Commutalisme
Black market & arbitrage
Partially resolvedIf a modest household can buy a TV at −50 % and resell it to a wealthy person at −20 %, the grey market explodes. Low-income buyers become "proxy purchasers", siphoning merchant margins.
Monthly quota per category: each EUDIW wallet limits the number of discounted purchases per product category (e.g. 2 TVs/quarter/household). Beyond that, standard pricing applies.
Digital marking of durable goods: the purchase credential in the EUDIW wallet can link the good to its buyer (non-transferable for N months).
Anonymised AI detection: a risk score (calculated locally via ZKP) detects abnormal patterns — a flag is sent without revealing the identity.
Natural immunity of perishables: food, medicines, services — which represent most spending by modest households — are economically impossible to arbitrage.
Mid-value durable goods (appliances, clothing) remain exposed. Quotas and EUDIW marking are technically feasible but require sufficiently widespread wallet adoption to be effective.
Surveillance & logistics
Technically resolvedVerifying income at every purchase — a baguette, a train ticket — implies an absolute financial surveillance infrastructure: an omniscient central server consulted in real time at every transaction.
The answer rests on Zero-Knowledge Proof (ZKP) cryptography and the EUDIW wallet:
Tax attestation
On-device calculation
To terminal
- The EUDIW wallet stores a tax attestation (updated quarterly). This attestation encodes the income bracket, not the exact amount.
- At checkout, the wallet locally generates a ZKP proof: "My coefficient is X.XX" — without ever transmitting raw income or identity.
- The merchant terminal receives only the coefficient. It calculates the adjusted price. No personal data is transmitted. No central server is consulted.
Conditional on adoption of the EUDIW wallet (eIDAS 2.0, rollout 2026) and prerequisites 01, 02 and 03.
Geographic imbalance
Resolved — mechanism to make explicitA bakery in a disadvantaged suburb sells only at floor price. A boutique in a wealthy district generates super-profits. The system reproduces and amplifies territorial inequalities.
Whatever the buyer's income, the merchant always receives at least 40–90 % of the base price (depending on the product category). The commerce's economic survival is protected.
40 % of the 5 % levy on company turnover feeds a regional equalisation fund. This fund redistributes to merchants in disadvantaged areas, compensating for sales consistently close to the floor.
The formula uses the regional median as reference. In a poor area, the rare affluent buyers have a high local ratio and pay even more — which partially compensates the sector's low median.
Compensation flow (simplified diagram)
Margin surplus
40% → Fund
Regional redistribution
Compensation received
Technical detail at Prerequisite 15 .
Wealth ignored
Partial acknowledged limitA retired landlord owning three Parisian apartments but declaring €800/month pension pays the "poor" price. A young executive earning €3,000/month with no assets pays the "rich" price. The model ignores stocks.
Productive wealth covered: rental income, dividends, capital gains, and annuities are already taxable income declared to the tax authority. They naturally enter the commutalist base.
Dormant wealth voluntarily excluded: the value of an unrented primary residence generates no flow — commutalism targets income flows, not capital stocks. Imposing an "imputed rent" would be a heavy and politically sensitive constraint.
Future path: optionally integrating the Haig-Simons method (imputed rent for homeowners) as a corrective variable — a checkbox in the EUDIW wallet, voluntary and incentive-based, not compulsory.
Macroeconomic equation
Acknowledged limitReplacing VAT (≈€157bn/year), income tax (≈€92bn) and social contributions with a 10 % flat tax above median and 5 % on turnover seems mathematically incapable of funding the State and pensions.
Public services also adopt dynamic pricing: hospitals, transport, universities, energy — their "revenues" come from adjusted prices too. Redistribution happens through prices, not taxation.
Estimated receipts: the 5 % levy on turnover applies to the entire economic fabric. In France, company turnover exceeds €5,000bn/year — 5 % represents €250bn gross. The 10 % flat tax above median completes the picture.
| Levy | Current system | Commutalism |
|---|---|---|
| VAT / Consumption tax | ≈ 157 Mds € | 5% CA → ≈ 250 Mds € |
| Income tax | ≈ 92 Mds € | Flat 10% > médiane |
| Social contributions | ≈ 440 Mds € | Public services at dynamic prices |
We honestly acknowledge that full macroeconomic viability has not yet been validated by an independent economic study. This is a priority workstream. If you are an economist or researcher, your contribution is welcome.
These objections feed our roadmap. Every open challenge corresponds to an active workstream.