Republished from Don Tapscott: (for a more extensive explanation, see here) “We are in the early days of a completely new approach to solve global problems. This is good because traditional global institutions are increasingly ineffective. Throughout the twentieth century, nation states cooperated to build global institutions to facilitate joint action and address global problems…. Continue reading
Date archives "March 2014"
Mooc’s as the Lego Bricks of Education
Excerpted from Margaux Pelen: “LEGO bricks are standardized pieces that can be combined and now enriched : crazy creations will help you design a 3D printer or a color-based brick separator. Those legendary plastic bricks are a good reflection of what MOOCs can help you build: you can play with knowledge courses (bricks) and assemble… Continue reading
Debunking the Myths about the so-called failure of the Energiewende in Germany
Excerpted from Chris Nelder: “Myth: “After the Fukushima nuclear accident in Japan two-and-a-half years ago, Merkel quickly decided to begin phasing out nuclear power and lead the country into the age of wind and solar.” (This one is from the above-mentioned Der Spiegel article.) Fact: Germany’s switch to renewables started in 1991, and the nuclear… Continue reading
Essay of the Day: Law Prior to the State
* Article: Polycentric Law. by Tom W. Bell. Humane Studies Review, Volume 7, Number 1 Winter 1991/92 Excerpted from Tom Bell: “Friedrich A. Hayek finds the origins of law in the process through which complex social orders naturally evolve by a manner akin to natural selection. Not all types of behavior support social life, he… Continue reading
Investigating the P2P Value Approaches of Sensorica
Hangout conversatoin between the P2P Value research team and the Sensorica team about the open value accounting approach. The full transcript is available here. Watch the conversation here:
The rise of decentralized renewable energy is happening faster than anticipated
Falling consumption and growing renewable power have cut the wholesale price of electricity by 60 percent since 2008, making it unprofitable to continue operating coal, gas and oil-fired plants. Renewable energy now supplies 23 percent of global electricity generation. Excerpted from Nafeez Mosaddeq Ahmed: (go to the original for all the supporting links) “As Nelder… Continue reading
Movement of the Day: The Social Plastic Movement
From their self-description: “Our mission: Reveal Value in plastic waste & people. Our goal: The Plastic Bank is making plastic waste a currency where it is needed the most. Social Plastic helps improve the life of a disadvantaged person while preventing plastic waste from entering the oceans. As we demonstrate the growing demand for Social… Continue reading
Podcast of the Day/C-Realm: Steve Keen on Debt, Demand and Neoclassical Confusion
Reposted from the C-Realm podcast, KMO talks to one of our favourite economists: Steve Keen. From the shownotes to the episode: KMO welcomes Steve Keen, author of Debunking Economics back to the C-Realm to discuss the particulars of Steve’s recent blogosphere joust with Paul Krugman. Steve explains that Neoclassical economists, like Krugman, do not include… Continue reading
Call For Papers – From Generation to Generation
Call for Abstracts closing 1 April 2014 – IASC 2014 From generation to generation –the use of commons in a changing society www.slu.se/iasc-europe2014 call IASC2014.pdf by P2P Foundation
Discussion: A Critique of Left Politics
Excerpted from R.C. Smith: “The basic problem with the archaic notion of full communist revolution (i.e., Leninism, Stalinism, Trotsky – not to be conflated with a theory of the ‘commons’ or the ‘commonising’ of society) reside in how, in both theory and practice, it does not see the problem of ‘systemic change’ as being deeper… Continue reading
Essay of the Day: The Lost Tradition of Biblical Debt Cancellations
Excerpted from Michael Hudson: “THE once-glowing core body of law within the Judeo-Christian Bible has become all but ignored – indeed, rejected – by the colder temper of our times. This core provided for periodic restoration of economic order by rituals of social renewal based on freedom from debt-servitude and from the loss of one’s… Continue reading
How can evolvable p2p habitats be created bottom-up without star architects?
A contribution from Eric Hunting: “The big question is, most certainly, how can such evolvable habitats be created bottom-up without star architects? I think the answer to that question can be suggested by changing its context. For instance, how can a custom personal computer be built without the benefit of a bunch of computer engineers?… Continue reading
Francine Mestrum on Promoting the Social Commons
By Francine Mestrum: “All major international development organisations, from the World Bank over the ILO and the European Commission, plan to promote social protection in all developing countries. This may seem bizarre, since, at the same time, social protection mechanisms are being dismantled in the region where they first came about: Western Europe and Scandinavia…. Continue reading
Podcast of the Day/C-Realm: G. Paul Blundell on the Acorn Community
Reposted from the C-Realm podcast, KMO starts off with a discussion of David Graeber’s 2012 essay, “Of Flying Cars and the Declining Rate of Profit”, part of which we’ve recently featured of the blog. The bulk of the Podcast comprises a fascinating conversation with G- Paul Blundell on the workings of his Commune. From the shownotes to the episode:… Continue reading
Responding to Stefan Meretz’s critique of Reciprocity-based Commons Licenses, part 2
Stefan Meretz produced a critique of the Peer Production License, or more generically, Commons-Based Reciprocity Licenses, in the Keimform blog. My first response, focusing on his detailed critique of the licensing approach, is here. The second part of his critique focuses on the attempts to create counter-economies. I respond to this second part here below:… Continue reading
Movement of the Day: The Open Science Federation
From the self-description: “The Open Science Federation is a nonprofit alliance working to improve the conduct and communication of science. We are scientists and citizen scientists, writers, journalists, and educators, and makers of and advocates for Open Data, Open Access, and Open Source and Standards. Get to know us at @openscience on Twitter, or in… Continue reading