There are now more than 325 time banks and alternative currency systems in Spain involving tens of thousands of citizens. The projects represent one of the largest experiments in “social money” in modern times. Mostly excerpted from the Washington Post (via): “At a time when the future of the euro is in doubt and millions… Continue reading
The space of value, or the role of value in space: a physical basis for religious awe?
Øyvind Holmstad has added two interesting comments to some of our previous articles. First, he introduces the idea of a struggle between two world systems, then goes on quoting Christopher Alexander on the importance of recognizing the values of life/spirit/value, instead of the mechanical, instrumental conception of the universe. Øyvind Holmstad: 1. “The architecture of… Continue reading
Lisa Gansky on the 3 factors that took friction out of sharing
Watch the 90 second video excerpt here:
Towards The Partner State Model of Civic Commons Governance
A reprint of an earlier editorial: “Can we learn something about the politics of the new mode of value creation, something that would be useful not just for particular communities, but to society in general? Is there perhaps a new model of power and democracy co-evolving out of these new social practices, which may be… Continue reading
Some signs of progress in humanity’s history
In this excerpt from Hazel Henderson, she points to the overall fall in the level of violence, and to the progress of our ‘mass learning’ capacity. (source: This essay has been excerpted as a chapter in WorldShift 2020: The New Vision – Exploring the Evolving Horizons; section ‘From Vision To Reality: Contributions From The Worldshifting… Continue reading
Despite the Apple verdict, for Samsung, copying was the right decision
Excerpted from Farhad Manjoo: “It’s tempting, after such a sweeping verdict in Apple’s favor, to conclude that Samsung’s decision to mimic the iPhone was a terrible mistake. The firm will now be on the hook for at least $1 billion in damages, and the judge could triple that amount. Samsung will likely face sales injunctions… Continue reading
The Organization of United Phyles: a post-Westphalian proposal by Las Indias and the P2P Foundation
Republished from Las Indias (Indjana Kooperativa Grupo): “Worldwide, a growing number of transnational communities is appearing. Some of them tend towards, pursue, or already have a shared economy around diverse commons. They are phyles, and every day, more and more people see them as the alternative to combat crisis, experience social innovation, and live out… Continue reading
Tom Murphy on the Energy Trap
John La Grou introduces this very important video:: “Tom Murphy is a physics professor at University of California, San Diego. His recent talk at the Compass Summit beautifully describes our #1 global issue moving forward — the energy trap. I think his term “energy trap” is better than “peak oil” for describing the volatile economic… Continue reading
ITU and the battle for the control of the internet
Excerpted from John Kampfner: “In December in Dubai, a body that has existed for 150 years but few outside narrow industry circles have heard of, is seeking to take control of the internet. The International Telecommunications Union (ITU), a UN organisation that counts 193 countries as its members, aims to add the internet to its… Continue reading
Brutal Debt, or the return to feudalism
David Graeber in Conversation with Rebecca Solnit. This excerpted conversation, worth reading in full, took place on January 26th, 2012, at City Lights Books in San Francisco. I strongly recommend listening to the conversation that David Graeber had with Charlie Rose, on the origins of money, markets, and the state! See the video at the… Continue reading
The Relational Shift – Part 2: Relational Dynamics between Humans and their Built Environment
Source: PRN.FM The Lived World of Place and Urban Design — a talk with David Seamon, editor of the journal Environmental & Architectural Phenomenology, about relational dynamics between humans and their built environment; also featuring Mindy Fullilove, author of Root Shock and Urban Alchemy about the destructive effects of post-war urban renewal projects on African-American… Continue reading
Stepping into the gift economy as ‘the’ strategy for change
Excerpted from an interview of Charles Eistenstein conducted by Transition Culture: “When you create something then you have to step aside, because something other than yourself becomes paramount, it’s this thing you want to create. When you let go of that ego self then real connection is possible. Like if you’ve been in a band… Continue reading
From biosubstitution (= bad), to biomimicry (= good)!
Excerpted from Hazel Henderson: “Cynics and media editors delight in ridiculing the UN and all humanity’s painful efforts at learning how Earth’s systems actually function. The past 50 years of official global conferences, and hundreds of thousands more meetings by NGOs, concerned business and investor groups, environmentalists and social justice networks of the World Social… Continue reading
The End of the Age of Scalable Efficiency?
Interestesting analysis excerpted from a review by John Hagel of the book, ‘Race Against the Machine’. John Hagel: 1. The Problem ‘Ronald Coase won the Nobel Prize in economics for an essay on The Nature of the Firm he wrote in 1937 that provided a simple and compelling answer to the question of why we… Continue reading
Is the green economy just about cheating nature while making profit out of it?
“We cannot command nature except by obeying her”” – Francis Bacon Excerpted from Pablo Solon: “In the period from 1970 to 2008, the Earth System has lost 30% of its biodiversity. In tropical areas, the loss has even been as high as 60%. This is not happening by accident. This is the result of an… Continue reading
No, Automation does NOT lead to Liberation
Futurologists really must come to terms with the extent to which they have functioned as relentless defenders of the interests of corporate elites and the status quo all the while pretending to be champions of “accelerating change” and “techno-emancipation” in “The Future.” Excerpted from Dale Carrico: “It is a commonplace of futurological corporate propaganda since… Continue reading