The following book review by our P2Pvalue colleague Mayo Fuster Morell was originally published on the CCCBLab site. Image CC-BY Democracy Chronicles Cases such as Airbnb, Uber, and eBay have popularised the concept of the sharing economy. Digital platforms allow for the exchange of products and services, defying the business model of traditional companies. As it… Continue reading
Date archives "July 2016"
Techno-Utopianism, Counterfeit and Real 11: Left-Wing Critics of Mason — Kate Aronoff
Political action may be necessary. As Aronoff suggested, it is indeed a mistake to create a false dichotomy with counter-institution building. But framing “political action” as primarily state action, rather than a component of the counter-institution building movements themselves, is precisely the kind of false dichotomy we need to avoid. Political models centered on the… Continue reading
We need new stories for prosperous descent
The creative task of managing our civilisational descent – daunting though it is – promises to be both meaningful and fulfilling, provided we are prepared to let go of dominant conceptions of the good life and begin telling ourselves new stories of prosperity. Excerpted from Samuel Alexander: “The creative task of managing our civilisational descent… Continue reading
Michael Hudson: The Slow Crash
The following podcast and transcript of an interview with Michael Hudson were originally published on Naked Capitalism. An interview by Guns and Butter with Michael Hudson. His latest book is KILLING THE HOST: How Financial Parasites and Debt Bondage Destroy the Global Economy If you do not see the podcast player below, you can listen… Continue reading
Project of the day: Navajo Nation Peacemaking Program
Protecting societies against abuse has traditionally been the purview of the state. The need to protect the commons society against abuse will remain even after the commons transition. Reputation and ratings systems may be capable of weeding out free-riders. But how will they be restored to participation and genuine contribution? In Michel Bauwens vision of… Continue reading
In Conversation: Consumerism After Fossil Fuels
This article and recording by Richard Heinberg and Asher Miller was originally published on the Post Carbon Institute blog. The creation of the consumer economy—a complex, interconnected system of institutions, goals, rewards, and punishments—was one of the great social projects of the twentieth century, when energy was cheaply abundant and two of our chief economic… Continue reading
Trama: Netweaving and Collaboration in Rio de Janeiro
Written by Cândida Rato and cross-posted from Shareable. In late 2014 a design project at PUC-Rio university led five students to the street in Rio de Janeiro to restore an idle square by opening it for people collaboration and creativity. They received a high grade for the event and it was the starting point of… Continue reading
ECF IDEA CAMP 2017: Moving Communities
Original posted on the ECF blog, where you can find complete information. Photo from the Idea Camp 2015 by Julio Albarrán. You can now apply for ECF’s third Idea Camp that will take place in March 2017. Deadline to apply is 20 September 2016. What’s the Idea Camp? ECF’s Idea Camp is a three-day collaborative… Continue reading
The City as Commons: a Policy Reader
Introduction The City as Commons: a Policy Reader, brings together 34 contributions and 31 authors which explore policy options and strategies for creating cities as commons for urban development and transformation. Each contribution explores a different aspect of city commoning and proposes strategies and policy recommendations based on existing projects from around the world. Contributions include: Design… Continue reading
Economics Shows Us Why Laissez-Faire Economics Always Fails: Why markets are like gardens, not machines
This post by Eric Liu and Nick Hanauer was originally published on Evonomics. Image: Elliot Gerard. During 2007 and 2008, giant financial institutions were obliterated, the net worth of most Americans collapsed, and most of the world’s economies were brought to their knees. At the same time, this has been an era of radical economic inequality, at levels not… Continue reading
Documentary: Building Communities of Commons in Greece
A documentary on networks in Sarantaporo area produced by the media arts collective Personal Cinema: “Sarantaporo area, situated at the North of Greece, is an agricultural and husbandry region, also hit by the crisis. But even prior to the crisis, state’s attention to the area was poor. Youths were migrating to big cities or abroad…. Continue reading
An intentional egalitarian community as a small-scale implementation of Post-Capitalism
An intentional egalitarian community as a small-scale implementation of a postcapitalist, peer production economic model. Part III : imagining non-delegation and distributed coordination in the physical world This is the third part of a series that presents egalitarian communities, mainly Acorn community in Virginia, to shed some light on the way that the postcapitalist mode… Continue reading
Bringing CopyLove’s Audiovisual Source Code to Helsinki and Beyond
Pixelache Helsinki wants to bring key members of ZEMOS98 collective from Sevilla, Spain, to the 2016 edition of their festival, under the campaign title ‘CopyLove Helsinki‘ #CopyLove #Helsinki ZEMOS98 will bring feminist-orientated care and warmth, Remix for Bien común (Remix for the Commons), Commons spirit and Love to the North. In particular they will share… Continue reading
Locking the Web Open with Decentralizing Tech and Platform Co-ops
Cross-posted from Shareable. Maira Sutton: Since the first browser was created by Sir Tim Berners-Lee over 25 years ago, the World Wide Web has grown to become a massive ecosystem of information that has democratized access to knowledge and culture on the Internet. But today, the Web is under threat. More and more, we’re seeing… Continue reading
Techno-Utopianism, Counterfeit and Real 10: Left-Wing Critics of Mason – Stephanie McMillan
Increasingly the capitalists’ profits do not depend on ownership of the means of production, but control of the right to use them – the ownership of patents rather than machines. This intermediate stage, capitalism’s last desperate attempt to snatch scarcity from the jaws of abundance, is doomed to failure. Techno-Utopianism, Counterfeit and Real by Kevin… Continue reading
Project Of The Day: Hakistan
If you could successfully create your own nation, who would you invite to be a part of it? Today, I began creating my next life. I am leaving my present employer this year, in search of people who are working on issues I care about. It is not as if my co-workers don’t care. I… Continue reading