« Peer production has been around as long as human beings have been around » More quality content from Open Thought’s 2014 issue asking the question, “How many peers does it take to change a light bulb? The following video contribution from software developer and author Allison Randal ties in with the P2P Foundation’s often overlooked neo-traditionalist appreciation of… Continue reading
Date archives "August 2014"
South/South collaboration for a post-capitalist paradigm by François Houtart
In July 2014 a new step was taken towards constructing a multi-polar world, with the meeting in Brazil of the BRICS, the constitution of a new Bank and of a Fund for Development. This was followed by a joint meeting between the BRICS, UNASUR, the Organization of the South American States and CELAC (the Community… Continue reading
Book of the Day: Hacking the Future of Money
Book: The Heretic’s Guide to Global Finance: Hacking the Future of Money by Brett Scott. URL = http://suitpossum.blogspot.co.uk/p/the-heretics-guide.html Description Brett Scott: “The Heretic’s Guide to Global Finance: Hacking the Future of Money is a friendly guide to taking on the world’s most powerful system. It sets up a framework to illuminate the financial sector based on… Continue reading
Why unions are necessary in the on-demand, so-called, ‘sharing’ economy
the workers themselves need to have a say in how this new world develops. The idea that a handful of platforms operating on razor-thin margins will create an equitable world for their workers — that algorithms written by the employers will protect workers’ rights better than the workers themselves and their elected representatives could —… Continue reading
How Tech-Savvy Podemos Became One of Spain’s Most Popular Parties in 100 Days
Originally published in Techpresident, this recent report by Carola Friedani details the unstoppable rise of Podemos and the participatory tools that have enabled it. We’re especially happy to see our friends at Loomio mentioned as one of Podemos’ go-to tools. It has been called “a radical left sensation”; a “fledgling party” born out of the ashes… Continue reading
Book of the Day: Against the Smart City
Against the smart city (The city is here for you to use). Andrew Greenfield Description “From the smartphones in our pockets and the cameras on the lampposts to sensors in the sewers, the sidewalks and the bike-sharing stations, the contemporary city is permeated with networked information technology. As promoted by enterprises like IBM, Siemens and… Continue reading
How market-based incentives erode the effectiveness of reputation systems
Market-based incentives erode the effectiveness of reputation, and in this respect reputation is a cultural commons. In her TED talk, influential author Rachel Botsman says that in the new economy “reputation will be your most valuable asset”, but as reputation becomes an important asset, markets will grow around it and intermediaries will claim to help… Continue reading
Peering through the Crowdfunding Window: Sustainable Food, Sharing Economies and the Ethos of Legal Infrastructure
Bronwen Morgan, a researcher and expert in regulation and rights related to social activism and claims for social and economic human rights, recently approached us to share the following article. It deals with sustainable food systems, the sharing economy, and the ethos of legal infrastructure by using the recent crowdfunding campaigns of Open Food Network (Australia) and FarmDrop (UK) as… Continue reading
Book of the Day: Global War for Internet Governance
* Book: The Global War for Internet Governance. by Laura DeNardis. Yale University Press, 2014 From the publisher: “The Internet has transformed the manner in which information is exchanged and business is conducted, arguably more than any other communication development in the past century. Despite its wide reach and powerful global influence, it is a… Continue reading
In Montreal: an appeal for the taxation of AirBNB and the sharing economy
Excerpted from an editorial in Montreal’s The Gazette: “Airbnb is an efficient and popular pillar of the burgeoning sharing economy. Whether the hotel industry likes it or not, San Francisco-based Airbnb, with a market valuation of $10 billion, is here to stay. And so, whether Airbnb and its fans like it or not, this is… Continue reading
Video: a short intro to the ‘moneyless’ Trade Schools in London and New York
The Collaborative Cities project interviews co-founder Caroline Woolard and attends a class in London (Hub Westminster). Trade Schools are ‘barter for education’ communities. Watch the video here:
Direct Democracy Festival
The “Direct Democracy Festival” is taking place in Thessaloniki, Greece on September the 3th, 4th and 5th. It includes speeches, workshops, concerts, activities for children, theatrical performances, films projections and direct marketing of products. This time the festival has a clear international orientation with speakers such as Nozomi Hayase and Jerome Roos from ROAR magazine,… Continue reading
Book of the Day: Metropolitan Revolution
The Metropolitan Revolution by Bruce Katz and Jennifer Bradley. Brookings Institution Press, 2013. URL = http://www.amazon.com/The-Metropolitan-Revolution-Politics-Brookings/dp/081572151X How the structure of civic relationships shapes economic trajectories; weak link networks are better for urban regeneration than those with strong links. Description Jessica Conrad: “In the face of “federal gridlock, economic stagnation and fiscal turmoil,” cities and metropolitan areas… Continue reading
Online Employment Agencies and the Casualization of the Workforce
Excerpted from Veronica Sheen (Australia): “The online agencies extend what is already on offer by contracting and labour-hire companies, as well as self-employed contractors such as office temps, cleaners, IT specialists, gardeners, labourers, or tradespeople. But in the new model the middle-man (the contracting company) is eliminated – notwithstanding the cut that the online agency… Continue reading
A Commons Guide for the 4th. International Degrowth Conference
Source: By Silke Helfrich http://commonsblog.wordpress.com/2014/08/21/a-commons-guide-throught-the-4th-international-degrowth-conference/ Commons at the 4th.International Degrowth Conference -> Let’s make them visible. A miniguide This is an uncomplete collection of commons-related events at the 4th. international degrowth conference in Leipzig, which will start on September 2. There will be an enourmous number of parallel events, sessions and workshops during the 3 main… Continue reading
Video: Wallerstein vs. Rifkin, against the zero marginal cost thesis ?
Well not really, though the title points to one possible way to interpret this interview with Immanuel Wallerstein. Wallterstein argues that historically, despite oscillations, the price of inputs in labor, material/energy and taxation, have gone up, leading to a systemic crisis for capital. Rifkin, in his last book, makes a different hypothetis, but focusing on… Continue reading