Discussion Larry Victor: “Level ONE change maintains the initial view of the world and the systems to be changed: abandoned, phased out, fixed, replaced, tuned-up, expanded, or downsized. We remain “in the box”, with changes that only “tweak” at the edges of the box. Level TWO changes moves us to consider going “out of the… Continue reading
Date archives "February 2014"
What is P2P? An Introduction
Julie Tran from MakeChangeTV interviews Michel Bauwens “We can’t continue with a system that creates wealth, but that’s also destroying the planet and creating so much social inequality. I think that after 400 years of this, we know it doesn’t work. We need a new system to reclaim all these communal values” What would a… Continue reading
Doing Co-op Democracy Better – London Sat 8th Feb
What does democratic control mean in co-operatives, and how does that relate to what members want to do? How can democracy be done at scale with members ranging from the apathetically unbothered to the sociopathically engaged? Can we harness the talents and energy of people in an agile way, and at the same time maintain… Continue reading
Project of the Day: Libre-Mesh
= an initiative undertaken by community networks members of several continents that collaborate towards a common goal: to develop a set of tools that facilitate the deployment of Free Networks URL = http://dev.libre-mesh.org/ Description “Libre-Mesh is an initiative undertaken by community networks members of several continents that collaborate towards a common goal: to develop a… Continue reading
For the Direct Democratic Ownership and Management of Natural Resources
Proposal by John Champagne, for the EcoTax Reform Project of the Progress Report: “Population increases and continual expansion of the many ways that human beings impact this planet are causing depletion of resources that support human civilization and destruction of ecosystems that make up the diverse communities of life on earth. We cannot continue on… Continue reading
How the ‘sharing economy’ undermines workers’ rights
Republished from Evgeny Morozov: “The “sharing economy” has many fans but Eric Schneiderman, New York State’s attorney-general, is not one of them. He has demanded that Airbnb, a company that allows anyone to rent their property to strangers, hand over records of its 15,000 hosts in New York City to verify that they pay taxes… Continue reading
Trend of the Day: Civic Consumption
Civic Consumption as a new impact-oriented movement within the new economy Contextual Citations “Instead of focusing on activism or government, communities can find power and effect change through their collective business decisions”. [2] “IF YOU POOL ENOUGH PEOPLE TOGETHER, THEY GAIN THE LEVERAGE TO MAKE GAINS ON THE SOCIAL ISSUES THEY CARE ABOUT.” [3]… Continue reading
How Network Governance Adds Value
Text How network governance adds value, by Shann Turnbull (excerpt) “Humans are governed by their brains. Our brains possess a rich network of control centres without a central controlling chief executive neuron. The brain allows humans to sustain and improve their existence in dynamic, complex, unpredictable and unknowable environments. Social organisations could likewise sustain and… Continue reading
The “sharing economy” is being pulled ever farther from actual sharing
The “sharing economy” has seen a rapid slide away from collaborative sharing towards further deregulated and precarious employment — the direct consequence of venture capital funding and the growth imperatives that come with that money. Such a project won’t bring us any closer to the more equitable society we want to see any time soon…. Continue reading
Questions for commoners regarding currencies
The following questions were formulated by Mike Riddell in the comments field of another article. I will respond, but feel free to come up with your own responses Questions: 1. “A commons isn’t just a marketplace”. What other key functional components would you expect? A currency? An accounting system? A payments mechanism? A social network?… Continue reading
City of Messina to join international time-banking exchange: Timerepublik
Michel recently pointed me to an item published in the Italian daily Avvenire which reports a decision by the Messina city council to join the global electronic time-banking exchange Timerepublik. The City Council’s decision, the article says, came about through contacts with the local time bank and is seen as an effort “to provide incentives… Continue reading
Does the internet promote fairness of income distribution?
An article by Lisa Zyga on Phys.org reports on a study that found and documented an important connection between network quality and income distribution. The question of how an economic system should be structured in order to best promote fairness and equality is one of the most debated subjects of all time. By approaching the… Continue reading
Project of the Day: Latin American Open Textbooks Initiative
Description “LATIn Project invites groups of teachers and university researchers to submit proposals for the creation of open college textbooks in different areas of knowledge for students at Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) in Latin America. The contest is related to the objectives of the initiative: The creation and dissemination of open books, designed from and… Continue reading
Essay of the Day: Global Survey of Free Networks
* Report: Free Networks – A Global Survey – User Built Infrastructure Held as a Commons. Gordon Cook. The Cook Report. URL = http://blog.altermundi.net/media/uploads/nov-dec_2013_crpp.pdf a detailed account of the current state of the free community networks movement [1] Description “Wi-fi networks built owned and operated by their users are taking shape around the world. Basic… Continue reading
Camp Pixelache 2014: Celebrating the Commons in Finland
* Conference / Festival : Camp Pixelache 2014: The Commons, Vartiosaari, eastern Helsinki, 6-8th June. Pixelache Helsinki 2014 will be an international 2-day trans-disciplinary event focusing on the theme of “The Commons”, including bio-, urban culture and knowledge commons topics. Adding a new island to its logbook after Suomenlinna (2011) and Naissaar (2013), Camp Pixelache… Continue reading
Trend of the Day: Bottom Up Era
Bottom Up Era By Homebrew venture capital: “Opportunity is created by several catalysts driving a Bottom Up Economy:” Supercomputer in Our Hands: For the 2.5 billion people already online, smartphones, tablets and other increasingly inexpensive internet-connected devices have been magical, but for the remaining billions getting online for the first time via these devices, they will be… Continue reading