SUNY professor and author Virginia Eubanks on how our government and corporations are erasing social services through unequal digital practices. About Virginia Eubanks Virginia Eubanks is an Associate Professor of Political Science at the University at Albany, SUNY. She is the author of Automating Inequality: How High-Tech Tools Profile, Police, and Punish the Poor; Digital Dead End: Fighting… Continue reading
The Blockchain Is a Reminder of the Internet’s Failure
Andrew Leonard, writing in Medium, compares current Blockchain hype to the cybertarian utopianism of the the early Internet: Andrew Leonard: I remember the day I fell in love with the Internet as well as I remember the birth of my children. The summer of 1993; I was a reporter at the alt-weekly San Francisco Bay Guardian and my editor… Continue reading
2018 and Onward: Where we are at with Platform Cooperativism
By Trebor Scholz. Originally published in Platform.Coop Friends, This has been a difficult but also consequential year for many of us. Beyond the political chaos, we bore witness to the “Death of Tumblr,” the pushback against Upwork’s time-tracking software, and compelling scholarly analysis of Uber’s role in the labor market. Facebook gave Netflix and Spotify access to the private messages of… Continue reading
13 Ways We Can Fix The “Free Market” So It Works For Regular People, Not Just The Rich
Jeffrey Hollender: In his book Saving Capitalism: For the Many, Not the Few, former U.S. Secretary of Labor Robert Reich provides an outstanding guide to many of the factors that prevent the possibility of a truly free market. He writes: Few ideas have more profoundly poisoned the minds of more people than the notion of a… Continue reading
Book of the Day: Knowledge, Spirit, Law // Book 1: Radical Scholarship
Knowledge, Spirit, Law // Book 1: Radical Scholarship by Gavin Keeney, published by Punctum Books. Knowledge, Spirit, Law is a de facto phenomenology of scholarship in the age of neoliberal capitalism. The eleven essays (plus Appendices) in Book 1: Radical Scholarship cover topics and circle themes related to the problems and crises specific to neoliberal academia,… Continue reading
Paris, France: Eau de Paris delivers cheaper, cleaner water under remunicipalised utility
Eau de Paris (EDP) was set up to end a fragmented, opaque and expensive municipal water service. Relying on strong political will, the city of Paris has worked to make water management a major democratic issue, ensuring better-managed and cheaper water supplies, and an environmental strategy that is second to none. Before 2010, Paris’s water… Continue reading
If, When and How Blockchain Technologies Can Provide Civic Change
Stefaan G. Verhulst and Andrew Young: The hype surrounding the potential of blockchain technologies– the distributed ledger technology (DLT) undergirding cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin – to transform the way industries and sectors operate and exchange records is reaching a fever pitch. Governments and civil society have now also joined the quest and are actively exploring the… Continue reading
How a water war in Bolivia led to the reversal of privatization
Cross-posted from Shareable. This article was adapted from our latest book, “Sharing Cities: Activating the Urban Commons.” Download your free pdf copy today. Johannes Euler: In Cochabamba, Bolivia, the lack of water has caused conflicts for decades. In 1999, Cochabamba’s public water supplier, SEMAPA, was leased to the international consortium Aguas del Tunari. The major shareholder of the… Continue reading
David Brooks on Inclusive Community Dynamics vs Exclusionary Tribalism
David Brooks discusses the signs of civic renewal, making a number of interesting historical comparisons (for example, with the Progressive Era in the US). “What makes for ‘thick’ organizations, where relationships heal atomisation”. This is a really great presentation. Photo by Ian Sane
Universal Basic Income Is Easier Than It Looks
Calls for a Universal Basic Income have been increasing, most recently as part of the Green New Deal introduced by Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) and supported in the last month by at least 40 members of Congress. A Universal Basic Income (UBI) is a monthly payment to all adults with no strings attached, similar to Social Security. Critics… Continue reading
Eleftherios Diakomichalis on Oscoin: A P2P Alternative for OSS Collaboration
New ways to collaborate on code Oscoin: Principles & Motivation When we started Oscoin, our motivation was guided by the observation that crypto-currencies could enable a new form of community-owned and operated network. The invention of digital scarcity1 made it possible to economically incentivize and remunerate network participants for their service in a simple,transparent way,… Continue reading
Race and Intersectionality in the New Economy
Gurpreet Bola: Progressives reference the ‘new economy’ in order to describe a system that is based on social and environmental justice. Yet type these words into any search engine and you’ll find that we don’t own it, neoliberals do. The ‘new economy’ they are talking about refers to the emerging and ever-strengthening data economy. This… Continue reading
Book of the Day: Better Work Together – How the power of community can transform your business
Enspiral is a community of impact driven entrepreneurs experimenting at the edges of ownership, governance, decision making, resource sharing and organisational design. After nearly a decade of testing and growing ideas, this is their first collectively written book. Sharing vision, reflections and insights, this practical resource will help you create radically collaborative, innovative and caring… Continue reading
The commons, the state and the public: A Latin American perspective
What are the commons and what is their political, social and economic relevance? In recent years, many researchers and social activists from very different countries, like myself, have rediscovered the notion of the commons as a key idea to deepen social and environmental justice and democratise both politics and the economy. This reappropriation has meant… Continue reading
Alanna Irving on Tools for Value Sovereignty
Founder of multiple tech companies, Alanna Irving presents an alternative money story, offering practical tools for radical financial transparency, trust and participation. This video was filmed at New Frontiers / Te Tūhura Nuku – November 2018 in Upper Hutt, New Zealand.
Creating the everyday commons: The need to consider space in sharing initiatives
Cross posted from Shareable. Eleni Katrini: Analysis: Imagine living in a neighborhood where you can learn from your neighbors, grow your own food, participate in your child’s education, and invest back to your community’s well-being through your daily transactions. If you’re reading this article, you’re probably interested in or already involved in a community garden, daycare… Continue reading