A Protocol for a New Paradigm in Business and Government

A lot of what we rely on existing government and banking infrastructure to do for us is to act as a registry of information. The costs of relying on large, centralized structures for this relatively simple task is becoming more apparent each day. In order to allow for the emergence of something new that does not revert back into the dysfunctional standards, CoGov proposes a protocol for the transparent sharing of operations.

Protocol.Love is a proposal to imbue Loving Kindness into socioeconomic systems. It does so by providing standards through which organizations can embody their commitment to Vulnerable Transparency. Ultimately, by having large amounts of data shared on distributed ledgers with a standard protocol for Vulnerable Transparency, we will be able to algorithmically identify Loving and Kind behavior – which is inherently anti-rivalrous, and omni-win.

Read the background here: A Digital Protocol for Scaling Loving Kindness

Definitions

Current-See / Currency

“All living systems are dynamic. There is always movement and flow.” Human socioeconomic systems are living systems, and are no different in that way. If we can create a socioeconomic environment where the goal is to maximize our ability to SEE the CURRENT in the flows (holopticism) of nature at all levels, we can better mimic those flows in sustainable and regenerative ways in our human systems. Therefore, we believe it is appropriate to use the word currency, or current-see, as a representation of our ability to notice, record, and better synchronize our activities with those flows, both in nature, and in human systems.

Collective

CoGov ontology defines a Collective as a working group of people that share an investment of knowledge, time, talent, energy, money, or some combination thereof, towards a common goal. In the context of digital implementations of governance, a collective is essentially synonymous with a DAO (Distributed Autonomous Organization), but without any associations with older modalities like “blockchain” and the associated limitations of central control (enclosability).

The Reality of Transparency

We should understand that Vulnerable Transparency is always a choice – a choice that takes extra effort. CoGov does not suggest that there should be any punitive approach or attempt to enforce Vulnerable Transparency. The fact is, as more and more data flows into ledgers, we will have the opportunity to test the hypothesis that resistance to transparency is inherently rivalrous behavior. But this is certainly not a given. There are plenty of reasons that a person or group might not make the extra effort to adhere to Vulnerable Transparency.

Just like in nature, a chameleon can stay mostly invisible, but there is still a chance to notice a movement, and to inspect further to see if there is a deception afoot. The same principle applies here.

In order for a Collective to operate with Vulnerable Transparency, what does it need to share?

When to Focus on a Collective Foundational Document

The formation of a Collective usually moves through three phases: Conversation, Interaction, and Transaction.

Conversation happens all the time. Sometimes conversations start to coalesce into something more tangible. As tangibility increases, conversations become more focused around a particular mission or vision. As the group enters into Interaction, participants begin discussing the ways they are aligned and how they could contribute towards it. This is the time to open up the Collective Foundational Document (CFD) Template, and begin working on it as a group. Using the CFD Template, the group will see if they can align on how they wish to Transact with each other. Upon completion of the CFD, the group is ready to begin fully transparent operations.

How does it work?

Collective Foundational Document
Protocol.love brings Vulnerable Transparency to the establishment of Collectives by proposing what the important things are that anyone ought to be able to discover about the Collective. This document is a combination of something like articles of incorporation, combined with something like a lean business plan.

Read more: Collective Foundational Document Template

Currency Categories
In order to create a most holoptic socioeconomic game, protocol.love brings transparency to the flows of energy and interaction that happen in the game. In order to make sense of it all, protocol.love identifies 4 categories of currency.

Influence Currency
An Influence Currency enhances Vulnerable Transparency to decision making processes by providing the ability to have a standard metric for sharing who actually has the influence. When people have influence but do not have a corresponding passion and/or expertise, power dynamics exist that create unnecessary tensions.

Read more: Broken Assumptions of Governance.

Equity Currency
An Equity Currency enhances Vulnerable Transparency by sharing flows around who holds the value of an asset or set of assets (Game A “ownership). Often times, it is the same people who made value contributions to an asset, but not necessarily. Much like how we think of equity in the form of a share of stock, an Equity Currency is a representation of a portion of value of an asset, or a set of assets. The value of a unit of an Equity Currency can be estimated by looking at the total value of the asset(s) that back any particular type of Equity Currency, and dividing by the total number of units of the Equity Currency that has been issued against it. Any Collective can create any number of Equity Currencies, each backed by a different asset or set of assets.

Impact Currency
Protocol.love defines impact as: that which affects the lives of real people. Impact Currency brings Vulnerable Transparency to the ways a Collective is affecting the ecosystems in which it interacts. As impact flows are identified by those outside the Collective, they provide feedback to the Collective about the impacts they are having. With these transparent currency flows being recorded, working relationships can be formed between Collectives to attempt to ensure a net positive impact.

Fiat Currency
Fiat means “by decree”. When creating Currencies for a Collective, we recommend a simple thought pattern to identify which category of currency within which it should fall. Start with the assumption that it is a Fiat Currency. If the currency represents an ownership in an asset, it should be an Equity Currency instead. If the currency represents power in decision making, it should be an Influence Currency instead. If the currency relates to recognizing effects that the Collective is having on things external to the Collective, it should be an Impact Currency instead.

Decision Making
Protocol.love enhances Vulnerable Transparency in decision making by naming the 3 fundamental steps that happen in any group decision making process, and providing the means to share these processes in a way that deeply informs interested parties.

First, there is a proposal made (instantiated). Second, the proposal is discussed (Iterated). Third, the proposal is resolved. Protocol.love provides a standard means for recording Proposal Instantiation, Proposal Iteration, and Proposal Resolution, as well as a means for recording how those processes are handled within the Collective.

Further Reading
Many folks have been reading and collaborating around these ideas since 2016 through a Google Doc which was aptly namedThe Digital Co-Governance Web:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1rAtv9VT68X2BvsZRq_4Hf2nT3aqJopCEFsSlzbn2uEw.