Conservation Laws, Money, Engines, and Ontology

[DAVID A MOLNAR]

On Sun, 8 Sep 1996, Greg Kucharo wrote:

>   Here's where reputations could come in.  You cound't open a new account
> anywhere without a good "reputation".  This could aid in balancing the load
> of certain people.
	Hey, if we're going to do that, why not go all the way and 
imagine a "virtuous society" in which e-cash is based on reputation. In 
order to obtain v$, one must submit to a "reputation asessment" by one of 
several firms, which then issue a given amount of v-cash based on their 
findings. An ISP simply requires an arbitrary amount of v-cash along with 
the usual $$ every month. At the end of the month, your friendly Moral 
Monitor greps thru Usenet and all the mailing lists he monitors looking 
for your name, then adjusts your account accordingly. 

Different moral codes would have different agencies. :-)

For this service, of course, you pay a modest fee. But it's a small price 
to pay for spiritual peace of mind. Perhaps we'd see the rise of 
reputation constultants in such a system. How about people with such large 
"fortunes" that they create wealth simply by being associated with 
someone else? 

Don't forget the block meetings. :-> 

-David Molnar

Phil Dick is dead, alas...