More Governments Show Interest in New Economic Yarsdsticks “It’s the economy, stupid,” Bill Clinton’s 1992 campaign advisors famously declared. Today, more governments might add nuance: “It’s about well-being.” Prosperity, to be sure, but prosperity with a purpose. Economic Advance (credit: Grand Velas) Recently, China and the United Kingdom were added to the growing list of governments interested in redefining the very purpose of economies. China and the U.K. are only the latest countries to focus on delivery of well-being rather than economic output alone. Growing official interest in alternative measures of progress suggests that a material yardstick may have reached the limits of usefulness in many wealthy countries, an auspicious development for the advancement of sustainable economies.
Virtual Money in Electronic Markets and Communities by Levent V. Orman Cornell University - Samuel Curtis Johnson Graduate School of ManagementJune 7, 2010 ICAST Journal of Institute for Communication, Social Informatics, and Technology, Forthcoming Johnson School Research Paper Series No. 27-2010 Abstract: Money is an information system to value, record, and track economic transactions. It is an information system with minimal semantics and centralized control. Consequently, the monetary system fails to support many transactions directly, but requires intermediaries such as banks, brokers, insurance companies, credit card companies, and investment firms, increasing transaction costs greatly. Number of Pages in PDF File: 21 Keywords: Virtual Money, Electronic Money, Networked Money, Peer-to-Peer Networks, Semantic Money, Private Money, Decentralized Money, Electronic Markets, Disintermediation Accepted Paper Series Suggested Citation Orman, Levent V., Virtual Money in Electronic Markets and Communities (June 7, 2010).
Monetizing Intangible Capital The following video series was recorded at the Future Of Money and Technology Summit in San Francisco on February 28, 2011. The name of this panel is Monetizing Intangible Capital. The speakers are Mary Adams (moderator), Art Brock, Greg Wendt, and myself. All six parts are posted below (8-10 minutes each) for public distribution, comments, and review. I found this panel to be extremely interesting and especially valuable since these panelists represents an important cross section of professionals who are actually doing the hard work of designing, testing, developing, and producing specifications for the creation, storage, and exchange of what could represent a large percentage of the value in our global economy. Mary Adams opened the panel with a remarkable statistic that 80% of our economy exists in the form of intangibles that do not necessarily show up in the balance sheet of the global economy – which is notably in crisis at this time. Monetizing Intangible Capital Part 1/6
Interview: How Bitcoin Created a Decentralized Crypto-Currency Bitcoin is an open source, peer-to-peer electronic currency created by Satoshi Nakamoto and maintained by a small team of developers. As part of what's turning into an ongoing series on the distributed Web, I talked to contributor Gavin Andresen about how the software works. This is a technical overview. If you're interested in an economic or political look at the software, you can read the Wikipedia entry or Niklas Blanchard's essay on the project. Klint Finley: Could you give us a brief overview of what Bitcoin is for the unfamiliar? Gavin Andresen: Sure. And how does it work? Everybody trying to create bitcoins and everybody trading bitcoins is connected by a peer-to-peer network. The really novel idea is a mechanism for preventing bitcoins from being spent more than once WITHOUT relying on a central authority. The other mostly new idea is limiting the supply of bitcoins without relying on a central authority. How do you accomplish these things without a central authority? Why is that?
Symbionomics: The Film Quantum money from Knots Peter Shor who developed a quantum algorithm for factoring primes, is now discussing quantum money. Money, either in the form of bills or information on a computer, should be impossible to copy and also should be verifiable as good money when tendered to a merchant. Quantum mechanics may make this possible to achieve with far greater security than can be achieved without quantum mechanics. Quantum money is a cryptographic protocol in which a mint can produce a quantum state, no one else can copy the state, and anyone (with a quantum computer) can verify that the state came from the mint without sending the money back to the mint. I will present a concrete quantum money scheme based on quantum superpositions of diagrams that encode knots. Quantum money from knots (22 pages) Quantum money is a cryptographic protocol in which a mint can produce a quantum state, no one else can copy the state, and anyone (with a quantum computer) can verify that the state came from the mint.
The Bank of Facebook: Currency, Identity, Reputation There has been much speculation recently about the role Facebook Credits could play in becoming a global virtual currency, and even the possibility of Facebook becoming a bank. In many ways, it already is becoming a bank – just not in the traditional sense. Facebook is harnessing the power of the social graph, and has certainly adopted an expanded definition of what ‘currency’ means. It’s time for the rest of us to hop on board. As I’ve been conducting research for The Future of Facebook Project, the experts and thought leaders interviewed shared some compelling views about the evolution of virtual currencies, and Facebook’s potential role in their development. Money is a tool we use for arms-length transactions, where there isn’t an assumption of any kind of relationship or trust between parties. What this means is that money isn’t the only kind of currency that can facilitate a transaction anymore. Credits as Currency Identity as Currency Reputation as Currency New Currencies = New Banks
Living Economies Forum Agenda for a New Economy - from phantom wealth to real wealth Agenda for a New Economy: From Phantom Wealth to Real Wealth David C. Korten Paperback, 2nd Edition, August 2010, 288 pages List Price: $19.95. Price: $15.95 (You Save 20%) And eligible for FREE Shipping on orders of $25 or more. Nearly two years after the economic meltdown joblessness and foreclosures are still endemic, Wall Street executives are once again getting massive bonuses, and there doesn’t seem to be the will in Washington to make desperately needed fundamental changes to the economy. In this revised and updated edition Korten offers more in-depth advice on how to mount a grassroots campaign to bring about an economy based on locally-owned, community-oriented "living enterprises," whose success is measured as much by their positive impact on people and the environment as by their positive balance sheet. 2011 Independent Publisher Book Award silver medalist. You Might Also Be Interested In: The David Korten Book Set
Summify - The Old Economy’s Not Coming Back. So What’s Next? Meet the people and ideas on the cutting edge of the movement for a new economy. posted May 26, 2011 Editor's Note: When our friends at The Nation asked us to share this article with you, we were excited. The idea that we need a “new economy”—that the entire economic system must be radically restructured if critical social and environmental goals are to be met—runs directly counter to the American creed that capitalism as we know it is the best, and only possible, option. The new economy movement seeks an economy that is increasingly green and socially responsible, and one that is based on rethinking the nature of ownership and the growth paradigm that guides conventional policies. That the term “new economy” has begun to explode into public use in diverse areas may be an indication that the movement has reached a critical stage of development—and a sign that the domination of traditional thinking may be starting to weaken. Democratizing Ownership New Economy, New Ways to Work
french - Comment l’économie du partage crée du lien social Alors que les échanges marchands créent de plus en plus d'exclusion sociale et de défiance, l'économie du partage, par le don, transforme les relations grâce à la reconnaissance et l'inter-dépendance. Le XXème siècle aura été incontestablement celui de l’échange marchand. Jamais l’humanité n’avait autant commercé, exporté, importé. Jamais les transactions n’avaient été aussi simples et rapides. Bizarrement, alors que les hommes entraient toujours plus en interaction et devenaient toujours plus dépendants les uns des autres, ce XXème siècle aura connu un immense délitement des structures sociales traditionnelles sans création d’autres structures alternatives efficaces. Ce paradoxe bizarre entre l’accroissement des relations humaines et la diminution du lien social pourrait-il trouver une explication dans la nature trompeuse de l’échange marchand ? Quand l’échange marchand abolit la relation Frédéric Laupiès, Leçon philosophique sur l’échange Don et contre-don Photos flickr stevendepolo
New Economy Working Group | Equitable economies for a living earth.