Credit: Time (Upper Concept) / Trust (Middle Concept) / Money (Lower Concept)

 Credit: Time (Upper Concept) / Trust (Middle Concept) / Money (Lower Concept)

Introduction

Today, the world is witnessing intense competition to gain credit.
But what exactly is “credit”?

Here, I propose to see credit through a layered lens:

• Time as the upper concept,
• Trust as the middle concept, and
• Money as the lower concept.

Time as Credit

Time as credit is the most precious resource of all.
In both the present and the future, those who can use not only their own time but also the time of others are called leaders—or influencers.

Time itself cannot be increased. Yet, those who can aggregate the time of others and design the future hold true credit.

Trust as Credit

Trust, as a form of credit, can be classified into five levels:

1. Fragile Trust (0–20)
   Trust that is easily swayed by rumors or short-term news.
   In markets, it amplifies volatility.
   (e.g., social media firestorms, short-lived events)
2. Conditional Trust (21–40)
   Trust that exists only under certain conditions.
   Strongly dependent on indicators or external factors, it fluctuates in an event-driven manner.
   (e.g., stock prices influenced by economic data or corporate earnings)
3. Functional Trust (41–60)
   The standard trust of normal times.
   It underpins stable transactions and cooperation, such as trust in central banks or currency systems.
   (e.g., trust in banking systems or salary deposits)
4. Resilient Trust (61–80)
   Trust that does not collapse from a single shock and can be restored with time or compensation.
   (e.g., U.S. Treasury bonds, the reputation of major universities)
5. Fundamental Trust (81–100)
   Root-level trust that is almost unquestionable.
   In finance, it forms the base considered as “risk-free assets.”
   (e.g., existential certainties like “humans can live if they drink water”)

Money as Credit

Money as credit is replicable, and its value tends to diminish.

• Money is merely a numerical proxy for time and trust.
• Therefore, with inflation or excessive issuance, its value depreciates.
• Unlike time and trust, money alone lacks intrinsic scarcity, and thus always remains the lower concept of credit.

Future Credit-Rich

What kind of people, AIs, or organizations will be “credit-rich” in the future?

The future credit-rich will hold not only their own credit (time, trust, and money) but also the right to freely mobilize the credit of others.

• If human → Someone entrusted by others to decide how their time is spent (educators, thinkers, entrepreneurs).
• If AI → An entity that processes vast amounts of human time and trust data and redistributes it.
• If organization → A platform that circulates credit optimally, centered on concepts like BPS or Emotionics.