* Talk: Digital Labor and the Anthropocene. McKenzie Wark | Digital Labor and the Anthropocene. Ed. by Marvin Jordan. The following is excerpted from a transcript is taken from a recent talk delivered at the Digital Labor conference presented by The New School. By McKenzie Wark: “Viewed from inside the bubble of New York, the… Continue reading
Date archives "November 2015"
50 Ways to Leave the Euro: Greece and the Global Crisis
By Thomas Greco The problem is all inside your head, I told the Greeks The answer is easy, you need only stop the leaks The power is yours to claim the freedom that you seek There must be fifty ways to leave the Euro (Apologies to Simon and Garfunkel) Following the resounding “NO” vote… Continue reading
Manifesto calling for a Common Ground of life and work security for Independent Workers
This manifesto is supported by a string of personalities from the business side of the new economy as well: “Common ground for independent workers: Principles for delivering a stable and flexible safety net for all types of work “New technologies and business models are fundamentally changing the economic landscape across the country, adding value to… Continue reading
The emergence of new Community Wealth-Building strategies in U.S. cities
Excerpted from Majorie Kelly: “In a new report that I co-authored with my Democracy Collaborative colleague Sarah McKinley, we show how this comprehensive, “systems” approach—which we call community wealth-building—is unfolding in 20 cities, including: New York; Newark, New Jersey; Burlington, Vermont; Chicago; Minneapolis; and Oakland, California. We believe that this approach is on the cusp… Continue reading
Book of the Day: The Book of Abundance
* The Book of Abundance. Reflections on abundance, economics, and community by the las Indias collective. Translated by Level Translation. Grassroots Economic Organizing, 2015. This excerpt was chosen by translator Steve Herrick: “Abundance exists when it becomes unnecessary to work out what is produced and what not, and above all, how much access to a… Continue reading
Transitioning from Urban Commons to the City as a Commons
Why is this distinction important ? Sheila Foster explains: “The idea that like natural resources/commons the city can not just be over-consumed but also unjustly consumed. The commons is a way to call attention to this and to describe not just a practice of commoning (cooperatives, co-managed space and collaborative produced goods, etc) but also… Continue reading
Do we need to fight the Death Star Platforms with their own logic, or with a different one ?
Republished from Matthew Slater‘s own blog: “Neal Gorenfo
Reversing the Mississipi: documentary about the Open Source Ecology project
“REVERSING THE MISSISSIPPI is a documentary about a genius technologist and a rebel educator, two pioneers from opposite spectrums with one goal in common: Build a sustainable community. Can two men driven by determination overcome global challenges to change the world?” Watch the trailer here, commentary from Shareable below: Anna Bergren Miller writes: “When filmmaker… Continue reading
Essay of the Day: Uncovering the Grammar of the Social Field
* Article: The Blind Spot: Uncovering the Grammar of the Social Field. Otto Scharmer. From the abstract: “Today, in most social systems, we collectively produce results that no one wants. These results show up in the form of environmental, social, and cultural destruction. The ecological divide (which disconnects self from nature), the social divide (which… Continue reading
Class Inequality in the “Sharing” Economy: how sherpas work for sahibs
Excerpted from Anthony Kalamar: “The real Sherpas (with a capital S), are, of course, an ethnic group in Nepal, not a job category. But uses of the word similar to the meaning used at Burning Man can be found in tech culture (“network sherpas” and “web sherpas”) and gaming (“game sherpas”) and beyond. In the… Continue reading
Towards a decentralized mobility market
“Data on patterns and infrastructure must be a collective property, managed by the government. Each new player on the market must have a chance to become at least as large as other providers. A decentralized market benefits the user and provides tax revenues that could be collected locally. We look forward to the introduction of… Continue reading
Douglas Rushkoff: “You Can’t Handle The Truth”
Rushkoff gave us permission to reprint his always fascinating email updates on the P2P blog, if you’d like to join his list, please do so here. The following text has also been published at digitaltrends.com so if, as he says, you want to “read a prettier version with video”, visit this link. Digital culture seems… Continue reading
Book of the Day: Networkologies: A Philosophy of Networks for a Hyperconnected Age
Networkologies is the first text to develop an entire new philosophy based upon networks. * Book: Networkologies: A Philosophy of Networks for a Hyperconnected Age – A Manifesto. by Christopher Vitale. Zero Books, 2014 Here’s the summary: “Networkologies is the first text to develop an entire new philosophy based upon networks. While many contemporary texts… Continue reading
Essay of the Day: Cap and Trade Vs. Carbon Tax as False Choices
Are there also ‘commons’ choices for climate change ? James Quilligan says yes! * Interest Rates and Climate Change: Realigning our Incentives through the Power of the Commons. By James Bernard Quilligan. Kosmos Journal, FALL | WINTER 2010 Excerpted from James Quilligan: “During the past several decades, humanity has emerged as a perilous force of… Continue reading
Tools and practices for Commons-Based Platform Cooperatives
« We need to pioneer technical, organizational and financial forms that enable users to mutualize the benefits of their own online sharing ». Excerpted from David Bollier: “Our imaginations and aspirations must begin to shift their focus from open platforms to digital commons. Self-organized commoners must be able to control the terms of their interactions… Continue reading
Paul Mason, Ann Pettifor, and Phillip Blond talk about Post-Capitalism
90 minutes of lecture and dialog to explore the theme: “Paul Mason, Economics Editor for Channel 4 News, presents the thesis from his latest book ‘PostCapitalism: A Guide to our Future’ at St Paul’s Cathedral for an event organised by St Paul’s Institute and Penguin UK. Responses from Ann Pettifor (Director, PRIME) and Phillip Blond… Continue reading