Excerpted from Christian Arnsperger, as part of an integrated “Six_Framework_Conditions_for_Global_Systemic_Change“: “The frugal economy will be a “socio-diverse” network of communities experimenting with frugal ways of life, a loose network of local economies producing primarily for the local population. There will still be some long-distance trade, but with transportation having become so expensive, there will be… Continue reading
Dale Carrico: p2p is EITHER Pay-to-Peer OR it is Peers-to-Precarity
In the absence of its public subsidization peer to peer collaboration is always accompanied by increasing precarity. Whenever and wherever peer-to-peer labor formations are celebrated (for their “open access,” for their “flexibility,” for their “resilience,” for their “innovation”), but this celebration is not just as repeatedly and explicitly accompanied by the recognition that this provision… Continue reading
Project of the Day: The Moleque de Ideias open school in Nitteroi, Brazil
Moleque de ideias is a software house and a a place to learn what one wants to do. From age 4 onwards. In other words, an Open school without curriculum! Here is the basic description: “Firm founded in 1996. Moleque de Ideias keeps a living environment where all children, youth and adults can create and… Continue reading
A new humanist urbanism based on peer experience?
Øyvind Holmstad has alerted me to a series of so far 13 contributions in Metropolis magazine, doing the rounds in the p2p urbanism community around Nikos Salingaros. This is the gist of the manuscript by Robert Lamb Hart , which starts here: “My basic idea has been to step back, look at the unfinished cultural… Continue reading
The explosion of Chinese Web-Based Youth Self-Organizations
“In China, where civil society is still in its infancy, web-based youth self-organizations have been around for about ten years – nearly a decade of history. China’s youth facilitate the growth of youth social groups by sharing information and redefining social relationships. In recent years, there has been a trend of online self-organizations going offline… Continue reading
Project of the Day: Open TechSchool – Kreuzberg
Sam Muirhead explains: “It’s great to see the approach of OpenTechSchool, an recent initiative started here in Kreuzberg, whose approach includes both free access and open materials. Every week in a local co-working space, they offer workshops, meetups and classes, focused on bringing new people (particularly more women) into programming, and supporting them in their… Continue reading
Ray Podder: we need to go beyond the poverty of profit
A thoughtpiece proposed by Ray Podder: “Until now, this mantra of our fair civilization revered the ringing of the registers as the sure signs of prosperity for all. Perhaps the tiniest peeps against this theory of progress were not obvious enough to be felt, and so “profits equal progress” has now become the immutable wisdom… Continue reading
Project of the Day: Masque Una Casa
Rubén Alonso explains: “This is the web based tool masqueunacasa.org, an online platform that provides services to groups of people interested in undertaking self-managed housing projects. The masqueunacasa.org project is conceived as an online framework that enables the spreading and promotion of alternative options to the mainstream way of acquiring a home, which has basically… Continue reading
A planet of commons-oriented civic laboratories
An integrative vision of inclusive urban development:
Talking P2P Economics in Barcelona
A live recording of my lecture in the Barcelona co-working space MOB, focusing on the economic aspects of peer to peer emergence. I start with the Brazilian example of Curto Cafe. Sound is not perfect, but still very clear to the ear. Thanks especially to Albert Cañigueral for co-organising this!
Essay of the Day: Democracy, Redistribution and Equality
economic inequality inevitably generates political inequality, which in turn reproduces economic inequality * Paper: Adam Przeworski. Democracy, Redistribution and Equality. Brazilian Political Science Review, Vol 6, No 1 (2012) The summary: “The article argues that economic inequality inevitably generates political inequality, which in turn reproduces economic inequality. Basic concepts are introduced first along with strong… Continue reading
Book of the Day: Four Phases of Team Collaboration
“Edison’s great-grandniece details how the great inventor bonded with his team to breed innovation. It was a four-step process.” * Book: Midnight Lunch: The 4 Phases of Team Collaboration Success from Thomas Edison’s Lab. Sarah Miller Caldicott. ISBN: 978-1-1184-0786-8. 284 pages. December 2012 The following is excerpted from a review by Jennifer Sertl: “The three… Continue reading
Innovation in Community Energy in Finland and the UK
* PhD: Innovation of Community Energy in Finland and the UK (Mari Martiskainen). Sussex Energy Group, University of Sussex. From the Summary: “This PhD research focuses on the innovation of community energy projects in two European countries, Finland and the United Kingdom (UK). The European Union has a target to increase renewable energy generation to… Continue reading
Local Participation and the Left Turn in Bolivia
* Article: Davies, Emmerich and Falleti, Tulia, Who Participates? Local Community Participation and the Left Turn in Bolivia (2012). APSA 2012 Annual Meeting Paper. The summary: “Whereas studies of electoral participation abound, little attention has been paid to non-electoral and non-contentious participation. Latin American countries have recently promoted participatory institutions and become ideal contexts to… Continue reading
Essay of the Day: The Vision and Reality of Digital Democracy
* Paper: Jan van Dijk. Digital Democracy: Vision and Reality. The essay looks at the claims and achievements of digital democracy in the last 25 years and is recommended by Tiago Peixoto: “Van Dijk’s paper adds to my list of readings on how little can be achieved by technology in the absence of institutional change… Continue reading
Book of the Day: On achieving prosperous degrowth
* Book: A Prosperous Way Down: Principles and Policies. By Howard T. Odum and Elisabeth C. Odum. University Press of Colorado, 2001. This book re-edited book from 2001 is not antiquated and will introduce the reader to energy-economics. The summary from the publishers: “Consider the future with less fossil fuel and no new natural or… Continue reading