Local economy exercise

Version 1.1

Examples of local economies

Describe a local economy

Criteria

• The economy must be small.

  Membership should be larger than a family but small enough so it would be possible for everyone to know each other personally (even if they may not at any given time). Roughly speaking, the effective community should be within an order of magnitude of Dunbar's number (that is, between 15 and 1500).

• The economy must be many-to-many.

  Peers should be exchanging or circulating equivalent value among themselves. Beneficial though they may be, a local bookstore or farmer's market is one-to-many and so doesn't count.

• The economy must not use a national currency like dollars.

  It may use a cryptotoken if the token is used primarily in that community and not openly traded outside. It's also possible to choose a peer-to-peer economy that functions alongside a more conventional one, for example a food coop where workers contribute hours in return for membership but can separately use dollars to purchase groceries.

• Members must exchange specific goods, services, or knowledge.

  A bowling team or Dungeons & Dragons group without items exchanged doesn't count; neither does a typical chat room. However, a social network with a built-in credibility currency (like subreddit coins) or metric (like Slashdot karma) might.

• The economy must be situated in a place you know well.

  You can choose an economy you know personally or one you can imagine, as long as it is specific to that place.

Questions

1. Where does this economy exist? Be as specific as possible.
2. What specific value (eg, hours, credit, tokens) is exchanged in this economy?
3. How many people are currently part of this economy?
4. How many total people could the economy handle before it broke down?
5. In your judgment, does/could the economy contribute to a healthy social fabric, and why?