— one is a concern about those who might deliberately seek to pervert P2P and how to be aware of that. I was made conscious of this by someone I had hired who in passing said to me, “Explai9n any system to me and I will tell you how to pervert it”. For other reaons I much later wrote: The “Dark Riders” of Social Change:
a challenge for any Fellowship of the Ring (http://www.laetusinpraesens.org/musings/riders.php)

— I have long campaigned for care regarding falso positivism, hope-mongering and the like: Being Positive Avoiding Negativity: Management challenge of positive vs negative (http://www.laetusinpraesens.org/docs00s/positive.php)

— but I am also aware that there is a long mystical tradition regarding the value of the dark in the enlightenment process, which led me to explore: Enlightening Endarkenment: selected web resources on the challenge to comprehension (http://www.laetusinpraesens.org/musings/endarken.php)

As to what any of that contributes to the P2P discussion is another matter

I think that you are right on this, and that there is no ultimate solution to all human knowledge being ‘perspectival’. For those on the outside it is matter I believe of being conscious of the perspective of the other, and on the inside of those groups, the self-awareness of the perspectivity is just as critical. In the end, isn’t it about finding a narrative which respects the facts, but at the same time, inspires action for the better, while being aware to the maximum extent possible, of one’s own limitations in achieving this?

But do you not think that many groups, persuaded of their own value, could make analogous cases? They might also argue that of course there are some problems with their own approach — but that it is significantly better than previous approaches. Do not the main religions make such a case, regretting that people do not appropriately commit to their system — with the right spirit, eschewing negativity?

My question is where is the flaw in such logic — with all such groups making their glass half-full argument and regretting those sensitive to the half-empty challenge?

Tony

I first became aware of the P2P Foundation last year after Michel Bauwens sent me a nice email in response to “Free software is a weak mode of production?” I’ve since followed the P2P Foundation blog in my feed reader.
It is delight…