What is MEW?

MEW stands for Monero Economy Workgroup and had its own thread, Monero Economy Workgroup.

There are two sides of the Monero coin. Obverse is the core team, devoted to the technology i.e. coding. Reverse is MEW, devoted to the economy i.e. encouraging adoption, business opportunities… Let's extend the metaphor: the edges of the coin are the gray area where coding and economy overlap. The emission curve is such a gray area.

The core team works internally under the collegiality (peer) governance system and externally under the benevolent dictatorship (for life) model. MEW works internally under the weighted voting governance system and has not (at least for now) any external governance system.

The Core team and MEW are independent of each other: no group can force the other to change its mind. A vote from the MEW doesn't imply the core team has to abide; in reverse, if the core team asks the MEW to do something, MEW is not obliged to follow suit. Therefore, no one feels like being controlled by the other. If a post seemed to imply than one governing body rules above the other, it would be a misinterpretation and should be replied to by pointing to this FAQ entry.