[P2P-F] What is a fair economic system to you?

Sat Dec 17 02:30:29 CET 2011

As some of you may know i am trying to create/simulate a fair economic
system. I would like the opinion of the members of this list as to what is
in their opinion a fair economic system. I write down a few thoughts of
mine.

To simplify things, lets assume that there are infinite natural resources
and that all can discover each other and they have infinite time to
bargain. Let us also assume that no one can cheat, everyone plays by the
rules.

The first most reasonable rule is this one:

   1. *The owner of a thing is the person that decides the way that this
   thing will be used or decides the transfer of ownership to another person.
   (trading)*

 Each person is the owner of the products of his work.

I think that the first rule could describe the idealization of our current
economic model.

Since all natural resources are infinite, the only reason for someone to
transfer the ownership of his work would be if ,in that way, he could
obtain something he likes and is a product of someone else s work. That
product could have been created in the past or will be created in the future

The creation of promises adds a new characteristic to our system. It gives
it memory. Things that happened in the past affect the future. They
specifically affect the ownership of the wealth that is created in the
future.

I will now write my second rule under which an economic system is fair and
show that for the second rule to work the first rule needs to be changed
slightly.

     2. * At every single moment, each person should have equal opportunity
to create or obtain wealth(products) for himself.*

The most important part of the rule is that it should happen always.

In other words , we want the memory of our system to not affect the
equality in opportunity to create or obtain wealth for ourselves.

 *Now I will explain in my opinion why the first rule gives our system
memories that affect the second rule.*

I will now create a very specific example that will demonstrate those bad
memories.

Two beings A and B exist in Mars. They have their own will, don’t like to
work, in fact they can only work 8 hours a day, and abide by the first rule.

A likes apples and oranges and can make apples and everything else except
oranges.

B likes apples and makes oranges.

A can make 3 apples a day and the best possible outcome would be to have 1
apple and 1 orange a day.

B makes 1 orange a day and wants exactly 1 apple a day.

If A doesn’t have his orange he is 2 times worse than B when he doesn’t
have his apple.

In any case we can create an example of 2 persons in which A gives 2 apples
to B to receive an orange based solely on the first rule.

The fact that A is forced to give 2 apples is the way trading works.* **Please
notice that the difference in the state of their condition is affected only
by 2 factors, their needs to a product and their abilities to create
products.*

Also note that wealth will be accumulated in the hands of B but till now,
past created wealth doesn’t not affect how new wealth is distributed. Our
second rule still works.

 Now lets go 2000 years in the future. (these apples cannot rot, lol)

A new invention is found and is known to both.

B decides to give oranges to A only if A creates a tool based on this
invention.

A has no other choice than to accept.

Now B is the owner of this tool that could allow A to make apples at one
third of the work.

Now A would certainly like to work 2/3 of the previous time to create 6
apples in which he would give 5 to B if B gave him the tool and one orange
every day. Now B is given 5 apples instead of 2.

 *What is important is not that he is given more apples than before. That
could have happened anyways. The important thing is that the memory of the
system has played an important role in the bargain.*

*In other words, now there is a 3rd factor, the memory of the system.*

This contradicts our 2nd rule since there is a factor that is not dependent
on the current qualities of the persons.

In conclusion , in an ideal world where the 1 rule applies, it is possible
for the second rule to not work.

 It is also important to note that we started in a state where the both
rules worked and went into another where the 2nd didn’t work.

This is important to the p2p movement because a lot of projects try to
decentralize, distribute the means of production, ie they are trying to go
to a state where both rules work and they dont think whether our way of
tracking ownership and promises could revert their efforts.

*Let us also note that the second rule doesn’t prohibit a world in which
someone is richer than another. In fact we can create an economic system in
which the huge inequalities in accumulated wealth wouldn’t not affect the 2
nd rule.*

 *What kind of 'laws' should we put in order to have both rules obeyed and
what is your ideal economic system?*

 --

Sincerely yours,
     Apostolis Xekoukoulotakis
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