Republished from Jean-Francois Noubel’s editorial on the underlying philosophy of the Metacurrency Project: “Our consumer society has built an ideology of accumulation. This is triggered by the scarce monetary system. Rather than sharing the stuff we need, we accumulate it in our basements, garages and backyards. Skis, furniture, toys, lawnmowers, tools, washing machines, books (ah,… Continue reading
Free Cooperation vs. the Old Utopias
(a republication from February 2006) Excerpts from a transcript of a video interview with Christoph Spehr. This interview sets out very clearly the criteria to which contemporary forms of cooperation must abide by. 1. Free Cooperation vs. the Old Utopias “Political utopia, utopian thinking today has to differ from most of the stuff we are… Continue reading
There is still no usable open hardware license
After describing in detail each attribute that a open hardware license should have, each being a specific decision to be made by the open hardware vendor and community, Matt from the Liquidware Antipasto blog concludes that there is still no useful open hardware license: (The excerpt below is part of a series introducing a Open… Continue reading
Is P2P left or right?
Republication of an editorial from February 2006: In my view, it is definitely an expression of the left, but, it has the potential to solve the important contradiction between equality and liberty, and thus, to encompass sincere liberals in its embrace. Before the emergence of peer to peer, it really seemed that equality and liberty… Continue reading
Expanding our sense of self
Fun video: “If our interconnected universe is continually expanding, shouldn’t our identity do the same? In this short, entertaining video, we look at the dynamics that promote and inhibit our expanding sense of self. Created by Global MindShift and Kenji Williams For more information, visit www.global-mindshift.org”
Using social media to organize Canadian democracy protests
A report from Judy Rebick, which appeared in ZMag, stressing the newness of the social movements spawned by social media based organizing: “After three weeks of online and off line organizing, tens of thousands of people across generations and political persuasions took to the streets on Saturday January 23 in 65 cities and towns across… Continue reading
P2P Hierarchy Theory: Riane Eisler’s partnership way
A republication from February 2006: Riane Eisler’s Hierarchy of Actualisation The excerpt is from Russ Volckman’s excellent Integral Leadership newsletter. See below an insert about the importance of Eisler’s previous book about the origins of hierarchy. “Q: Would you characterize the partnership model? A: Well, let’s look at the Nordic Nations. First of all, rather… Continue reading
iPad DRM is a dangerous step backward. Sign the petition!
From http://defectivebydesign.org Dear supporter, Today, Apple launched a computer that will never belong to its owner. Apple will use Digital Restrictions Management (DRM) to gain total veto power over the applications you use and the media you can view. We’ve launched a petition calling out Apple’s new product for what it is: a frightening step… Continue reading
James Purnell’s new direction for UK Labour Party
Interesting report on the tack taken by James Purnell, uk Labour MP: “James Purnell’s article in today’s Guardian is interesting on a number of counts. First, he takes a distinctive step forward in endorsing the proposal, developed by London Citizens, to use 1 per cent of the payback of the bank bailout to finance to… Continue reading
Four arguments against the illusion of philanthrocapitalism
Excerpt from Michael Edwards in Open Democracy: “There are four key points in my argument: First, neither philanthrocapitalism nor transformative approaches to social change are monolithic. Both contain many different strands, and they engage and overlap in the middle, sometimes with positive effects and sometimes not. These various strands and hybrids have different costs and… Continue reading
The concept and thesis of netarchical capitalism
A republication of January 2006, on my own concept of netarchical capitalism. Some of the references are dated, but I think the main concept is still valid. (the references to other sections are to my own manuscript, P2P and Human Evolution) Recall the following: the thesis of Cognitive Capitalism says that we have entered a… Continue reading
Opera Unite turns your laptop into a p2p server
The Opera browser, since June 2009, comes with an important extension: Opera Unite can turn any computer running the browser into a server that will share designated data with peers on the net, directly, without the need to upload. After the alpha version of June, last November saw the release of the beta Version 10.10 of… Continue reading
Open Source Induction Furnace, Torch Table, Multimachine
There’s a new page on Open Source Ecology’s wiki describing the Open Source Induction Furnace project, a blog post about RepTab, a self-replicating, Open Source Torch Table, and also some initial steps to the Open Source Multimachine (with lathe, mill and drill functions). P.S.: Open Source Ecology’s web and DNS servers have been having some problems for… Continue reading
John Heron: The Rise and Downfall of the Guru phenomenom
A republication from January 2006, which deals with hierarchy in spiritual movements and experience, and its particular pathologies. It engages in particular with the thought of Ken Wilber. John Heron: The Guru Phenomenon The traditional oriental guru represents a form of spiritual leadership in which so-called advanced spiritual states of being are transmitted from guru… Continue reading
See you next month in Murcia!
Michel will be speaking in Murcia on Sunday, February 21st. “Some background from Jose Maria Torres Nadal: I am architect teaching like full professor on project Design at Alicante University Architectural School, and practicing in Alicante southeast Spain. You can see my web and blog at wwwtorresnadal.com At the same time I am director of… Continue reading
Capital, risk, and p2p dynamics
A contribution from Ryan Lanham: ” The problem of capital (real capital is money not stuff) is that there are uncertain returns. In the past, the uncertainly is managed (by management) and the fee for managing that risk is a percentage of profit. Now, and with the newly planned Internet 2.0 due in about 10… Continue reading