Peter Joseph on Economic Calculation in Resource-Based Economics

And this leads us to part 3: Economic Organization & Calculation.

The industrial complex

Moving on to the The Industrial Complex, the layout.

This means the network of facilities which are directly connected to the design & database system I’ve just described.

Servers, production, distribution, recycling is basically it - also we’d need to relate the current state of resources, critically important, as per the Global Resource Management Network, another tier, which I’m going to also describe in a moment.

Production, this means of course actual manufacturing, would evolve, as expressed before, as automated factories which are increasingly able to produce more with less material inputs and less machines, ephemeralization. And if we are to consciously design out unnecessary levels of complexity, we can further this efficiency trend greatly with an ever lower environmental impact and resource use while maximizing our, again, abundance producing potential.

The number of production facilities, whether homogeneous or heterogeneous, as they would be called, would be strategically distributed topographically based around population statistics, very simple stuff– no different than how grocery stores today where they try to average distances as best they can between pockets of people and neighborhoods. You could call this the “Proximity Strategy”, which I’ll mention again in a moment. Distribution can either be directly from the production facility, as in the case of an on-demand, custom, one off production or it can be sent to a distribution library for public access in mass, based on demand interest in that region.The library system is where goods can be attained.

Some goods can be conducive to low demand, custom production and some will not be. Food is the easy example of a mass production necessity... while a personally tailored piece of furniture would come directly from the manufacturing facility once created.

I suspect, again, this on-demand process which will likely become equally as utilized as mass production will be an enormous advantage. As noted, on- demand production is more efficient since the resources are going be utilized for the exact use demand as opposed to the block things that we do today.

In the context of the distribution library, inventory is assessed in a dynamic, direct feedback link, of course, between production/distribution and demand.

If that doesn't make sense to you, again – all you have to think about is how inventory accounting and tracking in any major commercial distribution center today, with, of course a few adjustments made in this model. We’re already doing this type of stuff already.

And regardless of where the good is classified to go, whether it’s custom or not – libraries or to the direct user – this is still an 'access system'. In other words, at anytime, the user of the custom good can return the item for reprocessing, just as a person who obtained something from the library can as well.

Since, as noted, the good has been pre-optimized, all goods have been pre-optimized for conducive recycling, odds are the recycling facility is actually built directly into the production facility or the genre production facility depending on how many facilities you need to create the variety of demand.

So again – there’s no “trash” here. Whether it’s a phone, a couch, a computer, a jacket, a book – everything goes back to where it came from for direct reprocessing. Ideally this is a zero waste economy.

Resource Management, Feedback & Value

The Computer-aided and engineering design process obviously does not exist in a vacuum, processing demands input from the natural resources that we have.

So, connected to this design process, literally built into the [Optimize Design Efficiency] function noted prior, is dynamic feedback from an earth-wide accounting system which gives data about all relevant resources which pertain to all productions.

Today, most major industries keep periodic data of their genre materials as far as how much they have but clearly it’s difficult to ascertain due to the nature of corporate secrets and the like. But it’s still done. Regardless, to whatever degree technically possible this is, all resources are tracked and monitored, in as close to real time ideally as possible. Why? Mainly because we need to maintain equilibrium with the earth's regenerative processes at all times, while also, as noted before, work to strategically maximize our use of the most abundant materials, while minimize anything with emerging scarcity.

Value

As far as Value, the two dominant measures, which will undergo constant dynamic recalculation through feedback as industry unfolds, is “scarcity” and “labor complexity.”

Scarcity Value without a market system could be assigned, a numerical value. Say from 1 to 100. One would denote the most severe scarcity with respect to the current rate of use - and 100 the least severe. Fifty would mark the steady-state dividing line.

For example, if the use of wood lumber passes below the steady state level of 50 - which would mean consumption is currently surpassing the earth's natural regeneration rate - this would trigger a counter move of some kind - such as the process of 'material substitution' –hence the replacement for wood in any given future productions, finding alternatives.

And, of course, if you are free market mindset listening to this, you are likely going to object at this point by saying “without price- how can you compare value of one material to another or many materials?”

Simple - you organize genres or groups of similar use materials and quantify, as best you can, their related properties and degree of efficiency for a given purpose, and then you apply a general numerical value spectrum to those relationships as well.

For example, there are a spectrum of metals which have different efficiencies for electrical conductivity. These efficiencies can be quantified. And if they can be quantified, they can be compared. So if copper goes below the 50 median value regarding it’s scarcity, calculations are triggered by the management program to compare the state of other conducive materials in it’s database, compare their scarcity level and their efficiency – preparing for substitution and that kind-of information goes right back to the designer.

And naturally, this type of reasoning might, indeed, get extremely complicated as, again, these are numerous resources and numerous efficiencies and purposes. Which is exactly why it is calculated by machine, not people... and it’s also why it blows the price system out of the water, when it comes to true resource awareness and intelligent management.

"Labor complexity”. This simply means estimating the complexity of a given production. Complexity, in the context of an automated oriented industry can be quantified by defining and comparing the number of “process stages,” if you will. Any given good production can be foreshadowed as to how many of these “stages”of production processing it will take. It can then be compared to other good productions, ideally in the same genre, for a quantifiable assessment. The units of measurement are the stages, in other words. For example, a chair that can be molded in 3 minutes, from simple polymers in one process will have a lower ‘labor complexity’ value than a chair which requires automated assembly down a more tedious production chain with mixed materials.

In the event a given process value is too complex or inefficient in terms of what is currently possible or too inefficient by comparison to an already existing design of a similar nature as well, the design, along with other parameters, would be flagged and hence need to be reevaluated.

Again, all of this from feedback in the Design interface... and there is no reason not to assume that with ongoing advancement in AI, artificial intelligence, [the system] wouldn’t be able to feedback not only the highlight of the problem but it would also create suggestions or substitutions for you to understand in the interface.

Macro-Calculation

Okay. So let put some of this reasoning together and I hope everyone can bear with me. If we were to look at good design in the broadest possible way with respect to industrial unfolding, we would end up with about four functions or processes - each relating to the 4 dominant, linear stages of design, production, distribution, and recycling. The following propositions should be obvious enough as a rule structure. All Product Designs must adapt to [Optimized Design Efficiency]. They must all adapt to [Optimized Production Efficiency]. And they must adapt to [Optimized Distribution Efficiency]. And they must adapt to [Optimized Recycling Efficiency]. Seems redundant but this we have to think about it.

Here is a linear block schematic, as shown before and the symbolic logic representation, which embodies the subprocesses or functions I’m now going to very generally break down.

Process 1

Process 1 , the design [Optimize Design Efficiency] A ‘Product Design' must meet or adapt to criteria set by what we will call [Current Efficiency Standards].

This efficiency process has five evaluative subprocesses, as noted before earlier in the presentation:

1. Durability
2. Adaptability
3. Standardization
4. Recycling Conduciveness
5. maximize automation conduciveness

Further breakdown of these variables and logical associations can be figuratively made as well... of course... which I don’t think is conducive to this type of presentation because we’re going to get lost in every reductionist minutia, but for more detail this stuff will be developed much more and be put into this text which I just describe and will be available for free. I’m going to try to do my best to give the general efficiency process here.

So, in the end, when it comes to this design efficiency process set - we end up with this design function, at the top. And I’ll list, just to see it, I’ll list all of the functions meanings at the end.

We move on to Process two- Production Efficiency.

Process 2

In short, this is the digital filter that moves design to one of two production facility types, one for high demand or mass goods and one for low demand for custom goods.

The first uses Fixed automation - meaning unvaried production ideal for high demand; and the 2nd flexible automation which can do a variety of things but usually in shorter runs. This is a distinction that’s commonly made in traditional manufacturing terms.

This structure assumes only two type of facilities of course. Obviously there could be more based on the production factors, but if the design rules in the process are respected, as expressed before, there shouldn’t be much variety. And over time things get simpler and simpler.

So to state this, I’m just going to run through it for those that like to hear things spelled out like this: -All 'Product Designs' are filtered by a [Demand Class Determination] process - D. The [Demand Class

Determination] process filters based on the standards set for:

• [Low Demand] or
• [High Demand]

All [Low Consumer Demand] 'Product Designs' are to be manufactured by the [Flexible Automation] process. All [High Consumer Demand] 'Product Designs' are to be manufactured by the [Fixed Automation] process.

Also, Both the manufacturing of [Low Consumer Demand] & [High Consumer Demand] 'Product Designs' will be regionally allocated as per the [Proximity Strategy] of the manufacturing facility. This simply means you keep things as close to you as possible, as close to the average of any given demand as far as what type of facility you’re using. And this will change over time as populations change, so you keep updating.

Process 3

Once process 2 is finished, the 'Product Design' is now a ‘Product' and it moves towards [Optimize Distribution Efficiency] in short, all 'Products' are allocated based on the ‘prior’ [Demand Class Determination] as noted before.

So, [Low Consumer Demand] products follow a [Direct Distribution] process. [High Consumer Demand]s follow the [Mass Distribution] process - which would likely be the libraries in that case.

Both of course [Low Consumer Demand] & [High Consumer Demand] 'Products' will be regionally allocated per the [Proximity Strategy], as before.

Process 4

And Process 4, very simple . The 'Product" undergoes its life space. Ideally it’s been updated and adapted, ideally it’s been used to the highest degree and made as advanced as it could within its life cycle. And once it’s done and becomes "Void” it moves to process #4 which is simply [Optimized Recycling Efficiency]. All voided products will follow a regenerative protocol which is a subprocess that clearly I’m not going to go into because it’s deeply complicated and is the role of engineers to develop over time. And this is just a simple macro representation, again, these sub variable or sub processes go on quite a large degree.

So, keeping all this in mind, again a lot of this will be in the text, and hopefully others I think can see this stuff better that are fluent with this type of thinking, hone in and perfect these equations and relationships. What I’ve tried to do here is to give a broad sense of how this type of thing unfolds.

Conclusion

As a concluding statement more or less, the way this extrapolation of sustainability, it’s really quite a simple logical thing. You don’t have to be a rocket scientist to see how things work on this level. So creating a real program that can factor in - what are hundreds if not thousands of subprocess in algorithmic form, as they pertain to such an economic complex, is indeed a massive project in and of itself, but more of a tedious project. You don’t need to be a genus to figure this stuff out. And I think this is an excellent think-tank program for anyone out there that’s interested in projects. I have number of little projects that I’m trying to get going when I have time and one is simply called The Global Redesign Institute, which is a macroeconomic approach to design the entire surface of the planet basically and then this other programming concept where you create an open source platform where people can begin to engineer this very program that I’m describing.

And that’s it. I was going to make a conclusion section to this talk... but it was already way too long. So, I just hope this gives a deeper understanding of the model and how it could work and thank you for listening.

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