Corona and the Commons

Dear Readers, Before the Corona outbreak, and with the help of Jose Ramos, the lead editor of an upcoming book about cosmo-local production, I had been reviewing the literature on historical rhythms and cycles to set the stage for the current ‘chaotic transition’ and ‘what comes next’.  In short, I have come to two important conclusions:  society moves… Continue reading

The Internet Archive defends the release of the National Emergency Library

The Internet Archive has taken the brave step to release 1.4 million books online, arguing that public libraries are now closed. Unsurprisingly, the reactions from the publishing industry haven’t been too charitable. The following is republished from the Internet Archive. Last Tuesday we launched a National Emergency Library—1.4M digitized books available to users without a waitlist—in… Continue reading

No New Normal

“May you live in interesting times“. A curse once assigned Chinese origin, now thought to be apocryphal, it’s deceptively mild until you realize you have no resistance to a novel, viral load of interestingness. We feel like we can’t blink, yet our eyelids are getting very heavy. We’re anxious, grateful, bewildered, hopeful, overwhelmed, empathetic, angry,… Continue reading

Frustrated with “Business as Usual”? Try Common Wealth

About Common Wealth Just like you, there are others frustrated by “business-as-usual”.  They are frustrated by the “lip service” provided to stakeholders.  Like when a company says “employees are our greatest asset” but means the opposite.   By contrast, there are organisations where stakeholders have an actual stake.  These include:  Companies using equity crowdfunding Co-operatives, where members are owners… Continue reading

Capitalism is religion

Just check out its core philosophy, with its core terms in bold wording: The invisible hand of the free market governs everything and the hardworking get prosperous while the lazy suffer poverty. Sounds pretty familiar and very rational, doesn’t it… But check it out again with the religious equivalents of the core terms replaced in:… Continue reading