Via: ‘What Will We Eat as the Oil Runs Out? Food Security in an Energy-Scarce World. Presentation as part of a conference held on June 23rd to 25th, 2005 in Dublin, Ireland, which sought to answer a crucial question: How can the world’s population be fed without the extensive use of fossil fuels in the… Continue reading
Zizek’s critique of Chomsky
Some points related to Chomsky’s position on the role of ‘ideology’: (background to the controversy and source of the material here) Slavoj Žižek: “His idea is today that cynicism of those in power is so open that we don’t need any critique of ideology, you reach symptomatically between the lines, everything is cynically openly admitted…. Continue reading
Gar Alperovitz on the Transition Strategies for the Next Economy
Interesting podcast: “In Extraenvironmentalist #63 we talk about the growing network of institutions and businesses that are forming the new economic revolution in the United States with historian and political economist Gar Alperovitz. Gar describes the ideas in his new book, What Then Must We Do: Straight Talk About the Next American Revolution. Then we… Continue reading
The Manifesto for Homeland Earth, by Edgar Morin
BeautifUl text and appeal by Edgar Morin: “Now that the fantastic adventure begun in the 15th century has come to an end, the shout of Columbus’ lookout man takes on at last a planetary meaning: Land! Land! Even up to 1950-1960, we were living on a misapprehended Earth, on an abstract Earth. We were living… Continue reading
On the need for collaborative capital and open governance
Republished from Simone Cicero: (for a version with links and illustrations, go to the original here) * Introduction What happens when the productive infrastructure, being digital or not, becomes affordable? When, in the meantime, new cooperative models for capitalization and venture financing emerge, like all those making up the crowdfunding universe? What new perspectives from… Continue reading
Essay of the Day: Futures of (P2P) Power in the Network Era
Strongly recommended, from our friend Jose Ramos: * Article: The Futures of Power in the Network Era. By Jose Ramos. Journal of Futures Studies, June 2013, 17(4): 71-92 “This article asks questions about the futures of power in the network era. Two critical emerging issues are at work with uncertain outcomes. The first is the… Continue reading
Video: Miquel Ballester Salva on Fairphones with Open Supply Chains
Via: “Technology brings great human developments. But the way we produce it is too often the cause of unfair conditions along the whole lifecycle of tech devices, like smartphones. Miquel will talk about how closed technologies enable opaque supply chains and how we need to strive for transparency as a driver for sustainable development.” Watch… Continue reading
Video: Jos Poortvliet on Open Governance Rules Done Right
Interesting problematic: “When building up a community, governance is something to think about. Should there be rules? What rules? Who should be in charge, or should nobody be in charge? The answers to these questions have far reaching consequences on the future of a project. You can stifle progress with too many rules and committees,… Continue reading
The importance of the emergence of the Multi-Stakeholder (aka ‘Social’ or ‘Solidarity’) Co-op phenomenon
A new type of cooperatives is now structurally internalizing the common good and the general interest of the citizenry, writes Pat Conaty: “In Europe and in North America we have strong Co-op sector good practice to build upon. What is fascinating at present and spreading internationally as a new tendency is the Multi-Stakeholder Co-op phenomenon…. Continue reading
Launch of new ‘Radical Realities’ zine of the Alternate (G8) Collective in Birmingham
Via Nicolas Ripley: “Alternate have published our first e-zine, Radical Realities, with contributions from John Hilary, Dr. Nafeez Mosaddeq Ahmed, Heather Marsh and Michel Bauwens. The Alternate Collective was formed out of Occupy Birmingham, UK. The collective comprises of radical practitioners that promote and publish about democratic and cooperative governance. We aim to propose practical… Continue reading