The Protocol: VDES

A new paradigm requires a new operating system. The Value-Driven Economic System (VDES) is an open-source protocol designed to solve the existential threats of AI-driven unemployment and fiat inflation, creating a stable, resource-based, and human-centric economy.

Motivation: The Problem

The VDES protocol is designed to solve two existential threats simultaneously:

• The Automation Problem: Tying human survival to labor income becomes socially catastrophic when AI and automation can perform most measurable tasks.
• The Inflation Problem: Traditional Universal Basic Income (UBI) models are unsustainable because the value of the fiat currency they distribute is constantly eroded by centralized monetary policy.

VDES reframes economics as a "social consensus engine," decoupling human sustenance from volatile labor and monetary accumulation.

Core Mechanics: A Two-Part System

VDES consists of two interoperable components designed to create a transparent, decentralized market for value, not speculation.

1. The Indication Currency (UBN)

This is the "circulatory system" that provides for Universal Basic Needs (UBN). It is a demand signal, not a store of wealth.

• Universal Basic Needs: A fixed, non-accumulable $3,000 "Indication Currency" is allocated monthly to every verified unique human.
• Democratic Demand Signal: This currency acts purely as a democratic demand signal. The collective flow of spending is an aggregated "vote" on what the community values, providing a clean signal for public goods.
• Non-Accumulative Design: Unspent funds "Burn-on-non-spend" (e.g., revert to a community-governed Public Goods Pool) after 30 days. This creates constant velocity and makes capital hoarding impossible.

2. The True Cost Ledger (TCL)

This is the "sacred accounting system." It ensures all costs are transparent and based on the planet's actual resources, eliminating monetary inflation.

• Resource-Based Cost: The TCL is an on-chain ledger that defines a product's cost in transparent, verifiable resource units.
• Verifiable Inputs: It tracks the mandatory inputs for production: kWh energy, kg materials (categorized by scarcity), and verified Human Labor Hours.
• The Scarcity Multiplier: The core pricing formula is Cost = Σ(Resource Units × Scarcity Multiplier).
• Democratic Governance: This "Scarcity Multiplier" is adjustable via DAO governance. This allows the community to democratically decide the social tax on finite resources, carbon emissions, or rare earth metal usage.

Community Impact: A New Foundation

This system is designed to create a more cooperative, stable, and sustainable foundation for society:

• Builder Empowerment: The Indication Currency provides the clearest, most democratic demand signal ever created, allowing builders to confidently create projects the community actually values.
• True Decentralization: By giving every individual the same economic vote, VDES mitigates plutocracy and moves governance from "Token-Weighted Voting" to "Human-Weighted Value Signaling".
• Inherent Sustainability: The TCL forces transparency, creating a built-in economic incentive for building resource-efficient, low-footprint public goods.