#whitepaper Previous: [[9- A Radical Method of Organization]] The economic paradigm of the day influences all decision-making. It determines the outcomes for everyone who participates in the economy. The results are clear to: Wide income gaps between the richest and the poorest, economic crises that destroy generational wealth, increased productivity while compensation stagnates …  These outcomes are the result of the thinking behind how we structure our economies. John Maynard Keynes probably understood and exemplified this better than any other: > The ideas of economists and political philosophers, both when they are right and when they are wrong are more powerful than is commonly understood. Indeed, the world is ruled by little else. Practical men, who believe themselves to be quite exempt from any intellectual influences, are usually slaves of some defunct economist.                                  <div style="text-align: right"> John Maynard Keynes</div> Economic thought is important. What does that have to do with the blockchain? The blockchain supercharges economic ideas. A crypto-economic system is a set of economic rules that are codified into unbending laws. Traditional economists can only dream of an idea taking on such a powerful form. With blockchain, it’s a reality.   Blockchain fundamentally changes the way value exchanges hands. It gives us tokens. Tokens are creations of our imagination that can have any meaning attached to them. They are digital representations of concepts. They can be built to represent anything.  Economic incentives are embedded into tokens. This allows the creation of new economic paradigms from the ground floor. They can be designed from scratch, made to serve everyone rather than a select few. Next: [[11- Why Cardano]]