CUEnomics™: The Mathematical Foundation of Canonical Unit Economies and the Architecture of Post-Extractive Economic Systems

Abstract

This paper introduces CUEnomics™, a new field of economic theory and practice that formalizes Canonical Unit Economies (CUEs) — economic systems in which currency issuance is directly tethered to verified, measurable units of capital. Unlike debt-based fiat systems that externalize ecological and social costs, CUEs internalize value through standardized capital units, creating self-organizing, regenerative economic architectures. This framework is grounded in the CUE Equation, a generalized mathematical model that governs the relationship between capital registration, currency issuance, and output generation, with specific application to natural capital through the EcoCommerce™ implementation. Similar to how the Black-Scholes equation enabled the creation of trillion-dollar derivative markets through mathematical precision, the CUE Equation provides the mathematical foundation for potentially transformative regenerative markets, but bounded by ecological and social reality rather than financial abstraction. The EcoCommerce model, utilizing Natural Capital Cells (NCCs) and the NCU-4 framework, serves as the first operational implementation of a Canonical Unit Economy focused on natural capital. Through integration with GADGET™ (Governance Assessment and Design/Governance Evaluation Tool) and formal mathematical structures, CUEnomics provides both theoretical rigor and practical pathways for post-extractive economic systems that align monetary policy with regenerative capacity. This paper establishes the foundational framework for a new economic category and Sustainability Scientific Method that addresses the structural limitations of conventional economics in the Anthropocene era, representing the first economy-defining mathematical breakthrough since the financial innovations of the 1970s.

Keywords: Canonical Unit Economies, CUEnomics, EcoCommerce, regenerative economics, capital-backed currency, externality internalization, post-extractive systems