Labor note

A labor note is technically a written promise to perform a given amount of labor. Labor notes have been promoted by Josiah Warren in his labor-for-labor payment experiments.

Warren's labor notes used hours of labor as a base unit.

Sample labor note provided by Warren in Equitable Commerce

Advantages over other systems

• The currency is debasement-free. Central banks cannot print labor notes, nor they can be mined. A labor note thus will not devalue over time.
• Central banking as with bank-notes is unnecessary. Individuals are allowed to create a debit of labor toward others, up to a limit which may be set by the local community. There is no usury or charging of interest for a debit.
• Allow labor-for-labor, instead of labor-for-money payment, reducing the chances of exploited labor.

Disadvantages

• Presently, not a commonly recognized form of payment.
• When the labor note is not validated by a trusted third party, the seller is required to verify the identity of the payer.
• Somewhat like banknotes, labor notes may imply a certain amount of bureaucracy, not present in a gift economy.
• Labor notes and associated labor-only prices do not signal short-term oversupply or short-term undersupply of goods, and may delay long-term adjustment of supply.

See also

• Cincinnati Time Store
• Labor theory of value
• Liberty Dollar
• Ithaca Hours