I’ve been reading the position paper by Alexander R. Galloway; Exploring New Configurations of Network Politics, where he suggests that the fascinations with networks that has entered into so much critical thinking is not all it’s claimed. That networks, by definition are asymmetric constructs and those using them as tool of understanding are failing to… Continue reading
Date archives "August 2010"
Video: the Grand Coalition of the Commons
Second part of a video interview by Robin Good: See:
FOSS Development and Patents
Patents seem to be getting a fair amount of press of late. The original idea of a patent was to give the innovator who develops the idea a monopoly of time in which she/he can benefit by commercial exploitation of the patent, protect by legal means from other wishing to copy the idea. But long… Continue reading
The Trias Internetica, three different roles in the society of the network age
A contribution from Jaap van Till on the balance between the state, the private sector, and civil society. Graphic via http://www.vantill.dds.nl/triasinternetica.pdf Text: Recently the political wind direction, under the influence of the (financials) failures of the economic crisis, has changed from [the belief in the invisible hand of The Market, Chicago School economists] to [belief… Continue reading
Video: the value proposition of p2p
First part of a video interview by Robin Good: how does p2p relate to the current model of society? See:
James Quilligan: beyond Marx towards a developmental theory of the commons
In the comments section of James Quilligan’s important formulation of a commons-based social change program, and how it challenges the market state and neoliberal assumptions, you can find a challenge by Derek Wall, who refers to the connection between Marx and the commons. In his response, Quilligan specifies why he lumps Marx together with classical… Continue reading
Drilling Down into the Economics of Copyright
There is a report out recently with the catchy title of ‘The Economics of Copyright and Digitisation: A Report on the Literature and the Need for Further Research‘ by the UK’s Strategic Advisory Board for Intellectual Property Policy (SABIP). It’s an interesting read and it seeks to set a research path on the issue of… Continue reading
Book of the Week (3): Emerging relational spiritualities and “overcoming selfish Buddhism”
The recovery of a Martin Buber‘s relational spirituality is becoming a possible alternative — if not a crucial one. Below, a final excerpting of an as yet unpublished book in progress by Gregg Lahood, which presents the emerging p2p alternative, i.e. relational spirituality. Gregg’s full paper/book manuscript has a detailed historical overview of the origins… Continue reading
The Yasuni Forest/Petroleum Commons project in Ecuador
One of the attendees of the upcoming Berlin Commons Conference in November, will be the Economics Minister of Ecuador, Alberto Acosta, who is pushing a very innovative solution to keep Amazonian oil in the ground, protecting both natural biodiversity and indigenous people, and generate funds for development. See this video on the Yasuni ITT project:
How the new forms of common value creation challenge both the market state and state capitalism
These evolving dynamics — the decommodification of common goods through co-governance and the deterritorialization of value through co-production — are shattering the liberal assumptions which underlie state capitalism. The emergence of this new kind of management and valuation for the preservation of natural and social assets is posing a momentous crisis for the Market State,… Continue reading
Digital artisans as the ‘class basis’ of openness?
From a three-part exchange between Anthony Barnett and Gerry Hassan in Open Democracy, on the future of the British left, comes an interesting passage by Anthony Barnett, which in essence offers a class theory for the p2p movement: “Today, the next technological and productive wave offers the chance of what might be called an artisan… Continue reading
Are citizens ready for Open Data and Government?
Our friend Marco Fioretti has a lecture warning advocates about over-enthusiasm regarding the open government data: it’s not because they are available that they can be used to good effect, and having them only usable by hackers and geeks is insufficient for a truly democratic effect. You can read his introduction and explanation here David… Continue reading
Book of the Week (2): Democratising mysticism as positive, but dangerous, legacy of the new age
I believe that at one level these universalizing tactics were a sincere attempt at a kind of mystical ?democratization‘, a leveler of the spiritual playing field, and a disavowal of privileged religious perspectives. I wish to affirm here, that on these grounds, it seems to me, that there is something inherently well intentioned behind the… Continue reading
Some thoughts on openness in design and manufacturing
Skype interview by Natalia Fentisova for the Opensimsim project: MICHEL BAUWENS: OPEN SOURCE DESIGN from opensimsim.net on Vimeo.
Work after globalization and the new organizational realities
From a review by Peter Hall-Jones who calls this: the greatest book ever about work (in all its forms) “If you’re ever going to read a book about work, make it this one.” * Book. By Guy Standing. “Work After Globalization: Building Occupational Citizenship” Peter Hall-Jones introduces the author: “Dr Guy Standing is Professor of… Continue reading
Project Vigilant – how the US government skirts privacy laws
Glenn Greenwald published an article on Salon.com that lays out in some detail how – by supporting nominally private volunteer initiatives like Project Vigilant, the US government can collect great amounts of personal data on law-abiding citizens without being subject to privacy protection laws or to the openness provisions and scrutiny government agencies would be… Continue reading