ECON-LETS Digest: Dual accounting/flows?

Topics of the day:

1. Dual accounting/flows?

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Date: Sat, 5 Jun 2010 12:14:34 +0200
From: David Stodolsky
Subject: Dual accounting/flows?

Here is the grand vision:

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Current economic theory jumps thru a lot of hoops to get around one of its limits: The fundamental theoretical problem of a single market for commodities and labor. That is, all inputs to wealth production are denominated in a single unit of exchange. Using Internet technology, it would be possible to implement a distributed planning system that would account separately for these two inputs.

This would allow anyone to suggest a plan. The plan would be announced and then others could offer hours toward completion of the plan. If enough hours of the needed type were offered, then the plan would move to a funding stage, which would require cash inputs for purchasing of needed commodities.

Except for raw materials, all commodities require inputs of labor. Thus, one type of plan could be for the production of commodities that could then be sold to raise cash. Raw materials could be considered to be the property of the State, which could sell them off through a commodity market. The money raised would then be distributed as a basic income to all citizens. This would replace all kinds of transfer payment and supply the minimum cash needed for existence.
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It appears that current LETS systems support the elements of this approach to some degree. There are plans that include both LETS hours and government currency to be accounted for separately. There are also a number of experiments related to using cryptographic techniques permitting the generation of a medium of exchange in a distributed manner. I have proposed a distributed decision-making method that could be extended to include planning elements:


Extended abstract (5 min. read):

Stodolsky, D. S. (2002). Computer-network based democracy: Scientific communication as a basis for governance. Proceedings of the 3rd International Workshop on Knowledge Management in e-Government, 7, 127-137.

http://dss.secureid.org/stories/storyReader$14


Comprehensive

Stodolsky, D. S. (1995). Consensus Journals: Invitational journals based upon peer review. The Information Society, 11(4).

http://dss.secureid.org/stories/storyReader$19



Is anyone aware of theoretical work or software that relates?


dss

David Stodolsky, PhD Institute for Social Informatics
Tornskadestien 2, st. th., DK-2400 Copenhagen NV, Denmark
dss@secureid.org Skype: davidstodolsky

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End of ECON-LETS Digest - 25 Mar 2010 to 5 Jun 2010 (#2010-3)