Michel Bauwens: Kevin Flanagan has asked me to write two articles, one that reviews p2p developments in 2013, and one that looks forward to 2014. Here is the first part of a personal and impressionistic interpretation of what happened in 2013. I like to describe the development of p2p ideas and practices and the P2P… Continue reading
The Ordinary Wisdom and Shared Power of the psyCommons
Denis Postle has produced a nice explanatory video on the concept and practice of the psyCommons, ” Ordinary Wisdom and Shared Power is the first of several videos about the psyCommons that he is producing. What is the psyCommons? Around 45% of the UK population have no need of ‘mental health’ services. They work and… Continue reading
Money, Market, Value and the Commons
Here is a video of a conversation that took place at the edges of the Economics and the Commons Conference in Berlin in May 2013. The participants are Gwendolyn Hallsmith, city planning director in Vermont and author of “Creating Wealth”, Pat Conaty, a research fellow of the New Economics Foundation in London, Anne Snick, who… Continue reading
Monetary History (1): From Matriarchies of Abundance to Patriarchies of Debt
Excerpted from Ellen Brown: (a bit of monetary history, from chapter 5 of the book, Web of Debt) “Located where Iraq is today, Sumer was a matriarchal agrarian economy with a financial system based on abundance and shared wealth. One of the oldest known bronze coins was the Sumerian shekel, dating from 3,200 B.C. It… Continue reading
Benjamin Barber on City-Based Global Governance
Summary of a talk by Benjamin Barber via Stewart Brand: “Sovereign nation states have conspicuously failed to cooperate well enough to deal with increasingly global problems such as climate change, environmental degradation, and organized crime, Barber said. Nations focus on their borders, which are seen as competitive zero-sum games. “But if we shift our gaze,… Continue reading
Peter Sloterdijk on the Acceleration of the Pace of Social Change
Very interesting commentary by German philosopher Peter Sloterdijk. Also on how capitalism is a machine to accelerate change through cultural projects that bypass generational reproduction. Watch the video here:
Declaration: An Internet for the Common Good
* An Internet for the Common Good: Engagement, Empowerment, and Justice for All. A Community Informatics Declaration. Centre for Community Informatics Research, Development and Training Republished from the Community Informatics community, via Michael Gurstein: “Effective use of the Internet holds the potential to benefit everyone. Currently, however, its benefits are distributed unequally — some people… Continue reading
Project of the Day: Common Ground Health Clinic
Common Ground Health Clinic By the Rosehip Medics: “The Common Ground Health Clinic started on September 9, 2005 just days after hurricane Katrina devastated the Gulf Coast. Due to the humanitarian disaster and apparent lack of governmental response, two community activists, Sharon Johnson and Malik Rahim put out a call for healthcare workers to help… Continue reading
Trend of the Day: Circular Economy
Circular Economy = The circular economy is a generic term for an industrial economy that is, by design or intention, restorative and in which materials flows are of two types, biological nutrients, designed to reenter the biosphere safely, and technical nutrients, which are designed to circulate at high quality without entering the biosphere. Definition “A… Continue reading
Marica in Brazil launches local-government sponsored Electronic Social Currency
Via Janice Figuereido: The first Electronic Social Currency in Brazil has been launched by a government in Maricá, the state of Rio de Janeiro (130km from the city of Rio de Janeiro). “The Town of Marica sanctioned a municipal law establishing the Municipal Fund “Popular Community Bank of Marica”, responsible for promoting a program of… Continue reading