The Boaz Principle: The tl;dr

Want the formal proofs? See: Full Academic Paper

The Problem in One Sentence

Platforms extract maximum value from every transaction, leaving nothing for newcomers or those who can’t pay full price.

The Solution

Build generosity into the math, not the marketing.

The Biblical Reference

Book of Ruth, Chapter 2. Boaz tells his workers: leave grain in the corners of the field. Don’t harvest everything. Let people who can’t buy come and gather what’s left.

This wasn’t charity. It was right. The corner was theirs by design.

How It Works in Digital

Every transaction has three components:

• Creator gets 83.3% (their cost)
• Platform operations get 13.3%
• Gleaner’s Corner gets 3.3%

You see this on every receipt:

PURCHASE SUMMARY
─────────────────────────────────
Item Cost:                $100.00
Platform Margin (20%):     $20.00
─────────────────────────────────
TOTAL:                    $120.00

WHERE YOUR MONEY GOES:
  Creator receives:        $100.00 (83.3%)
  Platform operations:      $16.00 (13.3%)
  Gleaner's Corner:          $4.00 (3.3%)
─────────────────────────────────

No secrets. No surprises.

Who Gleans?

• New members (< 90 days)
• Members below income threshold
• Members in recovery from setbacks
• Random selection (5% of everyone else — so gaming is pointless)

What Gleaners Get

• Access credits for platform services
• Discounted essential goods
• Priority for opportunities
• Welcome resources

The Difference from Charity

The Wry Part

Every platform takes 30% and says “we’re disrupting the industry.” We take 16.7%, tell you exactly where every penny goes, and literally give away part of the margin by design.

That’s the disruption. The rest is just moving money from one pocket to another.

Next: The Anti-Extractive Derivative — why our math literally prevents cutting corners