The Communal State model in Venezuela

Excerpted from Dario Azzellini: “In January 2007, Chávez proposed to go beyond the bourgeois state by building the communal state. He thus picked up and applied more widely a concern originating with anti-systemic forces. The main idea was to form council structures of all kinds (communal councils, communes, and communal cities, for example), as bottom… Continue reading

Design in Communal Endeavours

* Dissertation: Expanding Design Space(s). Design in Communal Endeavours. By Andrea Botera. Aalto University, 2013. Description “The present study explores collective design processes that both closely tied communities and emergent collectives are increasingly engaging in. The hypothesis was that collaborative design in these settings is better understood at the intersection of the evolution of the… Continue reading

Movement of the Day: the Tech Co-op Network

“a network of Worker-Owned Tech Collectives: “worker cooperatives (businesses owned and democratically controlled by our workers) offering a wide range of media, communications, and computer technology goods and services.” Brian Van Slyke explains: “On in late October, 18 worker co-ops joined together to launch the Tech Co-op Network. The Network’s purpose is to take cooperation… Continue reading

Podcast of the Day: Richard Heinberg on the End of Growth

Here’s a two-in one podcast special featuring Richard Heinberg. First up is a segment from our friends at The Extraenviromentalist Podcast, followed by a Q&A between Heinberg and the Post-Carbon Institute. Heinberg on The Extraenviromentalist: http://xepodcast.com/extraenvironmentalist/028-at-growths-end.mp3   European economies are teetering on the brink of collapse as low rates of GDP growth are no longer able… Continue reading

Can 3D Printing Lead to Mass Manufacturing ?

Excerpted from ARJUN BHARADWAJ: “Industrial scale 3D printers have for a long time now threatened to change the face of traditional assembly line manufacturing, but it hasn’t really kicked-off the revolution yet. The greatest known limitation of additive manufacturing is its inability to mass-produce. To replace the millions of parts manufactured daily in an assembly… Continue reading

Peercoin – a cryptocurrency with built-in price stability and an energy efficient mining mechanism

Peercoin is a cryptocurrency inspired by Bitcoin and built on the same concept, but with some important differences. According to a Wikipedia article https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peercoin Peercoin is less wasteful than Bitcoin in its energy usage, to calculate and agree on who transacted what with whom. Bitcoin is based on the “proof of work” principle, which means… Continue reading