An open access economy is a proposed alternative method of organising resources and services in human society.

Rather than access to the things we need being constrained by the ability to trade or pay currency, an open access society promotes a mutual understanding that everyone in that society is fully supported with (at least) their basic living requirements unconditionally.

• Open - Shared, transparent, decentralised
• Access - Unrestricted
• Economy - Management of resources

Note: The term open access is often used to describe an initiative to publish scholarly research under an open (free) license. An 'open access economy' extends this philosophy to wider socio-economic reform.

In its most basic form, all citizens who engage in an open access economy understand the following two fundamentals:

1. That they are fully supported by their community
2. That they participate in supporting their community

Clearly, one cannot happen without the other, but central to the philosophy is the movement away from explicit trade towards implicit trade, where reciprocity (or trade) is not expected uniformly, but rather within a much larger circle of mutual support.

So for example, if someone cuts your lawn, there is no expectation that you must reciprocate with some equivalent task or resource. Instead, the other person understands that you will reciprocate in some other way, with some other person at some other time. This works for the other person as they too enjoy the benefit of others' reciprocal behaviour at other times.

Central to the premise of an open access economy is prioritizing group interest over self-interest so as to minimize the negative effects of our actions on the environment and each other to instead working towards maximizing the creation of a better life and safer planet to live on for all.