Via Ethical Markets TV and Hazel Henderson: On December 4, Ethical Markets Media (USA and Brazil) and The Climate Prosperity Alliance launched their Global Climate Prosperity Scoreboard which tracks private investment in companies growing the green economy globally. Here are some details: “This new, never before reported number, showing $1,248,740,645,993.00 (over $1.248 trillion) in total… Continue reading
Date archives "December 2009"
Production Sharing without exchanging
A. Allen Butcher starts his essays on Communal Economics and on Time-based Economics, by stressing that sharing is NOT exchanging: Communal economics involves forms of time-based, plenty-paradigm economies while barter and monetary systems are forms of exchange economies. Barter systems and local currencies have been used to increase local self-reliance, as well as to help… Continue reading
Why Patents Should Be Abolished
Via: “(David) Levine and (Michele) Boldrin have a new editorial up in the CSMonitor, explaining why they think the patent system should be abolished.” An excerpt with the key argument(s): “As a matter of theory, intellectual property is a double-edged sword. On the one hand, giving a reward increases the incentive to innovate. On the… Continue reading
A spiral evolution towards communal forms?
This is the thesis of the site Culture Magic from Allen Butcher, who seems to have throught through a great number of issues relating to communal human relationships. The poster below should give you an idea of the approach. A very interesting site! (and here’s another interesting graphic on the evolution of modes of governance… Continue reading
Commons-based Peer Production, Education, and the issue of Open Accreditation
From a short essay by J. Philipp Schmidt for the Free Culture Research Workshop at Harvard University, 23 October 2009. The author is affiliated with and cofounder of P2PU.org. The text touches upon the important issue of open accreditation in a peer to peer learning world. J. Philipp Schmidt: “Much free culture research has focused… Continue reading
The Internet in Numbers
Via: Created by Online Education
Copylefting hardware: issues and difficulties
A contribution by Christian Siefkes. The original article has links and a directory. Christian Siefkes: “It’s probably safe to say that the copyleft principle has been essential for the success of free software. Copyleft means that all versions of a software or document will remain free, preventing companies from creating “value-added” versions of free programs… Continue reading
Solipsis: Welcome to the Metaverse
A brief look at an online 3D world that is open to new ideas…
Continue readingTowards the Co-Production of Public Services
The case for public service reform is obvious, nothing less than radical innovation will allow us to tackle the major social challenges we face and co-production should be at the heart of the solution. The British National Endowment for Science, Technology and the Arts (NESTA) in partnership with nef (the new economics foundation), has published… Continue reading
DIY Biology, Synthetic Biology, and biosecurity
After explaining the differences between diy bio and synthetic biology, and analyizing the failure of current biosecurity frameworks, the authors (Gaymon Bennett, Nils Gilman, et al.) of this important article in Nature, propose a new security approach: “We argue that developments in synthetic biology and DIYbio call for another approach. Beyond the denunciation of the… Continue reading
What 3d modeling software is everyone using and why?
A contribution from Eric Hunting, based on personal experience with different packages: “I’ve lately been using SketchUp, largely because it’s free and well suited to simple architectural visualization, albeit lacking in precision CAD features. Though probably only suited to rough design, it’s the most intuitive in user interface of the programs currently available. (not that… Continue reading
The Manchester Manifesto: Who owns science?
An international group of experts on science ethics, economics, science and society, and law gathered by the University of Manchester and the Brook World Poverty Institute has produced a Manifesto focused on the problem of ownership and scientific innovation. The critique of the current way of managing intellectual property is directed towards a “dominant model… Continue reading
The Unemployed Exchange Association (UXA): Grassroots Economic Development in the 1930’s
A story by Bernard Marszalek: “In times of economic collapse, like often during natural disasters, protective shells are discarded and solidarity emerges and social creativity erupts. No money, barter. No food, grow it and share it. Need help, people pitch-in. Most recently in Argentina, during their economic collapse in 2002, neighbors in Buenos Aires held… Continue reading
Beyond the infinite growth corporation: 3 new types of companies for sustainable growth
“The fully realized for-benefit corporate design — with all the right elements, a design that’s capable of replacing the dominant model of today — may not exist yet. We may be entering a new era of design diversity, in which different designs serve different functions. Today, at least three broad approaches to for-benefit architecture offer… Continue reading
Regarding the book “The Blue Economy”: is it too technocratic?
Book: The Blue Economy. Cultivating a New Business Model for a Time of Crisis. by Gunter Pauli The publisher’s description is followed by a commentary by abundance theorist Roberto Verzola: Description “Mere months after the 2008 financial meltdown, the International Labor Organization (ILO) reported the loss of 50 million jobs. Developing economies were deeply affected… Continue reading
The Social Economy and Free/Libre and Open Source Software: Time for an Alliance
Appeal: Social Economy – Free/Libre and Open Source Software: Time of Alliance By Bastien Sibille: “Two worlds coexist that raise the ramparts against the hegemonic temptation of capitalism. One is old and has its roots in the 19th century industrial age – the world of social economy (cooperatives, mutuals, associations). The other is younger and… Continue reading