The basis of ABC Squared Economics is having the ability to channel energy toward our external goals in order to develop a more vibrant economy for individuals and the collective. By empowering people with a simple means of directing the flow of their economic energy, the intention is to develop the highest capacity for well-being as individuals and as a collective by more effectively realizing and sharing assets.
The ABC Squared Economics model builds on the four avenues through which people participate in society: the Artistry of life, innovation in Business, engagement through Citizenry, and the development of Community. Obviously, each avenue reaches greater levels of complexity, and the paths do cross, yet these four activities account for the bulk of human behavior. This allows for a good starting point in understanding where we are, what we have to work with, and where we are going.
“This new generation of networked people understand they are living through a third industrial revolution,” writes Paul Mason in Postcapitalism: A Guide To Our Future, “but they are coming to realize why it has stalled: with the credit system broken, capitalism cannot sustain the scale of automation that is possible, and the destruction of jobs implied by the new technologies. The economy is already producing and reproducing a networked lifestyle and consciousness, at odds with the hierarchies of capitalism. The appetite for radical economic change is clear. The next question is: what do we have to do to achieve it?”
It is my contention that we have to empower people to cultivate these four aspects of their lives: Artistry, Business, Citizenry, and Community. The digital innovations at our disposal makes it possible to have an open source, transparent economic system that will reflect our true wealth rather than usurp it. Since roughly 92% of the monetary supply is digital and has no physical existence, building on blockchain technology could allow us to not only track the flow of each unit of currency but also empower us to direct it to create the economy we want rather than the one that is mandated to us.
Online reality is the art of this generation. As such, each activity and every transaction has an artist behind it. Either through the product being sold or merely the pressing of keys to deliver information electronically, we are creating commercial presence. Thus, each of us that contributes to the digital economy is an online Artist.
Of course, the internet is largely a virtual representation of actual human society; whatever we do with our time and talent individually contributes to the Art of life. As such, although ABC Squared Economics has been designed with digital transactions in mind, it has the capacity to help us channel our energy in the physical world as well.
In the growing gig economy, many people play various roles. As we participate in the four facets of our being, as Artists, Businesses, Citizens, and Community members, we have the capacity to generate financial flow through multiple sources of income. Ultimately, all that we do, through Business, Citizenry, and Community contributes to the Artistry of our lives. Finding ways to recompense, reward, and remunerate those who contribute to our lives is one of the primary tasks of ABC Squared Economics.
In order to share your art, from design and manufacturing to advertising and distribution, there are multiple people who contribute to bringing it to life and bringing it to market. Each of these people is a Business contributing to the Artistry of our lives and empowering us to share what we have to offer. As they continue to provide service, we have the capability of creating streams of residual income for them.
Historically, we have practiced a hierarchical means of Citizenry by paying taxes levied by governments. Since 1912, the US government has enforced an income tax philosophy that takes away hard-earned money from citizens in order to sustain government’s own growth. However, the upsurge in freelancers, independent contractors, and smart contracts is making obsolete many unnecessary complexities throughout the Internal Revenue Service.
Our growing technological capacity offers us the opportunity to be much more efficient. As blockchain technology and smart contracts become more prevalent, we eliminate the need for middlemen, which is the essence of government, and we could direct our individual wealth directly to causes we believe in and support. We no longer need to as dependent as we have upon governments to manage our finances and resources when we can decide which endeavors should move forward and minimize the responsibility of elected officials to more managerial roles.
Because all of our activity, our Artistry, Business, and Citizenry, has an impact on the world in at least some way, be it emotional, educational, environmental, or otherwise, we each contribute to the Community in order to support the greater whole. This is where we have historically created charitable organizations and nonprofit corporations to clean up our messes, fill in the gaps, and promote the things we love that don’t fit as easily into the Market Economy. For those of us who have a passion to see good done in the world and to do good ourselves, contributing to our community by helping the less fortunate, healing the injured, educating others, and celebrating beauty is a very important part of our individual economic activity.
The hope for ABC Squared Economics is put people in the driver’s seat, where they belong. By encouraging people to cultivate the four aspects of their lives and empowering them to channel their own economic energy, people will be able to drive the economy, and people will be able to finally drive the democracy. ABC Squared Economics seeks to offer a map through which to navigate this web of networks, teams, enterprises, and ecosystems we’re creating.
I look forward to making this journey with you.
