Comments on: What if we owned the Internet together? It’s time to bring the co-op revolution to the web https://blog.p2pfoundation.net/what-if-we-owned-the-internet-together-its-time-to-bring-the-co-op-revolution-to-the-web/2016/04/18 Researching, documenting and promoting peer to peer practices Wed, 04 May 2016 20:18:54 +0000 hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=5.5.15 By: Michael Price https://blog.p2pfoundation.net/what-if-we-owned-the-internet-together-its-time-to-bring-the-co-op-revolution-to-the-web/2016/04/18/comment-page-1#comment-1576693 Wed, 04 May 2016 20:18:54 +0000 https://blog.p2pfoundation.net/?p=55442#comment-1576693 “From the telegraph to radio and television, early adopters imagine a coming reign of freedom and democracy. But then investors buy in and monopolies rise up, ”
Name a monopoly that rose up without government help.

“Ordinary users are made to think that the platforms that they use every day are meant for them,”
Because they are, if they weren’t what we wanted we’d use something else. That’s what capitalism is, control by consumer.

” People working in Amazon’s warehouses, so-called crowd workers assembling a living out of on-demand fragments of jobs, and Uber’s increasingly precarious drivers are among those who shoulder the price as they see their rights and protections evaporate. ”

How are people working in Amazon’s warehouses “shouldering the price”? They have a job that is presumably better than the job they could get if they didnt have it. How are they worse off because the employment they prefer exists?

How are crowd workers paying the prices? They choose this form of employment, presumably for reasons that are good to them. The fact that they don’t have a “job” in the traditional sense _is an adavantage_. Because not everyone needs or wants a “job” in the full time, turn up every day sense.

How are Uber’s drivers “increasingly precarious”? The investors may be in an increasingly precarious situation but the drivers are either doing well or getting out, and there don’t seem to be that many getting out.

“Members of a food cooperative, for instance, may not notice the contradiction when they keep their files on Google Drive, process their payments with Square, and buy ads on Facebook. For now, these kinds of tools can seem unavoidable, though they need not be. The solidarity economy deserves a solidarity Internet.”
No it really doesn’t, even if it wanted it, which you haven’t shown. There is no reason why every group a firm deals with should adopt that firms model. Just as there is no reason why a for-profit resturant should buy it’s ingredients from a farmer’s cooperative, there’s no reason why a farmer’s cooperative shouldn’t buy it’s data processing or storage from a for-profit firm. An attempt to impose one model uber alles is not only doomed to failure, it’s fundamentally tyrannical.

]]> By: Peter Malleau https://blog.p2pfoundation.net/what-if-we-owned-the-internet-together-its-time-to-bring-the-co-op-revolution-to-the-web/2016/04/18/comment-page-1#comment-1575150 Mon, 18 Apr 2016 16:32:03 +0000 https://blog.p2pfoundation.net/?p=55442#comment-1575150 Greed we can fix it so it will be to much work to have billions of $ bring home hidden wealth, confiscate illegitimate gains and redistribute wealth. just take paper money out of circulation. make a few rules like you have to move your own money and you have to exchange you paper in person. I think $1 dollar coins would work the best, like silver dollars. if they are damaged they lose value so you will need to hire a lot of people to help you move them because they are heavy and will be crushed it you stack them to high. Inflation would revers. If you consider the logistics of moving a trillion dollars the incentive of greed will be physically daunting. you could still buy bit coins and use them if you want. but this will level the playing field for everyone.

]]> By: Peter Malleau https://blog.p2pfoundation.net/what-if-we-owned-the-internet-together-its-time-to-bring-the-co-op-revolution-to-the-web/2016/04/18/comment-page-1#comment-1575148 Mon, 18 Apr 2016 16:29:48 +0000 https://blog.p2pfoundation.net/?p=55442#comment-1575148 If someone had a simple idea to change the world by making land available to farmers so we have and abundance of organic food. Found a way to make corruption in politics almost impossible and for politicians not to want the bribe. Made it so billions of dollars would create lots of jobs for young and healthy workers. End speculative investment so most of the value of our labor is not taken by a few people on the stock exchange. Lowered the cost of everything and stopped the ultra rich from hoarding money and avoiding paying taxes. Would even take the time to consider it?

]]> By: Peter Malleau https://blog.p2pfoundation.net/what-if-we-owned-the-internet-together-its-time-to-bring-the-co-op-revolution-to-the-web/2016/04/18/comment-page-1#comment-1575147 Mon, 18 Apr 2016 16:28:42 +0000 https://blog.p2pfoundation.net/?p=55442#comment-1575147 Computers are good tools but it is the communication of ideas that will save us, We can easily create and share information and collaborate on projects together. Using social networks we can govern ourselves and manage public services. the open peer review system will point to the best ideas by the simple act of liking someones comment it filters any negative ideas but does not take away anyones chance to contribute. It’s a perfect forum for our wise elders to moderate and organize without have to expend resources. Tesla did not take the time to explain this in detail, he just gave us a huge idea that would explain it self. If we all had a hand held device to see and talk with anyone everywhere in the world we could solve any problem together. Look whats happening, It is evolving on its own , what we do today will show results in ways that will astound you some day. Just think we will not vote for the guy in the nice suite who can afford to buy media propaganda, they will have to be sound and wise participants in open forum dealing with matters that affect us all. How simple is that?

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