Contribution by Stefan Merten in the Oekonux mailing list:

The following is something I promised Michel to do. It has been triggered by the use of the term “peer money” which I think is a contradiction in terms. This is an attempt to give reasons why I think that money and peer production are generally in contradiction.

Having said that I should also say that they can walk together for some time but according to germ form theory that is no contradiction to the contradiction thesis. But one should keep in mind that to use money for peer production projects is always a twisted approach because of that contradiction.

The approach below is based on comparing features of money and peer production. In that it is also a contribution to further define peer production.

* Structural force vs. volunteering

Money is a structural force used to force your will onto others. This is exactly what we call buying – though it doesn’t sound so nice. If you would not need to force others to do something (for you) you don’t need to pay them.

Compared to direct force like violence money is a structural force because it is indirect. As such it needs a societal framework to be effective at all: Payment makes no sense unless the payee can buy something himself.

Peer production on the other hand is largely based on volunteering. Volunteering, however, is the exact opposite of being forced to do something. Someone volunteers for a task because it is own wish to do something. In fact the volunteering is a central feature of Selbstentfaltung.

* Scarcity vs. ampleness

Money is based on scarcity. In fact in a way it encodes scarcity as a societal concept to a so-called real abstraction. In fact money which is not scarce in some way simply makes no sense. If I am allowed to create arbitrary amounts of money at every time why should I require the money of others at all?

Peer production on the other hand is based on ampleness of the product. All examples we found so far for peer production are based on ampleness (which is simpler to have in the digital world). In fact ampleness of the product is the typical goal of peer production projects.

* Force needed to keep vs. built-in sustainability

I said that money encodes scarcity as a general principle of society. However, money being an abstraction is not scarce by itself – everybody can print more dollars. Thus scarcity must be enforced by some external means. Typically this is done by the state. In effect each money system needs a forceful super-structure to keep it running.

Peer production on the other hand is based on a built-in sustainability. A peer production project is not based on some abstract principle but on the need for / want of a perfect solution for a problem. It needs no external means to keep a peer production project up. All the power comes from within.

* Abstract vs. concrete

One of the central features of money is that it is abstract. Money is not related to any concrete thing – which you easily understand when you look at the global flow of money compared to the global flow of goods.

Peer production projects on the other hand are always concrete. The goals are concrete and the effort spent is for concrete reasons.

* Reduction vs. multi-facet perspective

Money is always a reduction – which is in fact the central feature of an abstraction. The result is that huge bunches of concrete aspects are projected into a number.

In peer production projects on the other hand a multi-facet perspective is the rule. Though at some times decisions need to be made which prefer one possible way over an other possible way these decisions are made by a complex consideration of many relevant facets.

* Exchange value orientation vs. use value orientation

Money based production is based on a orientation on exchange value: You produce because you want to exchange your product for money. The product itself does not matter to you and it is totally sufficient to produce relative quality and relative use.

In peer production projects on the other hand the very reason of a project is producing use value. Why should a peer production exist at all otherwise?

* Alienation vs. Selbstentfaltung

While money is based on alienation from things and humans peer production is based on Selbstentfaltung of humans – which is the opposite of alienation.

* Immorality included vs. no immorality

Money as an alienated principle can be used to to immoral things – like waging wars. This is something we all know and bemoan more often than not.

Peer production on the other hand is based on volunteering and nobody volunteers for goals which s/he finds immoral.