:
FLOW covers labor, logistics, profit
EARTH covers the ecological footprint of keeping this vehicle in service (maintenance parts, expected emissions allocation, disposal reserve)
CARE not relevant
TIME is the waiting/processing burden (two appointment slots)
Step 2: Feasibility check (hard constraint first)
You must have e≥38EARTH.
If you have only 20 EARTH, the transaction is not allowed, regardless of how much FLOW you have.
That’s the whole point: you can’t outbid ecology.
Step 3: Payment
Balances update:
f^'=f-2800
e^'=e-38
Step 4: Anti-hoarding consequences
No wealth dynamic is created here beyond use. But if the dealer’s FLOW balance exceeds max-carry threshold, excess FLOW:
decays faster, or
auto-routes into public infrastructure bonds (non-dominating investment)
System effect: mobility exists, but is bounded by ecological reality.
________________________________________
Example B — Paying a teacher (protect care from extraction)
Scenario: You enroll in a community art class taught by a skilled instructor.
Step 1: Listing
Class is priced:
⟨60" FLOW"," " 2" EARTH"," " 12" CARE"," " 1" TIME"⟩

Interpretation:
FLOW: supplies, prep, space costs
EARTH: materials footprint
CARE: real relational labor of teaching (attention, feedback, emotional labor)
TIME: seat capacity / scheduling slot
Step 2: Payment
You pay FLOW + CARE + EARTH.
CARE payment may be fulfilled by:
your CARE credits, or
community CARE subsidy if you lack CARE (so care isn’t only for the already “care-rich”)
Step 3: Teacher compensation
Teacher receives:
FLOW for material overhead and living
CARE for the relational labor component
But crucially:
CARE cannot be fully converted into FLOW at will (or else the rich strip-mine care)
The teacher uses CARE to purchase care services, rest, priority healthcare scheduling, childcare support, etc.
System effect: teaching is recognized as real value without turning it into a pure commodity.
________________________________________
Example C — Building affordable housing (four constraints visible)
Scenario: A cooperative wants to build 20 units of housing.
Step 1: Proposal is “four-priced”
Project plan lists:
Materials package:
⟨1.8M" FLOW"," " 9,600" EARTH"," " 1,200" CARE"," " 14" TIME"⟩

Here:
EARTH is huge: concrete, steel, transport, ecological disruption
CARE: community process, conflict mediation, accessibility planning, tenant support design
TIME: permitting + skilled labor capacity
Step 2: EARTH budget gate
The region’s annual EARTH cap determines if this project can happen now.
If the region is over-budget, options are:
redesign with lower EARTH materials,
rebuild elsewhere,
delay until next budget cycle,
or trade EARTH permits with another project (but still under cap).
Step 3: BASIC integration
Tenants’ access to housing is tied to BASIC guarantees: nobody is priced out of baseline shelter. FLOW affects choice/upgrade, not survival.
Step 4: Ownership as custody
Units are held as custody rights:
long-term use security
inheritance under limits
no speculative flipping
vacancy triggers review + penalties
System effect: housing becomes stable and dignified without turning into a sovereign asset class.


Minimal “Threshold Economic Constitution” (operators as rights/constraints)
This is the smallest set of principles that “compile” into BASIC/FLOW/CARE/EARTH without bringing back sovereignty.

Article 1 — The Non-Coercion Floor (BASIC Right)
Every person has unconditional access to a baseline bundle of essentials (food, shelter, basic healthcare, basic connectivity).
Constraint: access to survival goods may not be made contingent on political compliance, ideological loyalty, or economic servitude.
________________________________________
Article 2 — Hard Ecological Constraint (EARTH Supremacy)
All economic activity is bounded by ecological throughput budgets.
Constraint: no payment instrument may override ecological caps; ecological limits are feasibility constraints, not fines.
________________________________________
Article 3 — Anti-Hoarding / Anti-Sovereignty Currency (FLOW Limits)
General exchange tokens must include anti-hoarding mechanisms (demurrage and/or max-carry).
Constraint: accumulation beyond a civic threshold must convert into non-dominating public benefit or decay.
________________________________________
Article 4 — Care as a Protected Value Type (CARE Shield)
Relational labor (caregiving, teaching, healing, mediation) must be protected from extraction by pure capital.
Constraint: CARE is partially non-convertible, and access to care cannot be fully priced by FLOW alone.
________________________________________
Article 5 — Four-Price Transparency (Legibility Requirement)
Any non-trivial good or service must be representable in a multi-dimensional price vector:
⟨"FLOW","EARTH","CARE","TIME"⟩

Constraint: if a transaction hides its ecological or care burdens, it is illegitimate.
________________________________________
Article 6 — Exit and Appeal (Economic Due Process)
All economic subsystems must preserve:
the ability to exit,
the ability to contest,
and the ability to restore agency after harm.
Constraint: systems that create traps (debt peonage, inescapable dependency, opaque scoring) violate legitimacy.
________________________________________
Article 7 — Custody Over Absolute Property (Non-Sovereign Ownership)
Critical resources (land, housing, infrastructure, major media/compute) are held under custody/use rights, not absolute sovereignty.
Constraint: ownership claims may not grant indefinite extraction rights over others’ survival or public option space.
________________________________________
Article 8 — Auditability of Value Operators
Any algorithm or institution that shapes prices, access, or opportunity must be:
inspectable,
contestable,
and designed to prevent coercive pressure-field manipulation.
Constraint: black-box governance of livelihoods is forbidden.