#PEG - Chapter 0 — Why a Specification?

Every monetary system answers the same question:
Who receives access to resources, under what conditions, and according to which criteria?
Governments answer it.
Markets answer it.
Banks answer it.
Algorithms answer it.
Different mechanisms produce different answers.

One assumption remains constant.
Someone—or something—must decide.

For centuries, debates about money have focused on who should exercise that discretion.
Far less attention has been paid to a more fundamental question:
Must discretionary allocation exist at all?

The #PEG Engine is a specification built around that question.
It does not seek to replace markets.
It does not seek to replace governments.
It does not eliminate judgment where judgment is necessary.

It specifies an allocation mechanism in which contributed resources are allocated through publicly verifiable, irrevocable chance rather than discretionary selection.

That proposition cannot be evaluated through opinion alone.
It requires a precise specification.

For that reason, the #PEG Engine will be published as a serialized engineering specification.
It is neither a manifesto nor a white paper.

It is an attempt to determine whether an allocation mechanism based on irrevocable chance can be specified rigorously enough to be implemented independently of any particular technology, jurisdiction, or deployment.

Everything that follows is derived from a single question:
Must someone—or something—always decide who receives access to contributed resources?

The purpose of publishing this specification in serialized form is not merely to present an idea.
It is to expose it to criticism.

If the assumption above is unavoidable, the specification will fail.
If the specification fails, it should fail publicly.
If it succeeds, it will be because the conversation made it stronger.

You’re invited to participate.