Date archives "December 2006"

Can economies of independence and diversity replace economies of place and scale?

We continue our discovery of Jeff Vail’s stimulating ideas. In this blog entry on anti-economies, he first outlines the assumptions of neoclassical economy: Economy of place is the concept that some things are more efficiently done in certain places. Economy of scale is the concept that it is more efficient to do lots of one… Continue reading

How is the energy issue related to P2P political change?

Here’s a very interesting answer to the above question, in an essay by Jeff Vail called Energy, Society and Hierarchy, worth reading in full. It really drives home the importance of choosing distributed energy forms. Excerpt: “A quick review of economic relationships will demonstrate the central role of energy choices in an economy. Control over… Continue reading

Is it necessary to design against homophyli and the logic of affinity?

We have recently updated the P2P Encyclopedia entry on Protocollary Power,which indicates how power is now hidden/exhibited in the design and architecture of social software, where it can constrain the freedom of individual agents. Related to this is a blog entry which discusses homophyli, defined as the phenomenon where we associate with like individuals because… Continue reading

How are hierarchy and ownership related: a theory of rhizomatic power

I just discovered this new book, A Theory of Power, by intelligence analyst Jeff Vail. It may be an important contribution to a P2P theory of change: Excerpt One, the relationship between hierarchy and ownership The abstract notion of ownership serves as the single, greatest perpetuator of hierarchy. When one steps back and examines the… Continue reading

Charles Leadbeater urges P2P-inspired public policy for innovation

Very well written summary on some necessary reforms to jumpstart mass innovation, which appeared as a column in the Financial Times. Here’s just a summary of the 3 key proposals, but the whole article is well worth reading. Excerpts: “Britain is no longer a society of mass industrial production. Instead it should aspire to be… Continue reading

The Upside Of Down: The Emerging Economics of The Commons

I recently came across this New Scientist (subscription) interview with Thomas Homer-Dixon. In the interview, Homer-Dixon talks about his book The Upside of Down: Catastrophe, creativity and the renewal of civilization. He mentions his ideas for replacing the the perpetual growth/economics of scarcity model with something that is more sustainable. Here’s an excerpt: Isn’t there… Continue reading

P2P Book of the Week, Exerpt 4: All the World a Stage: The Emerging Attention Economy…, by Michael H. Goldhaber

Our fourth and final excerpt from this P2P Book of the Week, preceded by an introduction and excerpts from Chapter 1 and Chapter 2. Please see Mr. Goldhaber’s blog for more info and to download the complete chapters. All the World a Stage Michael H. Goldhaber Chapter 3 How Attention Works: Paying It Means Reshaping… Continue reading

Understanding Knowledge as a Commons: From Theory to Practice (MIT Press)

David Bollier beat me to it with this post. He’s one of the authors, so he deserves the honor. My copy of this important new book just arrived. Bollier writes: Two leading scholars on the commons, Charlotte Hess and Elinor Ostrom, have just published a great anthology of essays, Understanding Knowledge as a Commons: From… Continue reading

P2P Book of the Week, Exerpt 3: All the World a Stage: The Emerging Attention Economy…, by Michael H. Goldhaber

Our third excerpt from this book of the week, preceded by an introduction and excerpts from Chapter 1. All the World a Stage Michael H. Goldhaber Chapter 2 (Excerpts) Feudalism’s Growth, Success and Consequent Fall “I love the gay Eastertide, which brings forth leaves and flowers;….. But also I love to see, amidst the meadows,… Continue reading

P2P Book of the Week, Exerpt 2: All the World a Stage: The Emerging Attention Economy…, by Michael H. Goldhaber

Our Book of the Week selection continues from Mr. Goldhaber’s introduction, previously posted. To download the complete chapters, please go to his blog. The Attention Economy, Chapter One: May I Have Your Attention, Please… “The one constant of human life is change” — a cliché, no doubt, but worth recalling. Changes such as earthquakes and… Continue reading

Why non-alienated peer production is better

The following are citations from a discussion on the Oekonux (Linux economy) mailing list, where Stefan Merten responds to some questions I had posed. Question 1: In general, why would for-benefit peer production be better than for-profit market production? Michael Bauwens wrote: – what makes you sure that pure modes of doubly free software are… Continue reading