A copy of the statement of support of Richard Stallman of the Free Software Foundation: “The international banks, and their plutocratist politicians, have brejected the easy course of giving Greece a path back to growth and to repaying most of its debt. They demand Greece accept six months more of the “help” that would leave… Continue reading
Date archives "June 2015"
A Introduction to the Basic P2P Ideas; Part 3: P2P Economics.
Over the last ten years, the P2P Foundation has produced a sizeable body of material, both original and curated, but none of it is specifically designed as an introduction for newcomers and people who are not so familiar with the P2P approach. Hence Irma Wilson‘s proposal, during a trip which FutureSharp helped organize in South… Continue reading
Could the Blockchain Bring Transparency to Supply Chains ?
We are republishing this editorial from Jutta Steiner from Provenance: “Every physical object we buy comes with a story: a journey of people, places and materials. But these stories often remain hidden in sprawling, complex supply chains and the information presented to consumers is rarely more than marketing that can mask sad truths. Now, more… Continue reading
Common Libraries’ National Library Science Experiment Concludes
An update from our good friend Annemarie Naylor on Common Libraries recent activities working with library authorities around the country. Originally published at the Common Libraries Website The Common Libraries initiative was established to ‘prototype the library of the future – today’ – to explore, develop and test new ways of working with library users, to… Continue reading
In support of the “No” in the Greek Referendum: 1) Jerome Roos
Sunday’s referendum will mark a defining moment in Greece’s modern history and a decisive turn for Europe’s neoliberal project. The choice is very clear. Five years after the people of Greece first rose up against the anti-democratic imposition of the Troika’s austerity measures, they have finally been given the chance to decide upon their own… Continue reading
Discover the Enspiral network, the world’s leading commons-oriented enterpreunerial coalition
I met with co-founder Alanna Krause, who came to Chiang Mai. A good occasion to discover this leading commons-oriented enterpreneurial coalition that does so many things right. Watch their intro video here: Testimonies from members here:
What the EU has wrought in Greece: the tale of Magda
What I do know, is that the encounter was the beginning of the end of my love affair with the European project. Because, quite simply, it is no longer my European Union. It is Amazon’s and Starbucks’. It is the politicians’ and the IMF’s. But it is not mine. If belonging to the largest and… Continue reading
Michel Bauwens: The Transition Will Not Be Smooth Sailing
We present an English translation of the original interview in French conducted by Arthur de Grave. Cross-posted from OuiShare. Translation by Clement Defontaine. Originally published at Shareable Magazine Michel Bauwens is one of the pioneers of the peer-to-peer movement. Theoretician, activist, and public speaker, he founded the P2P Foundation in 2005. His work, both rich and complex,… Continue reading
150 Years after the first call: How do you abolish the wages system by degrees?
Tom Walker writes that “June 27, 2015 is the one-hundred and fiftieth anniversary of Marx’s call for the abolition of the wages system — a fitting occasion for renewing that call”, and he cites: – We do not forget that we are fighting with effects, but not with the causes of those effects; that we… Continue reading
Interview with Sini Forssell, co-founder of the Helsinki Ruokaosuuskunta Urban Food Cooperative Farm
This interesting overview, conducted by Christin Boggs, is followed by a little movie produced by the food coop. Watch the interview here: On the benefits of urban cooperative farming:
How can we better identify idle resources for the p2p economy ?
A thought capsule from Eric Hunting: “I’ve been pondering lately the question of alternative resources and how they might be sought, catalogued, and developed. One of the often overlooked aspects of P2P is that it was founded in the discovery of a global resource overlooked by the market. That resource was passion and its margin… Continue reading
Bologna Celebrates One Year of a Bold Experiment in Urban Commoning
Reposted from Shareable Magazine, Neal Gorenflo describes the one year anniversary of The Bologna Regulation for the Care and Regeneration of the Urban Commons, a unique city policy that has turned “no you can’t” into “yes we can together.” It all began with park benches. In 2011, a group of women in Bologna, Italy wanted to… Continue reading
Bologna, a Laboratory for Urban Commoning
Anarchist anthropologist David Graeber argues in his recent book, The Utopia of Rules,that bureaucracy is the standard mechanism in contemporary life for coercing people to comply with the top-down priorities of institutions, especially corporations and government. Anyone concerned with the commons, therefore, must eventually address the realities of bureaucratic power and the feasible alternatives. Is… Continue reading
Catholics, Free Software and Free Knowledge, again
(this is a copy of the post I originally published on my own blog, with a CC BY-ND license. The original version, with updates, other comments etc.. is here) Almost ten years ago, I wrote about Free Software’s surprising sympathy with Catholic doctrine, noting that, albeit certain statements sound “as if they could have been written by… Continue reading
Who are the agents of alternatives today ?
“an independently published open book exploring the visions, actions, tools and impacts of change agents, thinkers and ‘happeners’. Excerpted from the introduction to the wonderfully edited and designed book: * Book: Agents of Alternatives – Re-designing Our Realities. Ed. by Alastair Fuad-Luke, Anja-Lisa Hirscher and Katharina Moebus. Agents of Alternatives e.V., 2015 By Anja-Lisa Hirscher… Continue reading
Platforms as the new bureaucracy , or beyond towards non-bureaucratic organizations ?
Clear signs tell us that, today, organizations that embraced a post-industrial transformation and defeated the bureaucracy and rigidity of linear business models are the masters of the market. Excerpted from an excellent discussion of the implications of David Graeber’s new book, the Utopia of Rules, by Simone Cicero: (we recommend reading the whole essay!) ““Only”… Continue reading