Survivable Microeconomies in the MarketTown
The MarketTown is designed intentionally to create a resilient, local economy that shields its people from the job losses caused by AI and robotics. Instead of competing in the global race to automate, the MarketTown builds an ecosystem of work that thrives precisely where machines cannot — in bespoke, skill-heavy, and human-centred activities. It is not an accident, but a deliberate design choice: a structure that values people over efficiency, and protects livelihoods from being hollowed out by external forces.
1. Bespoke, Not Scalable
AI excels at repetition and mass scale. The MarketTown economy thrives on difference: one-off projects, tailored services, and human creativity. Each enterprise is unique, resistant to automation, and sustained by individuality rather than uniformity.
2. Skill-Heavy, Knowledge-Rich
Many of the skills in a MarketTown — from soil-specific farming to artisanal construction and local repair — are not easily codified. They live in people, families, and communities. This embodied knowledge resists digitization and grows stronger as it is passed from hand to hand.
3. Localised Supply Chains
MarketTowns shorten and humanize supply chains. Food, materials, and tools are grown, adapted, or fabricated within walking distance. This creates jobs, keeps wealth circulating locally, and insulates the community from the volatility of global AI-driven markets.
4. Human Life, Not Utility
AI will dominate the economics of necessity. But MarketTowns are built around life – what we love: the bread you love from a baker you know, the table made by a neighbour, the shared story behind a bottle of wine. Life fulfilment resists automation.
5. Exportable Expertise
In climate change, New Zealand’s global impact is miniscule: 0.17%. The only way it can have realistic impact is to create exportable models.
Beyond meeting local needs, MarketTowns develop skills and systems — transport less,
sustainable farming, adaptive building, community-based enterprise — that can be exported as consultancy and knowledge. This human-driven expertise becomes even more valuable as conventional industries are disrupted by automation.
NZ is too small to be important. In the context of climate change, for example, New Zealand’s global impact is tiny — only 0.17%. The only way it can make a meaningful difference is by creating exportable models that others can adopt.
MarketTowns offer exactly that. They are designed to eliminate the need to drive instead of draining it into cars, fuel, and highways which is done to support common wealth, but as a side effect lowers pollution. They prioritize local food production, ensuring people eat from nearby fields and gardens rather than distant supply chains – again, done because the food tastes better, is healthier and keeps local money turning locally, but also lowers its environmental footprint. Housing is built with low-impact, local factory-made systems that are affordable, durable, and suited to place. The economy itself is structured as a closed loop, so money circulates locally and jobs are protected.
These models are not theoretical. They are practical, replicable systems that other s can copy. By exporting knowledge New Zealand can make a genuine contribution to global solutions, while strengthening its own resilience in the process.
ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE/ROBOTICS … IT’S COMING FAST
The importance of supporting microeconomies not vulnerable to AI/Robotics
Right now, AI is in its Model-T era, but it won’t take 100 years to get to a Tesla. I’ll happen in ten. Soon, AI will automate entire professions: doctors, lawyers, accountants. Robotics will transform manufacturing, farming, and even aged care. Jobs we’ve long relied on will disappear — not because of economic decline, but because machines do them better, faster, and cheaper.
This is not a sci-fi threat. It’s a policy one.
Governments must act now to identify and protect microeconomies that offer meaningful, skilled, human-centric work. If survivable microeconomies are not fostered – and not begun immediately, a large portion of the population will not be able to find work. The young will leave the nation in search of gainful employment and capable, competent people will become beneficiaries until the tax base can no longer support them.
This is not about opposing AI or robots. It is about ensuring that when technology enters the MarketTown local economy, it does not create unemployment or subemployment (work that does not pay enough to live on). A functional local economy must always provide 100% gainful and adequate employment for all who would work. That is why a MarketTown supports a bakery run by bakers, not robots — to ensure real jobs for bread makers even if robots could make bread cheaper. It’s in everyone’s interest to pay more.
A Local Economy works with a critical mass – about 10,000 population
Developers and town planners do not concern themselves with creating local economies — it isn’t their job. Their work is tied to the national economy: if the region is expanding, they subdivide land and build houses, offices, schools, and shopping malls. When the downturn comes, they have already moved on. The consequences of that lack of planning are left for the residents to endure. It’s not their problem; it’s ours.
In contrast, a MarketTown is so named because at its core it is about creating a solid economic foundation — one that intentionally builds protection against global or national failure.
History proves the point. During the Great Depression, rural France hardly noticed, while Australia suffered terribly. The difference was that, a century ago, most of what rural French communities needed was grown, made, or provided locally. They were buffered by their own self-supporting economies, while Australia’s dependence on distant markets left it exposed.
A MarketTown is structured so that about 20% of its workforce operates “local to global” — many are internet-based enterprises that quite literally import money into the local economy. The design ensures that every outside dollar “turns” (spent and re-spent locally), circulating as many as 20 times before it leaves again. Each turn of that dollar supports another livelihood, multiplying the impact and anchoring jobs in the community.
The single greatest drain on a local economy is transport. Every kilometre driven represents money flowing outward — to import cars, petrol, spare parts, wider roads, carparks, and the endless upkeep of traffic infrastructure. By eliminating the need to drive, a MarketTown cuts this leak at the source. The benefits are twofold: the local economy retains its wealth instead of exporting it, and the cost of living drops because residents are no longer wasting money just to get around. And their health improves.
With the 20% local to global importing money, there are about 200 local-job types that can thrive with a critical mass of 10,000 people… barbers, bakers, brewers, butchers and blacksmiths. While eventually, China will market humanoid robots to cut hair, or serve coffee, if the local economy is closed loop, it simply opts out to ensure real humans may continue to earn a living. It also implements a comprehensive program to ensure home, food, and all the necessities of life remain affordable for such people.
With about 20% of its workforce engaged in local to global trade, importing money through businesses, a MarketTown can support roughly 200 distinct local job types once it reaches its critical mass of 10,000 people. These include the classic community anchors — barbers, bakers, brewers, butchers, and blacksmiths — along with countless other services and trades.
While it is true that, eventually, China or others may market humanoid robots to cut hair or serve coffee, a closed-loop MarketTown economy can simply opt out, ensuring that real humans continue to earn their livelihood. At the same time, the system includes a comprehensive affordability program — making homes, food, and life’s necessities accessible — so that every person who would work has both a place in the economy and the means to live with dignity.
