* Article: Italian Operaismo and the Information Machine. By Matteo Pasquinelli. Theory, Culture & Society February 2, 2014 From the Abstract: “The political economy of the information machine is discussed within the Marxist tradition of Italian operaismo by posing the hypothesis of an informational turn already at work in the age of the industrial revolution…. Continue reading
Date archives "July 2014"
How individual health is connected to community health
By Jay Walljasper from On the Commons Public health and community health linked in three projects in the Twin Cities There is growing recognition in the medical field that maintaining good health means more than taking care of yourself and getting regular medical check ups. Healthy living conditions and strong community cohesion foster healthy neighborhoods,… Continue reading
Douglas Rushkoff on why we need a ‘Slow Science’.
Republished with the permission of the author from: TECHNOLOGIST 01 JUN 23, 2014 Scientists have to keep their distance from the growing impatience of the modern world, says Douglas Rushkoff. Douglas Rushkoff: “If you get run over by a car or crack the containment shell around a nuclear reactor, you would most definitely want to… Continue reading
Essay of the Day: Why the Soviet Internet Failed
Ben Peters, Assistant Orofessor of Communication at the University of Tulsa, presents preliminary findings of a dissertation chapter examining why the Soviets did not succeed in building an ARPANET equivalent. In particular, he examines Soviet bureaucratic and social structures as decentralized networks, compares them to conventional critiques of centralized power, and speculates on the chapter’s relevance… Continue reading
How the Iron Law of Oligarchy Extends to Peer Production
I haven’t read this essay yet, but it is obviously crucial for a understanding of the real impact of peer production: * Paper: Laboratories of Oligarchy? How the Iron Law Extends to Peer Production. By Aaron Shaw, Benjamin Mako Hill. Computers and Society (cs.CY); Social and Information Networks (cs.SI); Report number: ci-2014/96 Abstract “Peer production… Continue reading
Cooperation Denial
By Henry Benedict Tam. Reprinted with permission. Original article at Question the Powerful. Findings from anthropology, social psychology, game theory, and many other fields consistently suggest that where people cooperate with others as they would like others to cooperate with them, it leads to positive outcomes for all concerned. Yet from ancient monarchic oppression to contemporary corporate exploitation,… Continue reading
A primer on global economic sharing, part 3
“In an increasingly unequal and unsustainable world, governments must urgently move beyond the restrictive political and economic ideologies of the past and embrace solutions that meet the common needs of people in all countries. This primer outlines the extent of the interconnected global crises we face, and points the way towards an alternative approach to managing… Continue reading
Movement of the Day: the Network IT labor network in Germany
Network IT (Netzwerk IT) is a platform for the employed and unemployed in Germany : “Netzwerk IT, or, Network IT, to use its English name, is a platform for the employed and unemployed. Individuals, groups of employees and campaigns can communicate with each other, organise in the workplace and network with each other. Network IT… Continue reading
Podcast of the Day: Simona Levi on the Anti-Party Aspects of Partido X
This interview precedes the EU elections last May, but it still makes for very interesting listening.
The real makers and takers are not those that you think
Excerpted from Kevin Carson: “The higher your income, in fact, the more likely you’re a taker who’s — all together now! — dependent on government. It’s possible to get moderately wealthy — say, an income that qualifies you for the “top 1%,” which is somewhere under $400,000, or assets in the low millions — through… Continue reading
Harvest, a novel of enclosure
Harvest is located in a remote valley in England ‘around Shakespeare’s time’ , the late Tudor period when the medieval commons were facing the first great wave of enclosures. We are not certain where the village is exactly, but what we do get to know in great detail is all its specificity – its daily… Continue reading
The Catholic Social Doctrine and the “Openness” revolution: natural travel companions?
Last year I wrote a paper with this title, which was published in May 2014. This is a synthesis of the main points of the paper. The full work is downloadable from my initial announcement, which also provides relevant links for more general background. First, a couple of definitions Catholic Social Doctrine (“CSD”): offers guidelines… Continue reading
A primer on global economic sharing, part 2
“In an increasingly unequal and unsustainable world, governments must urgently move beyond the restrictive political and economic ideologies of the past and embrace solutions that meet the common needs of people in all countries. This primer outlines the extent of the interconnected global crises we face, and points the way towards an alternative approach to managing… Continue reading
Movement of the Day: Yo Sí Sanidad Universal
The movement in Spain for universal health care, described here by provisionaluniversity: “The background was the successful and popular struggle against the privatization of the health care system in 2013. The so-called ‘Marea Blanca’ protests, or ‘white tide’, was made up of medical professionals and patients, forming a new kind of common front to defend… Continue reading
Financing the global sharing economy
Share The World’s Resources continue to dig down into the nitty-gritty of how the new sharing economy is truly going to be built. Here they present a comprehensive report on the financial advantages of an economy based primarily on collaboration rather than competition: Source: http://www.sharing.org/information-centre/reports/financing-global-sharing-economy A report by Share The World’s Resources demonstrates how governments… Continue reading
Podcast of the Day/C-Realm: Kevin Carson on the Functional Equivalent of a Conspiracy
Another must hear conversation between KMO of the C-Realm podcast, and P2P Foundation contributor Kevin Carson. Here’s the original post on the C-Realm website. From the shownotes to the episode: KMO and Kevin Carson, the author of The Desktop Regulatory State: The Countervailing Power of Networks and Super-Empowered Individuals, met up at the public library in Springdale, Arkansas to record a conversation about radical… Continue reading