Dave Pollard explains the difference between the two models: Most people have been brought up to believe that the competitive, grow-or-die, absentee-shareholder-owned, “free”-trade “market” economy is the only one that works, the only alternative to a socialist, government-run economy. This myth is perpetrated in business and other schools, by the media, by accountants and lawyers… Continue reading
Society vs Systems of Dissociation
Food for thought, excerpted from Heather Marsh: “In Individuals in Society I wrote of a state of nature where society did not exist. In truth, such a state has never existed outside of social contract theory because humans are social animals and we have always created societies. In today’s structure, society with its dependencies and… Continue reading
P2P in the context of systemic crisis: the UNIRIO potpourri
Harold Villena, a complementary currency researcher in Brazil, taped my interventions during a public lecture in Rio de Janeiro, and produced a potpourri of excerpts: Bauwens in UNIRIO from haroldovilhena on Vimeo.
Noam Chomsky on Passionate Production
“The kind of work that should be the main part of life is the kind of work you would want to do if you weren’t being paid for it. It’s work that comes out of your own internal needs, interests and concerns.” Excerpted from an interview with Noam Chomsky, conducted by Michael Kasenbacher: (the full… Continue reading
Does peer production represent a radical break with capitalism?
“While practically and empirically the P2P mode of production is still under the sway of capitalism and to a great extent dependent on it (buying computers and other materials and services from it and using its infrastructure), its logic radically contradicts that of capital. I described briefly above major aspects of P2P that accord to… Continue reading
GMOs, Seed Wars, and Knowledge Wars
(Republished from ZNet, where you can find the original article with links) By Vandana Shiva: “The only reason crops have been genetically engineered is to take patents on seeds, and collect royalties. If during colonialism the concept of Terra Nullius, empty land, allowed the takeover of land and territories by the colonizer, a new concept… Continue reading
Understanding the background to Fora do Eixo, the Solidarity Economy Cultural Network in Brazil
Fora do Eixo is becoming a huge and growing Brazilian network of musicians and cultural producers that is based on explicit p2p-oriented business models. In my modest opinion, they will likely expand on a global scale. We have documented their activities here. But below is a well readable essay that describes their origin, history, governance… Continue reading
The decline of culture at the end of Empire
Chris Hedges talks about the triumph of spectacle in American culture, which he describes in his book, “Empire of Illusion”. Watch the video here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dHle_turjes
Post-democratic musings: The problems with democracy
We can do better than this. We can govern by user groups, respect individual rights and global commons, and collaborate using stigmergy and concentric groups. Where necessary, elite expertise can be contained and used through transparent epistemic communities and knowledge bridges while control remains with the user group. Food for thought. Republished from Heather Marsh:… Continue reading
Wikipedia: a study in the new forms of networked authorship
Bia Martins is one of the students of the Peer Production class that was held in Rio de Janeiro in November 2012, for ECO-URCA, the School of Communications of the Rio de Janeiro Federal University. She is also a journalist specialized in internet reporting. Bia’s Doctorate Thesis, in Portuguese, dealt with “Authorship through network –… Continue reading