Empowering Communities: Decentralizing Supermarkets Through Public Ownership and Control

date: "2023-11-11"

categories:

  • "blockchain"
  • "cryptocurrency"
  • "governance"
  • "policies"
  • "politics"

Traditionally, supermarkets have been hubs for a wide array of products spanning diverse categories, including but not limited to Fruits and Vegetables, Cooked Food, Grocery, Clothing, Shoes, Bags, Jewelry, Hardware, Electronics, Metal Hardware (such as cookware), Electrical items, House building materials (like cement and pipes), Nursery and Agricultural products (including biofertilizer), and Medicine.

What if we make supermarkets under public ownership, allowing communities to collectively govern and manage these essential retail spaces?

How does a supermarket simplify things? By consolidating a diverse range of retail items into one convenient location, it achieves this goal while also generating various other advantages. Here's a breakdown:

  1. Centralized Accessibility: Supermarkets serve as a one-stop destination where consumers can access a comprehensive array of products, spanning from groceries to clothing and electronics. This centralized approach streamlines the shopping experience, saving time and effort for customers.

  2. Labor Cost Reduction: Supermarkets leverage automation to minimize labor costs. Automated checkouts, inventory management systems, and other technological innovations contribute to operational efficiency and cost-effectiveness.

  3. Regulatory Ease: The concentration of products within a supermarket makes regulatory compliance more manageable. Regulations related to labeling, quality control, and other standards can be consistently applied in a centralized manner.

Example of Community Governance that corporate governance unlikely to do it:

Best Practices

To illustrate, consider the role of community governance in shaping the practices of a supermarket:

  • Reducing Plastic Usage: Community governance can swiftly enforce decisions to eliminate plastic bags and encourage the use of sustainable packaging. This proactive approach aligns with environmental goals, reducing the ecological footprint of the supermarket.

  • Promoting Reusability: Empowered by community-driven initiatives, supermarkets can facilitate the use of reusable containers. Shoppers are encouraged to bring their containers for items like beverages and cooking oil, contributing to a reduction in single-use plastic.

  • Supporting Local Production: Community governance can actively endorse and support local producers, ensuring their products are featured in the supermarket at fair prices. This strategy fosters a more equitable marketplace, circumventing the potential monopoly that corporate supermarkets might impose.

  • Curbing Fast Fashion: Community governance can implement policies favoring sustainable and ethically produced clothing. This may involve supporting local designers, promoting clothing recycling programs, and discouraging the sale of fast fashion items known for their detrimental environmental and ethical impacts.

  • Promoting Healthy Eating: The community, through governance mechanisms, can encourage the stocking of nutritious, minimally processed foods in the supermarket by taxing or regulating unhealthy food. This initiative aims to combat the negative health effects associated with ultra-processed foods, polished cereal grain and others, contributing to a healthier community overall. Over 20% of people have fatty deposits on the liver, mostly due to poor eating habits.

  • Repair Services: Promoting the repair of electronic products, such as smartphones, aligns with the 'right to repair' movement and contributes significantly to sustainability. Encouraging the repairability of electronic devices empowers consumers to extend the lifespan of their gadgets, reducing electronic waste and the environmental impact associated with manufacturing new products.

  • Sustainable Housing: A community-run supermarket fosters a sustainable housing community, accommodating 5000 or more people in pockets without inducing urban sprawl. This approach conserves space, preserving spaces for forests.

  • Profit sharing: Supermarkets and various supply chains can each have their decentralized governance token, enabling different stakeholders to participate and receive incentives based on their contributions. Consumers, for instance, can receive a monthly Universal Basic Income (UBI), empowering them to make purchases and contribute to poverty reduction or elimination. The token's value can be collectively determined by the community or stakeholders through consensus, where a token design with fair incentive system results in greater profitability.

In essence, the community run supermarket becomes a reflection of community values, responding to environmental concerns, supporting local businesses, and promoting sustainable practices by decreasing negative externalities. This community-driven model stands in contrast to corporate supermarkets, which may prioritize profit over such community-centric considerations.

Supermarkets, when governed by the community, have the potential to be more socially responsible, environmentally friendly, and supportive of local economies. This scales globally, as blockchain works in a borderless manner.

Regulation doesn't mean governance will control prices, control exports or imports, and disrupt the free-market system of discovering prices for goods and services through demand and supply. It is about making the supply chain more efficient and handling negative externalities.

Community Kitchen Proposal

The Community Kitchen initiative aims to bring culinary experiences by fostering a diverse range of both nutritious and delicious meals. The current lamentable state of hostel and hotel food prompts an exploration into the roots of the problem, attributing it to governance issues and the influence of capitalism on the food industry.

Key Components of the Incentive System:

  1. Cook Appointment and Compensation: The heart of the kitchen lies in the cook, and their appointment and fair compensation are crucial for maintaining culinary standards.

  2. Food Quality Oversight by Experts: Incorporating food science experts ensures a stringent quality check, elevating the overall nutritional and taste profile of the meals.

  3. Provision of Essential Groceries: A seamless supply chain for necessary groceries guarantees a well-stocked kitchen, essential for preparing diverse and wholesome meals.

  4. Rent Payment through Governance: Rent payments facilitated through a transparent governance or community ownership model for kitchen spaces ensure a stable and conducive environment for culinary pursuits.

  5. Automation and Cooking Tools: Investing in kitchen automation and providing appropriate cooking tools not only enhances efficiency but also encourages innovative and diverse culinary creations.

  6. Security Measures: Implementing robust security measures protects both the kitchen rooms and tools, preventing misuse or theft and ensuring the sustainability of the community kitchen.

  7. Consumer Participation in Governance: Empowering consumers to contribute to the decision-making process by aiding in the appointment of food science experts and cooks promotes expertise and active engagement. The more involvement in governance, the greater the voting power, fostering a system where competence and commitment are rewarded.

By addressing these key elements in the incentive system, the Community Kitchen strives to create an environment where the preparation of food becomes a collaborative and rewarding venture, promoting both health and culinary diversity.

The Community Kitchen serves as a particularly valuable resource for women seeking remote employment, offering a solution that helps them save time on cooking and dish washing. This communal space not only addresses the practical challenges of balancing work and household responsibilities but also creates a supportive environment for those engaged in remote jobs.

How much time does it take to create 15-minute cities?

It doesn't take very long. However, with the existing model, it's hard for small shopkeepers to set up shopping malls because it requires huge investments, and common people don't have that much capital. Therefore, they can only set up small shops.

Advantages of Supermarkets Over Small Shops

Let's first analyze why people go to markets. The reason is not solely for shopping; they also seek entertainment, recreation, food, and social connections. Therefore, if you set up a supermarket within a 5-15 minute walk or cycling distance, people are likely to visit.

As everything is available there, they will prefer the location, even if it's not roadside. Food stalls in supermarkets are crucial, as many patrons opt for a quick meal. Additional entertainment options, such as movies, can be provided on a semi-big screen, with the potential for success if prices are kept low to stimulate demand. Furthermore, the establishment of indoor gardens is essential, as greenery contributes significantly to the recreational atmosphere.

Now, let's discuss funding.

How can we support shopkeepers? Even a semi-decentralized smart contract on the blockchain can work, and it has become easier to implement. Some trusted entities, especially stakeholders, can remain in governance, selected through effective voting methods.

One can use stablecoins, such as gold-backed cryptocurrencies or USDT, in the smart contract. Alternatively, other cryptocurrencies can be considered, especially if stability is not a primary concern and they are viewed as an investment.

All funds collected from sales are held in escrow within the smart contract, minimizing the chances of fraud.

Equitable money distribution and inclusivity

Then, money is distributed based on input and maintenance costs. Salaries for employees are determined through a good voting method, where all employees participate. More efficient and utilitarian employees can receive higher salaries, while less efficient individuals may receive slightly lower compensation. Salary distribution aims for equity, avoiding extreme discrepancies seen in the current capitalist system where CEOs or owners may receive salaries 100 times higher than other employees.

Since it's community-run, there is the potential for a more equitable distribution of wealth. Furthermore, diversity among employees can be actively encouraged, including the inclusion of women, individuals with disabilities, those from different religious backgrounds, and members of the LGBTQ+ community.