Wealth as Domain-Bound Competence

PAAS rejects only the generalization of wealth-derived competence beyond its relevant domain.

The Principle

In traditional governance systems, wealth often translates directly into influence regardless of domain relevance. Token-weighted voting exemplifies this: holding tokens grants governance power over technical decisions, protocol changes, and community direction—regardless of whether the token holder has any relevant expertise.

PAAS takes a different position: wealth constitutes legitimate competence only within domains where capital ownership, risk, or allocation are epistemically relevant.

Domain Relevance

Wealth-derived competence is legitimate when:

• Treasury decisions — Allocating funds requires understanding of capital management
• Investment choices — Risk assessment benefits from skin-in-the-game
• Resource distribution — Those bearing financial risk have relevant perspective
• Infrastructure funding — Capital providers understand sustainability constraints

Wealth-derived competence is NOT legitimate when:

• Protocol design — Technical expertise, not capital, determines quality
• Security decisions — Cryptographic knowledge, not wealth, determines competence
• Community governance — Social dynamics, not financial stake, determine legitimacy
• Technical architecture — Engineering skill, not investment, determines capability

The PAAS Approach

PAAS separates these domains explicitly:

• W_H (Hard Competence) captures verified credentials and domain-specific expertise
• W_S (Soft Competence) captures demonstrated performance and peer recognition
• Neither component is derived from wealth — financial stake does not translate into governance weight outside capital-allocation domains

This means a wealthy member may have significant influence over treasury decisions (where capital expertise is relevant) but minimal influence over protocol decisions (where technical expertise is relevant).

Why This Matters

This separation prevents the two failure modes that plague token-weighted systems:

1. Plutocratic capture — Wealth buys influence over domains where wealth is irrelevant
2. Expertise dilution — Capital providers override technical experts on technical matters

PAAS rejects only the generalization of wealth-derived competence beyond its relevant domain.

Also see: Dual Competence | Radar Analysis | PAAS Framework