Valuing Past Work
A Dynamic Balance in Pooling Past and Future Value
In my journey from working with currency-based systems to walking into promise theory and ancient forms of economics, my focus shifted toward commitments for future goods or services. I saw how promises—represented by vouchers or tokens for future assets—could serve as powerful tools for economic commons. So much attention was on these future commitments—that certification and attestation of past actions or contributions took a back seat.
This changed when
had a breakthrough idea: why not use a similar structure for certificates of past actions as we do for commitments of future actions? By creating and validating digital certificates for completed work—such as a community member’s hour of water catchment labor—we could track contributions just as clearly as promises of future work. These certificates could be denominated in specific units, such as hours worked or quantity completed, and could be issued as digital attestations to those who did the work.Suddenly, a new layer of possibilities opened up. Certificates, representing past actions or resources already contributed, could be pooled and exchanged just like future-oriented vouchers. Imagine a system where these certificates for past work could enter a resource pool, gaining the same potential for exchange and value as tokens for future commitments. In this way, a pool could allow certifications—like carbon credits or completed hours of community service—to be exchanged for other assets, stable coins, gift cards or even community commitments for future goods or services.
With this understanding, we saw how commitments—both past (certificates) and future (vouchers)—could be brought together within resource pools, vastly broadening the potential of what we now call the Commitment Pooling Protocol. Here’s how it works.
How Commitment Pooling Protocol Works
The Commitment Pooling Protocol revolves around four core functions that keep the resource pool balanced and sustainable, whether the assets represent past contributions or future promises:
Curation: Stewards select and organizes what assets or commitments are allowed into the pool. With this protocol, commitments can be future-oriented (e.g., a voucher for a service yet to be performed) or proof-based (e.g., a certificate verifying past work). Curation determines what qualifies for the pool, whether it’s a carbon credit, a service voucher, or an hour of labor already completed.
Relative Valuation: Relative Valuation assigns a value to each asset within the pool. This value may shift depending on factors like demand or urgency. For instance, the value of a certificate for one hour of water conservation work might increase during a drought season, while future-oriented tokens might adjust based on demand for specific services. This function keeps the pool adaptive and responsive to changing needs, making sure resources flow to where they’re most needed.
Limitation: Limitation protects resources from overuse by setting caps on how much can be accessed at once. For example, a certificates for completed work might have a redemption cap to ensure there are enough resources for everyone. This function preserves balance, gives reciprocal drawing rights and prevents the pool from depleting too quickly.
Exchange Logic: Exchange Logic determines how assets move in and out of the pool. It includes:
Seeding: Contributions are added to the pool, increasing available assets.
Exchanging: Commitments, whether they’re certificates of past contributions or vouchers for future goods, can be traded for other assets in the pool. Exchange fees can also be added to reward pool stewardship work.
With these functions in place, the Commitment Pooling Protocol creates a structured, resilient resource pool where both past contributions and future promises can be valued, protected, and exchanged effectively.
A Simple Example
Imagine a community where individuals are rewarded with digital certificates for each ecosystem stewardship activity they take part in —whether by planting trees, reducing waste, or engaging in water management. Each certificate represents a proof-based commitment: it’s attested evidence of ecosystem stewardship efforts already completed.
Using the Commitment Pooling Protocol, these certificates can be pooled and exchanged for other assets. For instance:
Curation: The pool accepts verified ecosystem stewardship credits, issued by trusted entities, along with stable coins or other future-oriented tokens that can initially be seeded into the pool.
Relative Valuation: stewardship credits might be valued higher during a high-demand period, adjusting their worth based on ecological urgency. For instance stewardship credits for one hour of labor could be valued at $4 USD worth of assets in the pool.
Limitation: To ensure resources last, the pool may limit how many stewardship credits can be exchanged before they are removed from the pool.
Exchange Logic: Anyone could seed the pool with accepted assets and participants’ stewardship credit can then be exchanged for other assets like stable coins or even vouchers for future goods. Other assets can be exchanged into the pool to pull out the stewardship credits - so that more stewardship credits can enter.
Why This Matters: The Power of Combining Past and Future Commitments
By recognizing both past and future commitments in network of pools, we open up entirely new possibilities for resource coordination. Pools can incorporate carbon credits, certificates for community work, vouchers for services, and more—all within a single framework. This approach brings balance and flexibility to resource systems, allowing for a dynamic flow that adapts to both current needs and future plans.