Overview

The Earth Change Vending Machine (ECVM) is a (for now fictional) mechanical device which sells a metallic form of money and prints legally-binding paper agreements to help users buy and govern the land and work required to produce all the goods and services they need.

Value Theory

To help us reason about the many different real-world values, we first separate all known “values” into discrete Value Types.

We then define 1 legally-binding Value Token for each Value Type, to thereby gain legal authority over those real world assets.

Value Types

1. Land - Earthly INPUTS required for Production.
2. Work - Human INPUTS required for Production.
3. Production - Finished OUTPUTS such as goods and services.
4. Money - While Money may point at any value, Money is not value.

Value Tokens

1. Deed - A non-fungible, legally-binding proof of ownership in the specific kind of Land required to fulfill 1 kind of Ticket. This has the legal form of private real estate holdings.
2. Contract - A non-fungible, legally-binding commitment to complete the specific kind of Work required to fulfill 1 kind of Ticket. This has the legal form of an employment contract.
3. Ticket - A non-fungible, legally-binding promise to deliver a specific kind of future Production at a projected quantity and quality. This has the legal form of a crowdfunding campaign.
4. Coin - A fungible Money with a circulating_supply limited by the square_meters of Land held under these terms.

Timeline

1. For each parcel currently for sale on the open market, the ECVM mints one Coin for each square meter of that Land.
2. The ECVM then sells those Coins to buy that parcel of Land and startup supplies.
3. The ECVM finally trades that Land for the Work required for Production.
4. Users hold Land and the future Work of others to own future Production.

Terms

• Once sold, Coins cannot be re-inserted into the ECVM and are not used to organize Production in any way.
• Users who buy Coins will rarely sign Contracts, and vice-versa.
  • This is because, if you have enough Money to buy Coins, you are probably less interested in trying to build an ecovillage in the desert. On the other hand, if you are struggling to pay rent, you probably cannot buy Coins, and more willing to sign a Contract.
• Coins do not represent property ownership, bestow no rights of governance, have no redeemable value, and imply no financial returns.
• Each Ticket defines a unique time-window and conditions when it may be redeemed.
  • For example, Tomato Tickets may mature in just a few months, while Avocado Tickets may not produce until many years after the seed is planted.
• Each Ticket must list all Deeds and Contracts required for fulfillment.
  • Each Ticket is only as valid as the Deeds and Contracts required for fulfillment.
• You may participate in a yearly Basic Outcome Auction to organize groups-of-groups, recursively, to share Land and Work across the many supply-chains required for that future Production.
• To begin a Basic Outcome Auction, the ECVM calculates the initial time_per_user by first finding the total_time needed to complete all Contracts required for that specific Basic Outcome, as defined by that group-of-groups, then dividing by the number of Users in that group-of-groups.
  • The ECVM then offers all Contracts at the initial time_per_user commitment.
  • After 24 hours, the time_per_user is reduced for all unsigned Contracts.
    • This is meant to incentivise unpopular and difficult Work.
• The ECVM cannot sell Deeds for Money.
  • You may sell Deeds for Money.
• The kind of Deeds you earn are based on the kind of Tickets you select, not the kind of Contracts you complete.
  • For example, if you select Honey Tickets, you will earn Hive Deeds.
• The amount of Land you earn for the amount of Work you do (your Land/Work earnings ratio) is based on:
  • The market price of the Land you will earn, divided-by the market price of the Work you completed.
  • Your Land/Work earnings ratio must also decrease as your Land holdings increase to ensure all “late” users have a chance to own Land.
• You hold Land (as Deeds), and the future Work of others (as Contract signatures) to govern future Production (as Tickets).

User Actions (Buttons)

fund

• **Add Land** - Submit the size and price of any Land currently for sale.
  • minimum_price_per_coin = (price / total_square_meters) + startup costs.
  • startup_costs = Price of all tools and supplies required to begin Production.
    • startup_costs do not include the market Price of future Work required for Production because Workers receive
      • Product Tickets when they sign a Contract
      • Land Deeds as they complete Contracts.
        • It is suggested the Deed vesting schedule be “daily”.
• Buy Coins - Trade one form of Money for another and hope “number go up”.

build

• Sign a Contract - Trade 1 kind of future Work for many kinds of future Production.
• Work to Own - Complete 1 Contract to earn the many Deeds “backing” your Tickets.

govern

• Select Products - Tickets define which future Production happens.
• Allocate Land - A shared Map defines where Production happens.
• Schedule Work - A shared Calendar defines when Production will happen.
• Split Deeds - Divide Land Deeds (secede from any group) to localize governance.
  • This helps resolve the “Tyranny of the Majority”, especially for larger groups.
• Merge Deeds - Join Land Deeds into groups, and groups of groups to increase efficiency of scale.
  • This recursive grouping enables vertically integrated supply chains.

Notes

See LinkTr.ee/ECVM for further discussion. Prototype at https://near.social/ecvm.near/widget/Earth-Change-Vending-Machine