C5.1 Proven Component Foundation
Implementation Viability. Can the system actually be built and sustained?
Pass threshold
≥70% of system components proven through ≥20 years operation at scale ≥10,000 participants, with documented outcomes matching claimed benefits
Clause by clause:
- ≥70% of system components proven through ≥20 years operation at scale ≥10,000 participants
- with documented outcomes matching claimed benefits
What it asks
Build on empirically validated mechanisms, ≥20 years in operation, rather than untested speculation.
Why it matters
Theoretical elegance matters little if implementation repeatedly fails. Best frameworks synthesize proven components from diverse sources rather than proposing entirely novel mechanisms with unknown failure modes.
How it is measured
Component validation (years of successful operation for each mechanism). Scale validation (number of participants in proven implementations). Outcome validation (documented achievement of claimed benefits).
Examples of proven components
Alternative currencies: WIR Bank (90 years operation, billions in annual turnover). Community land trusts: 313 U.S. CLTs, 10x lower foreclosure rates. Sovereign wealth funds: Alaska PFD (40+ years), Norway (271% GDP). Cooperative governance: Mondragón (70+ years, 97% survival rate).
How scores are anchored
1.0, pass
Cite specific components with specific track records. Market Socialism (1.0): "Mondragon Corporation: 70+ years, 80,000+ worker-owners, €12 billion revenue... 97% survival rate over 5 years vs 44% for traditional startups."
0.5, partial
Individual components are proven but the integrated system is not, or the historical precedent's outcomes are mixed/contested. Integral (0.5): "Individual components proven: 70%+ of pieces have 20+ years validation... Integrated system unproven: No actual Integral implementation exists at any scale."
0.0, structural failure
No components with a comparable track record exist; the system is a novel projection. FALC (0.0): "No comprehensive FALC system exists anywhere... entirely theoretical projection."
Normative roots
From N9 (Partial Deployability) + N8 (Epistemic Adaptability).
How the systems score
1.0, pass
0.5, partial
CCO-PTF-CIP-SZH, Participatory Economics, Integral, Degrowth Economics, Nordic Social Democracy, Market Socialism, Sovereign Wealth Fund Statism, Georgism / LVT, Islamic Finance, Mutual Credit / LETS, State Capitalism / Singapore, Universal Basic Services, MMT + Job Guarantee, Status Quo Market Capitalism, State Capitalism / China, Stakeholder Capitalism, State Capitalism / Qatar, Doughnut Economics, Libertarian Minarchism, Centrally Planned Socialism
0.0, structural failure
Sources
Definition: Paper Section 6; restated in v2.0 (NEEC_Criteria_v2_s45.md, Appendix V). Anchors: Paper Appendix H.7.