METROGLOBAL - Document 4 - Critical Supplies, Invariants, and the Epistemic Boundary of Economy
Year: 2026
Type: report
Abstract: Metroglobal Document 4 specifies the structural relationship between critical supply, value, and Earth-scale invariants within the Metroglobal reference frame. It establishes that critical supplies derive their significance from the values they enable and protect, while invariants define non-tradeable boundary conditions that cannot be substituted, optimised, or compensated through economic exchange. The document distinguishes value from economy by defining economy as a coordination mechanism for trade-offs, while invariants and critical supplies operate outside such trade-off logic. It provides a non-normative, non-prescriptive framework for understanding how factual representation of critical supplies supports viable decision-making across individual, organisational, and societal scales. This document is intended as a reference for standards development, Quality Infrastructure, sustainability assessment, and policy-adjacent analysis. It does not prescribe governance mechanisms, allocation rules, or policy instruments. Keywords: critical supply, value, invariants, sustainability, Quality Infrastructure, epistemology, non-tradeable limits, Metroglobal.
Author: Carlsson, Raul
Institution: RISE Research Institutes of Sweden
Language: English
Subfield: Management, Monitoring, Policy and Law
Field: Environmental Science
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W7124323535