What is the Wave community currency?
by Tim Jenkin, founder of the Community Exchange platform
In the context of the Community Exchange System, which of these statements are conceptually true and which are false?
“I’ve got two hundred Waves left”
“I’ve run out of Waves”
“He now owes me five hundred Waves”
“I gave him a hundred Waves in exchange”
“I borrowed two hundred Waves”
“I transferred seventy Waves to his account”
“I got it for free”
“My expenditure exceeds my income”
Answer: they are all false!
As has been said many times before, Waves are a unit of measurement; not a count of ‘coins’ or discrete objects. Waves don’t exist, so we can’t apply quantitative descriptors as we do when we talk about money.
Saying you have “run out of Waves” is the same absurdity as saying you have “run out of kilometres”. Running out of Waves is another way of saying you are seriously incapacitated or dead!
Waves are a measure of the value provided by one party to another (or received by one party from another). As ‘value’ is an abstract concept, it has both objective and subjective components – often expressed as ‘exchange value’ and ‘use value’. Waves thus measure the amount of effort or energy put into something provided, or the ‘use’ the recipient derives from what is received.
It is important to avoid using “money language” in the Community Exchange System because it affects how we relate to one another and influences our outlook on life. If we see others as a source of money (or Waves) then what we provide is geared towards maximising that amount of money. This frequently involves dishonesty or exaggeration about the ‘use value’ that the recipient will derive from receiving our service or product.
When something is sold in the regular economy, the amount of money in the seller’s purse, wallet or bank account goes up. The purpose of the trade is fulfilled and the product or service has been exchanged for money. The transaction is complete.
When something is provided in the “Wave economy”, there is no expectation that the recipient will provide anything in exchange. The Wave amount entered in the database is merely a memory of how much value was given/received; it is not a ‘payment’. There is no ‘movement’ of Waves from one account to another and no completed transactions. Life is a continuous, open-ended cycle of giving and receiving. Those who have received are obligated to give and those who have given are entitled to receive. This might all seem academic but if we free ourselves of the “money-mindset” we begin to see that giving and receiving is a social activity, not a closed, private one where the parties attempt to benefit themselves at the expense of the other.
Social giving and receiving is different from working for money. The former binds and reminds us that we are dependent on each other while the latter reinforces the idea that life is a dog-eat-dog existence.
So…
“I’ve got two hundred Waves left” – “I’d better start doing something”
“I’ve run out of Waves” – “I must do something so I’m entitled to receive what I need”
“He now owes me five hundred Waves” – “Let me enter that trade record”
“I gave him a hundred Waves in exchange” – “I received a hundred Waves-worth of value”
“I borrowed two hundred Waves” – “I’ll spend an hour mowing her lawn”
“I transferred seventy Waves to his account” – “I entered the trade as buyer/receiver”
“I got it for free” – “He gifted me”
“My expenditure exceeds my income” – “I’ve received more than I’ve given”