Strevar

Strevar is a fictional economic and social concept used in speculative fiction and world-building to model a decentralized system of cooperative labor exchange. In this imagined framework, strevar acts as a time- or contribution-based credit that communities use to value shared work and mutual aid beyond traditional currency.

The term strevar is coined within the lore of the Strevaric world, drawing from a constructed language in which the word signifies balance achieved through collaboration. The name and concept are commonly used by writers and game designers as a thought experiment about fairness, scale, and governance.

Mechanics commonly associated with strevar include a decentralized ledger that records work units performed by participants, the allocation of strevar credits proportional to estimated effort and impact, and a rules-based exchange where credits can be redeemed for goods, services, or social privileges within the community. Credits may decay over time to encourage ongoing participation, and reputational metrics can influence eligibility or weighting.

Variations exist across settings. Some deploy formal councils to adjudicate disputes, while others rely on peer review or automated algorithms. Critics note challenges in measurement, potential inequities in input valuation, and the risk of gaming the system; proponents argue it highlights communal resilience and non-monetary value.

In fiction and world-building, strevar serves as a tool to explore questions about cooperation, sustainability, and the limits of voluntary exchange. Related concepts include time banking, cooperative economics, and social credit schemes.