crco:credit_commons

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crco:credit_commons [2025/12/16 23:34] – [Further resources] Simon Grantcrco:credit_commons [2026/08/11 13:38] (current) – Matthew Slater
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-# Credit commons+This topic is part of [[gt:economy|Economy & finance]]. 
 +====== Credit commons ======
  
  
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-## What's a credit commons?+===== What's a credit commons? =====
  
-It's the 'money system' for the commons economy, if you like. Money in the modern world _is_ credit, and from a commons perspective, that credit should belong to all of us, in common, not the banking system. [Thomas Greco](http://lowimpactorg.onyx-sites.io/posts/future-of-money-thomas-greco) coined the term credit commons to describe a global system of mutual credit networks linked via a protocol.+It's a way of unifying small currency projects into a global 'money system' which is greater than the sum of the parts. Money in the modern world _is_ credit issued by banks for profit, but from a commons perspective, that credit should be issued publicly for the benefit of the community.
  
-A [mutual credit](/mucr/mutual_credit) trading network in any town can be seen as that town's credit commons. So, for example in Bristol, a city-wide mutual credit network could be called Bristol Credit Commons, where credit is held in common - just as housing is held in common in Bristol Housing Commons.+Any [mutual credit](/mucr/mutual_credit) trading network is issuing credit for the good of the community, but that credit cannot leave the local network unless there are signed agreements about what happens if it does not return. The credit commons provides a framework, if not a template for those agreements, in which towns, regions, countries etc can make their own agreements, and make them compatible with their neighbours'.
  
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 <caption> <caption>
-[Thomas Greco](http://lowimpactorg.onyx-sites.io/posts/future-of-money-thomas-greco) coined the term credit commons to describe a global system of mutual credit networks linked via a protocol.+_[Thomas Greco](http://lowimpactorg.onyx-sites.io/posts/future-of-money-thomas-greco) coined the term credit commons to describe a global system of mutual credit networks linked via a protocol._
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-A global credit commons can be built by federating local trading groups together (but with autonomy for local groups), and the tool for doing that is the Credit Commons Protocol (see below). So we can talk about credit commons as a concept, but use capital letters when we talk about a town's network, the global network or the protocol. +We can speak of a credit commons which exists between all humans who ever lend and borrow. The Credit Commons Protocol offers a path to formalise this into a true financial system, with federated governance and infrastructure.
-### Global Credit Commons+
  
-We need scale to challenge the current money system, but starting at scale involves massive cost and risk (of failure or corporate takeover). Credit commons is about federating small, local schemes to get to scale.+A protocol is a bit like the rules of chess. To exchange with each other, we have to agree about how we keep score, otherwise there'll be free-riding, disagreements etc. With chess, if someone has a different idea about what chess is, you're not going to be able to play with them. 
  
-The global Credit Commons concept is like the Internet – something that we can all plug into. It can incorporate business networks that trade with each other using mutual credit, fiat, crypto or barter, or anything else. But their relationship with the rest of the CC will be a mutual credit relationship.+==== Global Credit Commons ==== 
 +The [[local currencies]] in recent decades and before have made little impact on people's lives or on the larger financial system. There are many reasons these systems were not adopted _en masse_ as their advocates hoped, but remain marginal until attention and resources run out. The Bristol Pound lived for a decade and consumed a few million real pounds of funding, but when the funding stopped there was no momentum.
  
-Elinor Ostrom, in _[Governing the Commons](http://lowimpactorg.onyx-sites.io/wp-content/uploads/ostrom_1990.pdf)_, suggested that to grow, commons should be 'organised in multiple layers of nested enterprises', which is exactly what the CC does, in a recursive, fractal way, like [sociocracy](/soci/sociocracy), but for trade rather than governance.+But there is another way to scale - by making myriad tiny projects interoperable. That is the vision of the credit commons. No matter how the small the group, it should be able to become part of a larger network and trade with that network using its own credit. 
 + 
 +Elinor Ostrom, in _[Governing the Commons](http://lowimpactorg.onyx-sites.io/wp-content/uploads/ostrom_1990.pdf)_, suggested that to grow, commons should be 'organised in multiple layers of nested enterprises', which is exactly what the CC does, in a recursive, fractal way, like [sociocracy](/soci/sociocracy). Groups of groups of groups, but for trade rather than governance.
  
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-Unlike commodities that have been used as a means of exchange – like gold – credit money doesn't have to be dug out of the ground, transported around and stashed in vaults, with all the cruelty, environmental damage and wealth concentration that entails.+_Unlike commodities that have been used as a means of exchange – like gold – credit money doesn't have to be dug out of the ground, transported around and stashed in vaults, with all the cruelty, environmental damage and wealth concentration that entails._
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-### Credit Commons Protocol +==== Credit Commons Protocol ====
- +
-Matthew Slater and Tim Jenkin introduced the Credit Commons Protocol via a [White Paper](https://creditcommons.net/assets/credit-commons.pdf) in 2016. It's a set of standards and rules that govern how transactions are recorded and managed within a network. It utilises digital ledgers, similar to blockchain, to ensure transparency, security, and accountability. However, it differs from blockchain in emphasising mutual credit rather than cryptocurrencies.+
  
-A protocol is a bit like the rules of chess. To exchange with each other, we have to agree about how we keep score, otherwise there'll be free-riding, disagreements etc. With chess, if someone has a different idea about what chess is, you're not going to be able to play with them.+_Matthew Slater and Tim Jenkin introduced the Credit Commons Protocol via a [White Paper](https://creditcommons.org/assets/credit-commons.pdf) in 2016._ It's a set of standards and rules that govern how transactions are recorded and managed within a network. Each group has its own (digital) ledger, and there are rules for trading accross ledgers. Although it uses hashing to ensure consistency, this is not a [[blockchain]] architecture.
  
 The Protocol doesn’t just keep track of balances, it checks members' balance limits, and prevents transactions that violate those limits. So you don’t just need trust and collaboration, you need balanced trade within the network, to allow members to buy and sell without becoming stuck at their limits. The Protocol doesn’t just keep track of balances, it checks members' balance limits, and prevents transactions that violate those limits. So you don’t just need trust and collaboration, you need balanced trade within the network, to allow members to buy and sell without becoming stuck at their limits.
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-With chess, it doesn’t matter about the design of your board, or the appearance of the pieces – if the game adheres to the rules of the World Chess Federation, anyone who knows how to play chess can still join in. The same is true of local groups and the Credit Commons Protocol.+_With chess, it doesn’t matter about the design of your board, or the appearance of the pieces – if the game adheres to the rules of the World Chess Federation, anyone who knows how to play chess can still join in. The same is true of local groups and the Credit Commons Protocol._
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-Interview about credit commons with Tom Woodroof of [MCS](https://www.mutualcredit.services/) and [Local Loop Merseyside](https://localloop-merseyside.co.uk/).+_Interview about credit commons with Tom Woodroof of [MCS](https://www.mutualcredit.services/) and [Local Loop Merseyside](https://localloop-merseyside.co.uk/)._
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 +===== What are the benefits of credit commons? =====
  
-## What are the benefits of credit commons? +- **Democracy:** it's clear from the name that the means of exchange is credit (a relationship) rather than a commodity or token (a thing), that can be hoarded, accumulated and lent at interest, which concentrates wealth, creating inequality and [preventing real democracy](/demo/democracy).
- +
-- **Democracy:** it's clear from the name that the means of exchange is credit (a relationship) rather than a commodity or token (a thing), that can be hoarded, accumulated and lent at interest, which concentrates wealth, creating inequality and [preventing real democracy](/thde/the_democracy_problem).+
  
 - **Community:** credit commons is inherently community-based, and thrives on trust and cooperation. Communities can be geographical or based on shared interests and goals. Communities get control over their own economies, fostering trust and co-operation and a culture of mutual aid. - **Community:** credit commons is inherently community-based, and thrives on trust and cooperation. Communities can be geographical or based on shared interests and goals. Communities get control over their own economies, fostering trust and co-operation and a culture of mutual aid.
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 <caption> <caption>
-Elinor Ostrom, in _[Governing the Commons](http://lowimpactorg.onyx-sites.io/wp-content/uploads/ostrom_1990.pdf)_, suggested that to grow, commons should be 'organized in multiple layers of nested enterprises', which is exactly what the credit commons does.+_Elinor Ostrom, in_ [Governing the Commons](http://lowimpactorg.onyx-sites.io/wp-content/uploads/ostrom_1990.pdf), _suggested that to grow, commons should be 'organized in multiple layers of nested enterprises', which is exactly what the credit commons does._
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 <caption> <caption>
-Credit commons doesn't require money – ideal for communities that don't have much of it.+_Credit commons doesn't require money – ideal for communities that don't have much of it._
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-## What can I do?+===== What can I do? =====
  
 The main route to a global Credit Commons is via [credit clearing](/crcl/credit_clearing) and [mutual credit](/mucr/mutual_credit) – tools that can be used by networks of trading businesses. Credit clearing networks are growing in places like [Liverpool](https://localloop-merseyside.co.uk/), in ways that will be replicated everywhere. Local mutual credit networks can be generated from clearing schemes, or started by a group of small businesses that trade with each other regularly. [Contact us](http://lowimpactorg.onyx-sites.io/about/contact/) if you're part of a group that may be interested, and we'll put you in touch with specialists who can help. The main route to a global Credit Commons is via [credit clearing](/crcl/credit_clearing) and [mutual credit](/mucr/mutual_credit) – tools that can be used by networks of trading businesses. Credit clearing networks are growing in places like [Liverpool](https://localloop-merseyside.co.uk/), in ways that will be replicated everywhere. Local mutual credit networks can be generated from clearing schemes, or started by a group of small businesses that trade with each other regularly. [Contact us](http://lowimpactorg.onyx-sites.io/about/contact/) if you're part of a group that may be interested, and we'll put you in touch with specialists who can help.
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-The protocol really is a commons. It belongs to everybody who uses it. The code is all open-sourced and free to anybody to use and even change to suit themselves.+_The protocol really is a commons. It belongs to everybody who uses it. The code is all open-sourced and free to anybody to use and even change to suit themselves._
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-A ‘commons economy app’ will be developed with 3 accounts – a wallet for shopping, using discounted vouchers bought with cash; a mutual credit account for trading – i.e. where you do your business; and a future use vouchers account, for savings / pension, where vouchers for essentials can be aggregated. The three accounts are connected, and eventually, all transactions can be via mutual credit rather than bank money.+_A ‘commons economy app’ will be developed with 3 accounts – a wallet for shopping, using discounted vouchers bought with cash; a mutual credit account for trading – i.e. where you do your business; and a future use vouchers account, for savings / pension, where vouchers for essentials can be aggregated. The three accounts are connected, and eventually, all transactions can be via mutual credit rather than bank money._
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- 
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-### Credit commons and the commons economy+==== Credit commons and the commons economy ==== 
 + 
 +Tom Woodroof of [MCS](https://www.mutualcredit.services/) and [Local Loop Merseyside](https://localloop-merseyside.co.uk/) explained how various aspects of the commons economy can be connected via the CC Protocol:  
 + 
 +> “the vision is that you’ll have a wallet app on your phone. If you’re a business, you can add your invoices so that you can do credit clearing. You’re also part of a mutual credit network within that larger clearing network, so you have a mutual credit balance. In other parts of your life, you’re a consumer, so you have a balance showing how many local retail vouchers you have, and then you also have a balance that shows your rent credit obligations as a tenant of the local housing commons or your energy vouchers in the local energy commons. This will be one app with different modules/accounts, all interoperable".
  
-Tom Woodroof of [MCS](https://www.mutualcredit.services/) and [Local Loop Merseyside](https://localloop-merseyside.co.uk/) explained how various aspects of the commons economy can be connected via the CC Protocol: “_the vision is that you’ll have a wallet app on your phone. If you’re a business, you can add your invoices so that you can do credit clearing. You’re also part of a mutual credit network within that larger clearing network, so you have a mutual credit balance. In other parts of your life, you’re a consumer, so you have a balance showing how many local retail vouchers you have, and then you also have a balance that shows your rent credit obligations as a tenant of the local housing commons or your energy vouchers in the local energy commons. This will be one app with different modules/accounts, all interoperable_". 
  
-### Credit Commons Society+==== Credit Commons Society ====
  
 The [Credit Commons Society](https://creditcommonssociety.org/) (CCS) has been set up to to foster an ecosystem of groups and networks supporting the Credit Commons, and will be involved in its governance. You don’t want the same people running the system and providing governance oversight. A body with experienced 'elders' will provide governance. It's intended to function as a foundation (like the [Linux Foundation](https://www.linuxfoundation.org/), for example, or in the case of the chess analogy above, like the World Chess Federation), helping build a global Credit-Commons-enabled economy. The [Credit Commons Society](https://creditcommonssociety.org/) (CCS) has been set up to to foster an ecosystem of groups and networks supporting the Credit Commons, and will be involved in its governance. You don’t want the same people running the system and providing governance oversight. A body with experienced 'elders' will provide governance. It's intended to function as a foundation (like the [Linux Foundation](https://www.linuxfoundation.org/), for example, or in the case of the chess analogy above, like the World Chess Federation), helping build a global Credit-Commons-enabled economy.
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-Matthew Slater and Tim Jenkin introduced the Credit Commons Protocol via a [White Paper](https://creditcommons.net/assets/credit-commons.pdf) in 2016.+_Matthew Slater and Tim Jenkin introduced the Credit Commons Protocol via a [White Paper](https://creditcommons.org/assets/credit-commons.pdf) in 2016._
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 +===== Forum =====
  
-## Further resources+This topic belongs to the section [[gt:economy|Economy & finance]]. You can ask questions or add information on the corresponding [Forum section](https://forum.growingthecommons.org/t/economy). 
 + 
 +===== Further resources =====
  
 - Tom Greco, _[the End of Money and the Future of Civilisation](https://beyondmoney.net/welcome-to-the-new-2024-edition-of-the-end-of-money-and-the-future-of-civilization/)_ - Tom Greco, _[the End of Money and the Future of Civilisation](https://beyondmoney.net/welcome-to-the-new-2024-edition-of-the-end-of-money-and-the-future-of-civilization/)_
  
-- [Credit Commons Protocol](https://creditcommons.net/)+- [Credit Commons Protocol](https://creditcommons.org/)
  
 - [Credit Commons Society](http://lowimpactorg.onyx-sites.io/posts/introducing-the-credit-commons-society/) - [Credit Commons Society](http://lowimpactorg.onyx-sites.io/posts/introducing-the-credit-commons-society/)
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-## Specialist curators of this topic 
  
 +===== Related topics =====
 +
 +- [Mutual credit](mucr:mutual_credit)
 +- [Commoning](comg:commoning)
 +- [Commons economy](coec:commons_economy)
 +- [Use-credit obligations](ucos:use-credit_obligations)
 +- [Collaborative finance](cofi:collaborative_finance)
 +- [ROSCAs - rotating savings & credit associations](rosc:roscas)
 +- [Housing commons](hoco:housing_commons)
 +- [Credit clearing](crcl:credit_clearing)
 +
 +
 +===== Specialist curators of this topic =====
 +
 +  * [[user:matslats|Matthew Slater]] of [[https://creditcommons.org|CreditCommons.org]]
 +  * [[user:mrauchs|Michel Rauchs]]
 +  * [[user:dil|Dil Green]] of [[https://www.mutualcredit.services/|Mutual Credit Services]]
  
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