Energonomy: when joules become a public language.
Not a declaration that economics is over. A testable thought experiment about a society that sees its energy and material constraints directly.
The end of the proxy?
If reliable access to energy becomes universal, the attraction of money as a claim on future survival could weaken. But energy alone does not provide land, rights, skilled work, time, trust, or raw materials. Price signals and politics might change rather than vanish.
From opaque accounts to visible budgets
Imagine households seeing the usable energy available now, projected seasonal production, storage commitments, and material throughput. Forecasts become inspectable, not perfect: weather, equipment failures, behavior, heat losses and social priorities remain uncertain.
Autotelic creation
With essential energy access protected, art, science and making could become less dependent on paid employment. Yet scarce locations, human attention, ecological limits and the freedom to dissent still matter.
The ten-thousand-fold request
In this scenario, a request for exceptional shared energy resources can become explicit. Accountability should concern resource impacts and agreed rules—not force people to reveal private activities or seek approval for every unusual idea.
What remains political?
Who owns generation? Who sets access guarantees? Which reserves are public? Which ecological harms are acceptable? Who audits the sensors and models? Perfect measurement cannot decide competing values.