December 2014 - P2P-Foundation - lists.ourproject.org

Fwd: [Networkedlabour] Future Scenarios for a Collaborative Economy
by Michel Bauwens 30 Dec '14

30 Dec '14

recommended critical review of our book, 'Network Society': ---------- Forwarded message ---------- From: Brian Holmes <bhcontinentaldrift(a)gmail.com> Date: Tue, Dec 30, 2014 at 11:14 AM Subject: [Networkedlabour] Future Scenarios for a Collaborative Economy To: networkedlabour(a)lists.contrast.org *Orsan wrote: global political economy theory started with Cox, and p2p theory would > benefit from a fruitful exchange. Potentially a p2p update on the > understanding of the 'transnationalization of production', which as > process overlaps with the informatization of economy, networkisation of > societies, and neoliberal globalisation offensive, or vice versa; a > global political economy upgrade for p2p theory, in my opinion is > necessary. > I totally agree, and that's the thrust of a response I just wrote on Nettime to the book by Michel Bauwens and Vasilis Kostakis (I'll paste that response below). One of Cox's followers, Stephen Gill, showed long ago that neoliberalism has from the outset been a fundamentally trilateral hegemony (US-Western Europe-Japan). Now that all three poles of the hegemony are arguably in decline, it would be useful to analyze the weak points where an amplified and generalized p2p strategy could begin changing the common sense of citizenship, business and government, and of dissent and revolution too. I don't do that here - far from it - but the strong proposals at the end of the Future Scenarios book did seem to call out for exactly that kind of analysis, which would ground them in reality without invalidating them by any means. So I hope my critiques of the book do appear as constructive, because they were intended that way. - best, BH * * * http://p2pfoundation.net/Network_Society_and_Future_ Scenarios_for_a_Collaborative_Economy Thanks for this book, Michel and Vasilis. "Future Scenarios for a Collaborative Economy" is exceedingly timely and I would recommend it to anyone interested in the Commons specifically, or in political economy more generally. In response, I've written something in between a review and a letter to the authors. I address Michel because he posted it. Hopefully he will respond to a few of my comments! I like the book, Michel, but I must also say, I'm somewhat mystified by it. I like the very sophisticated strategy that it sets out at the end for a possible transition to a society of commons-based production. I'm mystified by the rather simplistic presentation of contemporary capitalism at the beginning. What explains the gap? In Part I you adopt the theoretical framework of "long waves of capitalist development" as put forth by Kondratiev and Schumpeter, and more recently, by Freeman and Perez (Trotsky and Mandel aren't mentioned). In its most general form, the long-wave idea is that capitalist society periodically goes through major depressions, during which investment is withdrawn from production. Meanwhile inventions accumulate until such time as conditions look good, and a massive wave of technological investment lays the foundations for a new growth cycle. Right now we're in such a depression. Therefore you try to analyze the possible futures of the current "techno-economic paradigm." There is some ambiguity here, but that's OK. On the one hand the book follows Carlota Perez, explaining that the information technology paradigm has run up against a set of internal contradictions and that a mature phase of sustained growth can only come under new political and institutional arrangements. On the other hand it hints in certain places at the emergence, in the upcoming years or decades, of an entirely new paradigm (which, according to Schumpeter or Freeman, implies a distinct set of technologies and organizational forms). And then near the end it quite strongly claims, with Marx, that capitalism must now be overcome in favor of a different system. The upshot seems to be that the new society will emerge from the old, perhaps not entirely smoothly, but not through an apocalyptic rupture either. That's realistic and desirable, in my view. I too think some kind of new growth wave is almost inevitable, within a decade or so - and though it will probably not be on anywhere near so intensive as the postwar growth wave that so many theorists take as a norm, it could well be more extensive, reaching far more people on our densely populated planet. I also think such a new long wave does imply distinctly new technologies capable of attracting new investment; but in the absence of radical breakthroughs, the big difference is most likely to be in the political and institutional structures that govern those technologies. In other words, the current technology set is more likely to be augmented and institutionally inflected (as early mass manufacturing was by postwar Keynesian Fordism) than it is to be radically transformed (as Keynesian Fordism was radiclly transformed by the IT revolution). In other words, we are likely to get an extension and amplification of the certain aspects of the current paradigm, but under new institutional arrangements. The problem is, Michel, you never really discuss the current techno-economic paradigm in any serious way. What you and your co-author are talking about, in Parts I and II, is a small though important field of activity, the one that can be identified with keywords such as P2P, social media, crowd-sourcing, sharing economy, etc. The best parts of the book contain significant insight into these activities, as one would expect. However, by claiming to discuss the future of the entire capitalist system and then not really doing so, you blur the issue and diminish the potential value of your work. One can follow Manuel Castells and call the current techno-economic paradigm "Informationalism" - or better, "Neoliberal Informationalism," to give some idea of how this mode of production is governed. But Informationalism does not mean that the only significant commodity on the contemporary market is information. Nor does it signal an eclipse of industry, as you suggest in chapter 1. Instead, Neoliberal Informationalism has been based on a "lead technology" which is new kind of producer goods, namely IT in all its facets (computers, software, cables, mobile telephony, communications satellites, etc). These goods in combination with networked organizational forms are used to create transnational supply chains, constituting what is generally called "just-in-time production" or "the global factory." The characteristic companies of neoliberal informationalism are not Facebook and Google, as one would gather from your book, nor even less, recent start-ups like AirBnB or Uber. They are giant networked firms like WalMart and Apple, which have their products manufactured in China, coordinate their work forces and supply chains through sophisticated IT systems, and sell their wares on the web as well as in the store. Or they are specialized corporations like Cisco, Verizon and IBM, which furnish the hardware and software for the new mode of production, distribution and sales. All these corporations have evolved under the anti-welfare policy mix of neoliberalism, and with the resources allocated by speculative finance, which has largely replaced the central planning of national governments. Not coincidentally, finance itself is crucially enabled by IT. Computers, cable and satellite networks, transnationalism and financial governance are key aspects of the current techno-economic paradigm. Now, it's necessary to add that older sectors, such as petroleum, steel, chemicals, automobiles, engineering, grain production, etc, remain tremendously significant for the global economy. They are not just going to disappear in the next ten or twenty years. However, the way these sectors are articulated, both internally and between each other, has effectively been transformed by IT, and that's why we can speak of Neoliberal Informationalism as a distinct techno-economic paradigm. As you and Vasilis point out, this paradigm has been predicated on low-wage precarious labor, and it has called on finance to furnish the means of consumption through the extension of credit to individuals. The debt burden of the working and middle classes has risen tremendously and now, in the overdeveloped world at least, these classes can no longer consume enough to prop up economic growth. So the system is in a deep crisis, one which cannot be resolved by simply pumping money into asset markets as various governments have been doing. That crisis is further intensified by geopolitical factors (rise of Asia) and by climate change (which has been made a lot worse by the rise of Asia). How will the global political economy reconfigure itself under these circumstances? And what can civil society do to influence the next redeployment of capital? That's what we need to know. In Part II, it's really interesting how you present a diagrammatic field of four distinct yet neighboring scenarios, divided on the one hand between distributed and centralized organization (or local and global scales), and on the other hand, between capitalist and commons-based development paths (or "for profit" and "for benefit" activities, as you also say). However, for the reasons already stated, the capitalist or for-profit side of the diagram is not very convincing. In chapters 4 and 5 we are introduced to two supposedly emergent categories. First, a corporate-scale "netarchical capitalism" where sharing and cooperative production are enabled by interfaces with closed, privately controlled backends that facilitate the harvesting of monetary value from social interaction. And second, an individual-scale "distributed capitalism" where everyone is asked to become a networked entrepreneur of him- or herself, creating their own backends for profit. Now, without a doubt these are already both realities. The first has already undergone significant expansion, partially wiping out the old media sphere with some inroads on the hobby, transport, in-person service and vacation sectors. The second has all the reality of neoliberal ideology: it is the computerized version of the entrepreneurial ideal, where everyone freely competes in an open, unregulated economic realm. But the claim that these figures represent the capitalism of tomorrow could only hold true if "we are not talking about monopoly capitalism" - which is a crucial caveat that you supply early on. The problem is that we are talking about exactly that, Michel, just look around you. The great oligopolies that corral major sectors of the world economy, fixing prices and blocking the entry of smaller actors, are alive and despicably well in every major economic sector, including IT; and they are supported by very solid forces of the national and transnational state. To suggest that monopoly capitalism is on the way out through some force of networked nature is just plain mystifying, and that's the principal argument I have with this book. Something else really is changing, though; and this is where the book's proposals, and more generally, those collected by the P2P Foundation over the last decade, are really worth one's attention. What's happening is an impoverishment of the former "First World," which is losing out to the newly developed countries at the same time as it starts being subjected to the environmental stresses of climate change. What one can see on the horizon is a gradual evening-out of global wages, leaving much of the former West in decaying housing with legacy appliances and amenities, while populations in the East and South rise up to a roughly similar level and then stagnate. That's already happening: and the frustration it engenders was behind the wave of protests in 2011-2013, whether in Egypt, Brazil, Russia and Turkey, or in Spain and the US. It is precisely the existence of the oligopolies and the financial elites (the famous 1%) that account for this dynamic. And we're likely to see even more intense frustration and anger as these populations have to confront the difficulties of climate change. Under these conditions, both newly unemployed people and those who have gained or retained a precarious hold on middle-class status are likely to find great attraction in what the book calls "resilient communities" and "global commons." Additionally, intellectuals with a capacity to see the dead-end future, whatever their class, will start to look for serious alternatives. The discussion becomes tremendously interesting when the "for benefit" categories are discussed, in their local and global forms. This is the Marxian part of the book, where a change of the system itself starts to look desirable. Both the for-benefit categories are based on the generative matrix of the Commons, and I love the clarity with which you've expressed its basic principles: "It could be said that every Commons scheme basically has four interlinked components: a resource (material and/or immaterial; replenishable and/or depletable); the community which shares it (the users, administrators, producers and/or providers); the use value created through the social reproduction or preservation of these common goods; and the rules and the participatory property regimes that govern people's access to it." At this point (Part III), the strict focus on information production is abandoned and what comes to the fore are the new possibilities presented by the maker revolution: not only 3-D printing, but all the computer-controlled tools which can use freely circulated open-source designs to create practical objects ranging from housing to automobiles. One can easily see the relevance of such productive capacities for impoverished communities, especially when they are beset by the stresses of changing climates, violent storms and soon, rising water levels. What's more, to take a page from Jeremy Rifkin's recent books, it becomes clear that with falling costs for solar and wind generation, energy production itself could potentially be decentralized and managed according to commons principles so as to build resilient communities. The combination of alternative energy sources with micro-manufacturing techniques represents a possible basis for a new form of economic growth that could cater to very large numbers of people despite, or rather because of, their inability to reach Fordist and Neoliberal levels of grotesque hyperconsumption. If the development of capitalist production during the next upswing could be influenced so as to furnish the infrastructure and toolkits of decentralized energy production and micro-manufacturing, then the next wave of growth could have many positive consequences. That's the paradigm shift that we need, and Part III makes that quite clear, bravo. The question is, how to make it happen? What are the "new institutional arrangements" that we need, and how to achieve them? Or as you and Vasilis write: "Arguably, the issue is not to produce and consume less per se, but to develop new models of production which will work on a higher level than capitalist models. We consider it difficult to challenge the dominant system if we lack a working plan to transcend it. A post-capitalist world is bound to entail more than a mere reversal to pre-industrial times. As the TEPS theory informs us [ie, the theory of techno-economic paradigm shifts], the adaptation of current institutions and the creation of new ones take place in the deployment phase of each TEP. We claim that the times are, finally, mature enough to introduce a radical political agenda with brand new institutions, fueled by the spirit of the Commons and aiming to provide a viable global alternative to the capitalist paradigm beyond degrowth or antiglobalization rhetorics." Now, that's not Carlota Perez talking anymore. That's a utopian Marxist strain that has affinities with Italian Autonomia, to the extent it believes that progressive use-values slumber within the technologies of capitalist exchange, and that these use-values can be liberated through the kinds of self-organization that the Internet facilitates. The question is, how to avoid making this a purely utopian thinking, as Autonomia has proven to be so far? How can commons-based peer production reach deeply into daily life? And how can it expand globally, both as a philosophy and as a set of informational tools that can take full advantage of the new decentralized energy and manufacturing toolkits? Or, to put it in strategic terms: How can civil-society actors find the opportunity, in the current depression and in the upswing that will almost inevitably follow it, to push corporate production into supplying the toolkits for a society that will finally escape the worst and most life-threatening consequences of the capitalist system? In chapter 8, I feel that you are groping for a way to bridge the gap between two rather different things. First, the many specific micro-examples of (mainly informational) commons-based production that you do provide, in welcome detail. Second, a full-fledged economic praxis that could rival with the existing forms of Neoliberal Informationalism, which you (and the rest of us) can only imagine somewhat fuzzily. The way you approach this problem suggests that you do recognize the difficulties of overcoming the norms imposed by monopoly capitalism: after all, they are exemplified by the trajectory of Free and Open-Source Software, which has still not been broadly adopted even though the operating systems are now perfectly serviceable and perfectly free. You cite two very promising projects from what could become the next techno-economic paradigm, namely the Rep-Rap 3-D printer project and the Wikispeed automobile project, both of which are impressive and point the way toward a new articulation of social production. But it's clear that without support from either large social movements, or powerful economic actors, or more likely both, a new wave of capitalist growth will render these projects insignificant - or at least, no more significant than Free Software is currently. Traditional monopoly capital will put the breaks on Wikispeed. The coming wave of investment and development has to be bent to fit collaborative priorities. Otherwise, a no-future scenario looms. It is in this context that you introduce the "Partner State Approach": "The PSA could be considered a cluster of policies and ideas whose fundamental mission is to empower direct social-value creation, and to focus on the protection of the Commons sphere as well as on the promotion of sustainable models of entrepreneurship and participatory politics." This is absolutely true: commons-based production requires infrastructure investments that commoners themselves cannot provide, at least, not as individuals or a members of small and fractious voluntary networks. The implication (which I don't think is anywhere clearly stated in the book) is that we need collective investments in order to stimulate forms of growth that are very different from those seen under Neoliberal Informationalism. We need a government capable of shaping an environment in which Commons-friendly investments will be possible. Yet so far, not a single state has emerged as a reliable partner. I'm curious: How do you feel about this today, Michel (and Vasilis), after the difficulties that the FLOK project encountered in Ecuador, in the attempt to generate exactly such a Partner State Approach? The problems that our civilization faces are vast. The extension of commons-based peer production from the software to manufacturing and energy production does suggest a path forward. But support for it, in the form of something like a Partner State, can only be generated from a far broader civil-society movement than we have today. Such a movement is being called into existence by the rising awareness that the current form of development is literally a dead end. One one hand, it is important to nurture this movement (and ourselves, as parts of it) with pragmatic principles of hope, of the kind provided by experiments with Commons-based peer production. On the other, it's necessary to cultivate a very lucid of what's actually happening in society, not to paint an apocalyptic picture but just to identify the really existing obstacles. That kind of analysis is often lacking on the postmodern left. You could have used a little more Trotsky and Mandel, imho. I think that civil-society movements have a tremendous amount to learn from experiments with peer production, and therefore, from the reflections in the last third of this book. However, I don't think any of this will go anywhere without a more realistic assessment of the forces currently in play. A broad movement needs to know both what to ask for and what to create, in view of pushing the really existing political-economic system towards a fundamental structural change. That means clearly facing the structure and power of corporate monopoly capital in its transnational form. I feel you have dispatched that issue too quickly and on that level, the book could definitely be improved. Actually, a careful read of this book has left me with the desire to rewrite parts of it, while keeping others intact - which I guess is a pretty good outcome for a book that reccomends the use of Peer Production Licenses! Let me close this long review/letter with one more quote from Bauwens and Kostakis, a particularly astute and admirable one: "According to Brynjolfsson and McAfee (2011) 'When the changes happen faster than expectations and/or institutions can adjust, the transition can be cataclysmic.' To avoid such a cataclysm, we arguably need political and social mobilization on the regional, national and transnational scale, with a political agenda that would transform our expectations, our economy, our infrastructures and our institutions in the vein of a Commons-oriented political economy." I could not agree more. best, Brian _______________________________________________ NetworkedLabour mailing list NetworkedLabour(a)lists.contrast.org http://lists.contrast.org/mailman/listinfo/networkedlabour -- Check out the Commons Transition Plan here at: http://en.wiki.floksociety.org/w/Research_Plan P2P Foundation: http://p2pfoundation.net - http://blog.p2pfoundation.net <http://lists.ourproject.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/p2p-foundation>Updates: http://twitter.com/mbauwens; http://www.facebook.com/mbauwens #82 on the (En)Rich list: http://enrichlist.org/the-complete-list/

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Fwd: Greetings from the Global Freedom Network - Please share!
by Michel Bauwens 29 Dec '14

29 Dec '14

---------- Forwarded message ---------- From: Marcelo Sanchez Sorondo <vati332(a)acdscience.va> Date: Fri, Dec 19, 2014 at 8:27 PM Subject: Greetings from the Global Freedom Network - Please share! To: Michel Bauwens <michel(a)p2pfoundation.net> For the first time in history, leaders of the world’s largest religions have come together. Their goal is to end slavery. Please take the next step in the fight against slavery by watching and sharing this short video of the event *www.globalfreedomnetwork.org <http://www.globalfreedomnetwork.org/> *and signing your own declaration. With wishes of peace, goodwill and joy. Bishop Marcelo Sánchez Sorondo, Archbishop Sir David Moxon, Mr Andrew Forrest and all at the Global Freedom Network. -- Check out the Commons Transition Plan here at: http://en.wiki.floksociety.org/w/Research_Plan P2P Foundation: http://p2pfoundation.net - http://blog.p2pfoundation.net <http://lists.ourproject.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/p2p-foundation>Updates: http://twitter.com/mbauwens; http://www.facebook.com/mbauwens #82 on the (En)Rich list: http://enrichlist.org/the-complete-list/

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Fwd: link to e-book : " Le Nouveau Jeu Economique " ( french ) - Michel de Kemmeter
by Michel Bauwens 29 Dec '14

29 Dec '14

---------- Forwarded message ---------- From: Dante-Gabryell Monson <dante.monson(a)gmail.com> Date: 2014-12-29 14:00 GMT+07:00 Subject: link to e-book : " Le Nouveau Jeu Economique " ( french ) - Michel de Kemmeter To: Michel Bauwens <michelsub2004(a)gmail.com>, "econowmix(a)googlegroups.com" < econowmix(a)googlegroups.com> link to Michel de Kemmeter 's book : " Le Nouveau Jeu Economique " ( french ) https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B9JHqFvEd3IfbVYyZXFxTmZTcTQ3VDlQOHA5WlYxZn… ---------- Forwarded message ---------- From: erwin calonne <sispaa(a)outlook.fr> Date: 2014-12-27 12:09 GMT+01:00 Subject: Petit cadeau de Noel de la part de Michel ! To: dante <dante.monson(a)gmail.com> *Hello, je me suis ouvert envers Michel de Kemmeter de l'intérêt de pouvoir diffuser sa théorisation de l'économie 3D, que je ne peux que cautionner, il est partant à 100% et autorise même une large diffusion. Donc pas de problème pour en faire profiter ton réseau. * *Bien à toi.* *Erwin Calonne **Projet SISPAA **Chef de Projet ** Belgique * *Skype : Calonneerwin **www.facebook.com/sispaa <http://www.facebook.com/sispaa> **https://twitter.com/sispaafrancebel <https://twitter.com/sispaafrancebel>* -- Check out the Commons Transition Plan here at: http://en.wiki.floksociety.org/w/Research_Plan P2P Foundation: http://p2pfoundation.net - http://blog.p2pfoundation.net <http://lists.ourproject.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/p2p-foundation>Updates: http://twitter.com/mbauwens; http://www.facebook.com/mbauwens #82 on the (En)Rich list: http://enrichlist.org/the-complete-list/

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Fwd: Interview with Karthik
by Michel Bauwens 29 Dec '14

29 Dec '14

---------- Forwarded message ---------- From: Kevin Flanagan <kev.flanagan(a)gmail.com> Date: Mon, Dec 29, 2014 at 12:00 AM Subject: Interview with Karthik To: Michel Bauwens <michel(a)p2pfoundation.net>, Chris Pinchen < chris(a)cataspanglish.com>, james burke <lifesized(a)gmail.com> Hey Chris, The first of Michel's interviews on P2Pvalue is up if you want to copy it to the P2Pvalue blog or promote it on twitter etc. http://blog.p2pfoundation.net/researching-p2p-value-1-interview-with-resear… Best Kevin -- Check out the Commons Transition Plan here at: http://en.wiki.floksociety.org/w/Research_Plan P2P Foundation: http://p2pfoundation.net - http://blog.p2pfoundation.net <http://lists.ourproject.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/p2p-foundation>Updates: http://twitter.com/mbauwens; http://www.facebook.com/mbauwens #82 on the (En)Rich list: http://enrichlist.org/the-complete-list/

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Fwd: Ronin Institue End-of-Year Campaign
by Michel Bauwens 29 Dec '14

29 Dec '14

---------- Forwarded message ---------- From: Ronin Institute for Independent Scholarship < kitsune(a)ronininstitute.org> Date: Mon, Dec 29, 2014 at 6:06 AM Subject: Ronin Institue End-of-Year Campaign To: Michel Bauwens <michel(a)p2pfoundation.net> [image: The Ronin Institute for Independent Scholarship] <http://ronininstitute.org> Greetings and Happy Holidays! 2014 is winding down, and the Ronin Institute is gearing up for 2015, which promises to be our most exciting year yet. We will be expanding our roster of Research Scholars <http://ronininstitute.org/research-scholars> and connecting those scholars with each other and with sources of funding to support their work. These talented scholars are committed to continuing to contribute to their fields, and we are committed to making that happen. We are developing a novel mechanism for publishing, rewarding, and supporting independent research, as well as a new approach to online education. Our mission depends on ongoing support from the community of people who share our vision of a reinvented and reinvigorated culture of open inquiry into the natural sciences, social sciences, humanities, and arts. With that mission in mind, I hope that you will consider making a contribution to the Ronin Institute. This is a great time to donate, since contributions made before the end of the year will be deductible on your 2014 taxes to the full extent allowed by law. If you want to help provide lasting support for our ongoing work, consider a recurring monthly gift. *You can make your one-time or recurring donation online from our donation page <http://ronininstitute.org/donate>.* If you are interested in making a targeted donation to support a specific program or research area, or if you would like to discuss other ways to give, contact our development office <development(a)ronininstitute.org>. Earlier this month, we published the first issue of our new newsletter, *Kitsune*, which will be highlighting the accomplishments of the Ronin Institute and its Research Scholars. I trust that you are looking forward to hearing about their stories and their research as much as I am. If you have not received *Kitsune* and would like to, send us a note <[email protected]?subject=Subscribe&body=Please+add+me+to+the+e-mail+list+for+the+Kitsune+newsletter> to sign up. On behalf of the entire Ronin Institute community, I would like to thank you for your support and encouragement as we have launched, and I want to send along a wish from all of us that the new year will be full of discovery. Scientiam Consecemus! Jon F. Wilkins President and Research Scholar ------------------------------ *About the Ronin Institute* The Ronin Institute is dedicated to building an alternative model of academic scholarship outside of the traditional university system. To learn more, visit us at http://ronininstitute.org or send us e-mail <info(a)ronininstitute.org>. If you know someone who might be interested in the Ronin Institute, please feel free to forward this letter to them. If you want to stop receiving communications from us, click here <[email protected]?subject=Unsubscribe&body=Please+remove+me+from+this+email+list>, and we'll take care of it. -- Check out the Commons Transition Plan here at: http://en.wiki.floksociety.org/w/Research_Plan P2P Foundation: http://p2pfoundation.net - http://blog.p2pfoundation.net <http://lists.ourproject.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/p2p-foundation>Updates: http://twitter.com/mbauwens; http://www.facebook.com/mbauwens #82 on the (En)Rich list: http://enrichlist.org/the-complete-list/

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time to occupy the calendar
by Michel Bauwens 28 Dec '14

28 Dec '14

see http://www.shareable.net/blog/time-to-occupy-the-calendar dear Kevin, could you republish this appeal on our blog as well, and perhaps think how we can do something with this ? Michel -- Check out the Commons Transition Plan here at: http://en.wiki.floksociety.org/w/Research_Plan P2P Foundation: http://p2pfoundation.net - http://blog.p2pfoundation.net <http://lists.ourproject.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/p2p-foundation>Updates: http://twitter.com/mbauwens; http://www.facebook.com/mbauwens #82 on the (En)Rich list: http://enrichlist.org/the-complete-list/

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Fwd: [New post] Michel Bauwens: Top Ten P2P Trends of 2014
by Michel Bauwens 27 Dec '14

27 Dec '14

it's ready now Kevin, thanks for posting this on the blog: http://p2pfoundation.net/Top_Ten_P2P_Trends_of_2014 Michel ---------- Forwarded message ---------- From: Robert Steele <robert.david.steele.vivas(a)gmail.com> Date: Sat, Dec 27, 2014 at 3:35 PM Subject: Fwd: [New post] Michel Bauwens: Top Ten P2P Trends of 2014 To: Michel Bauwens <michel(a)p2pfoundation.net> Most interesting. My comment for your convenience: *Phi Beta Iota:* From distributed renewable energy it is a small step to “free” energy, which in turn provided unlimited desalinated water for hydroponic agriculture (code for death to Monsanto and pesticides). Also significant in the above the maturation of open value accounting. Not yet evolving at a discernible or satisfactory rate are information technology tools for public intelligence and mobilization, or alternatives to the mobilization protocols centered on inevitably corrupt political dictatorships and duopolies that block all others from access to political and thus economic and social power. Two emergent terms or Open Cooperatism and Fusion Economics. Editor posted: " Top Ten P2P Trends of 2014 1. Reaching of the tipping point for (distributed) renewable energy 2. The rise of open cooperatives and ethical enterpreneurial coalitions 3. The emergence of cryptoledger applications and a crypto-currency for the commons 4" New post on *Public Intelligence Blog* <http://www.phibetaiota.net/?author=2> Michel Bauwens: Top Ten P2P Trends of 2014 <http://www.phibetaiota.net/2014/12/michel-bauwens-top-ten-p2p-trends-of-201…> by Editor <http://www.phibetaiota.net/?author=2> [image: Michel Bauwens] <http://www.phibetaiota.net/wp-content/uploads/2011/02/220px-Michel_Bauwens_…> Michel Bauwens *Top Ten P2P Trends of 2014* <http://p2pfoundation.net/Top_Ten_P2P_Trends_of_2014> 1. Reaching of the tipping point for (distributed) renewable energy 2. The rise of open cooperatives and ethical enterpreneurial coalitions 3. The emergence of cryptoledger applications and a crypto-currency for the commons 4. Cities and Countries of the Commons Read more of this post <http://www.phibetaiota.net/2014/12/michel-bauwens-top-ten-p2p-trends-of-201…> *Editor <http://www.phibetaiota.net/?author=2>* | December 27, 2014 at 3:32 am | Categories: #OSE Open Source Everything <http://www.phibetaiota.net/?taxonomy=category&term=ose-open-source-everythi…>, Cultural Intelligence <http://www.phibetaiota.net/?taxonomy=category&term=cultural-intelligence> | URL: http://wp.me/p5sNjR-s9V Unsubscribe <https://subscribe.wordpress.com/?key=ad43a8bdd34d37c5773eb49fa51b7a5a&email…> to no longer receive posts from Public Intelligence Blog. Change your email settings at Manage Subscriptions <https://subscribe.wordpress.com/?key=ad43a8bdd34d37c5773eb49fa51b7a5a&email…>. *Trouble clicking?* Copy and paste this URL into your browser: http://www.phibetaiota.net/2014/12/michel-bauwens-top-ten-p2p-trends-of-201… -- Check out the Commons Transition Plan here at: http://en.wiki.floksociety.org/w/Research_Plan P2P Foundation: http://p2pfoundation.net - http://blog.p2pfoundation.net <http://lists.ourproject.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/p2p-foundation>Updates: http://twitter.com/mbauwens; http://www.facebook.com/mbauwens #82 on the (En)Rich list: http://enrichlist.org/the-complete-list/

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Re: [P2P-F] see my new Blog about 'P2P POWER'
by Michel Bauwens 27 Dec '14

27 Dec '14

thanks Jaap, Michel On Sat, Dec 20, 2014 at 8:32 PM, Jaap van Till <vantill(a)gmail.com> wrote: > see http://wp.me/p2guJP-rE > > > > Groet van/ Yours Sincerely > ir J.W. Jaap van Till prof. emeritus > Wordpress blog: TheConnectivist > Mobile: +31 655303210 > -- Check out the Commons Transition Plan here at: http://en.wiki.floksociety.org/w/Research_Plan P2P Foundation: http://p2pfoundation.net - http://blog.p2pfoundation.net <http://lists.ourproject.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/p2p-foundation>Updates: http://twitter.com/mbauwens; http://www.facebook.com/mbauwens #82 on the (En)Rich list: http://enrichlist.org/the-complete-list/

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Fwd: [Networkedlabour] Social Movement Unionism or Social Justice Unionism? - [email protected] - Gmail
by Michel Bauwens 27 Dec '14

27 Dec '14

---------- Forwarded message ---------- From: Peter Waterman <peterwaterman1936(a)gmail.com> Date: Sun, Dec 21, 2014 at 1:09 PM Subject: [Networkedlabour] Social Movement Unionism or Social Justice Unionism? - peterwaterman1936(a)gmail.com - Gmail To: networkedlabour(a)lists.contrast.org https://mail.google.com/mail/u/0/?shva=1#search/shniad/14a6439ec17a7b40 Social Movement Unionism or Social Justice Unionism? Inbox x Sid Shniad <shniad(a)gmail.com> Dec 19 (2 days ago) to bcc: me http://digitalcommons.fiu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1046&context= classracecorporatepower *Social Movement Unionism or Social Justice Unionism? Disentangling Theoretical Confusion within the Global Labor Movement* *Kim Scipes*, Purdue University North Central *Abstract* After the election of John Sweeney as President of the AFL-CIO in October 1995, activists and supportive intellectuals in the United States began thinking about how to revitalize the almost moribund American labor movement. A key part of this literature has revolved around the concept of “social movement unionism.” This term touched a nerve, and has garnered widespread usage in North America over the past two decades. However, most researchers using this term have no idea that it was initially developed to understand the new unionism developed by members of specific labor movements in Brazil, the Philippines and South Africa, a type of unionism *qualitatively different* from that found in North America. This paper argues that the term “social movement unionism” should be confined only to labor organizations developing the same type of unionism, wherever in the world such should be found. Accordingly, this concept should *not* be utilized in North America today as there are no labor centers or unions present that are developing this type of trade unionism. It is important to clarify this confusion because it is leads to incorrect understandings and miscommunication. Accordingly, the current situation—whereby the same term is used to refer to two qualitatively different social phenomena —theoretically works against efforts to build global labor solidarity. What about the progressive, broad-scope unionism emerging in North America over the past two decades? Taking a page from labor history, this article argues that the proper precedent is progressive unionism developed by the United Packinghouse Workers of America, CIO, and others, and therefore should be referred to as “social justice unionism.” An Appendix provides a measurement tool. The argument is empirically grounded and theoretically developed, allowing us to better understand trade unionism around the globe. *Recommended Citation* Scipes, Kim (2014) "Social Movement Unionism or Social Justice Unionism? Disentangling Theoretical Confusion within the Global Labor Movement," *Class, Race and Corporate Power*: Vol. 2: Iss. 3, Article 9. Available on-line for free at: http://digitalcommons.fiu.edu/ classracecorporatepower/vol2/iss3/9 _______________________________________________ NetworkedLabour mailing list NetworkedLabour(a)lists.contrast.org http://lists.contrast.org/mailman/listinfo/networkedlabour -- Check out the Commons Transition Plan here at: http://en.wiki.floksociety.org/w/Research_Plan P2P Foundation: http://p2pfoundation.net - http://blog.p2pfoundation.net <http://lists.ourproject.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/p2p-foundation>Updates: http://twitter.com/mbauwens; http://www.facebook.com/mbauwens #82 on the (En)Rich list: http://enrichlist.org/the-complete-list/

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Fwd: [Networkedlabour] Austerity and Unionism: The Portuguese Case
by Michel Bauwens 27 Dec '14

27 Dec '14

---------- Forwarded message ---------- From: peter waterman <peterwaterman1936(a)gmail.com> Date: Fri, Dec 19, 2014 at 8:50 PM Subject: [Networkedlabour] Austerity and Unionism: The Portuguese Case To: networkedlabour(a)lists.contrast.org [image: Global Labour Column] <http://column.global-labour-university.org/> - HOME <http://column.global-labour-university.org/> - ABOUT US <http://column.global-labour-university.org/p/about-us.html> - GLC ANTHOLOGIES <http://column.global-labour-university.org/p/global-labour-column-edited-an…> - LINKS <http://column.global-labour-university.org/2014/12/austerity-policies-and-t…> - RECOMMENDED SITES <http://column.global-labour-university.org/p/further-links.html> - DISCLAIMER <http://column.global-labour-university.org/p/disclaimer.html> - AUTHORS <http://column.global-labour-university.org/p/authors.html> - CONTACT <http://column.global-labour-university.org/p/contact.html> - GLU <http://www.global-labour-university.org> - CSID <http://www.wits.ac.za/academic/clm/sebs/csid/16126/corporate_strategy_and_i…> [image: Follow Us on Twitter] <http://twitter.com/GlobalLabourCol>[image: Subscribe to our RSS Feed] <http://feeds.feedburner.com/blogspot/JjqDd> Austerity policies and trade unionism: A glance at Portugal <http://column.global-labour-university.org/2014/12/austerity-policies-and-t…> <http://3.bp.blogspot.com/--aDFTu_iWFI/VI7BxTIyt6I/AAAAAAAABes/ZVOFP7bd7uQ/s…> *Hermes Augusto Costa* <http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-xCcDjhl7xSU/VI7BsZTvymI/AAAAAAAABek/RORU6mhbi94/s…> *Elísio Estanque* <http://columnport.global-labour-university.org/2014/12/politicas-de-austeri…> Wage labour played and continues to play a central role in Western industrial societies, not just on the economic plane but above all as a vital support for social cohesion and the rule of law. The main advances of the last 200 years including the building of the welfare state and its important gains in the field of human rights (e.g. dignified work and social rights) are examples of the importance of struggles waged by organised wage labour. The major problem, however, is the imminent civilisational regression in which we find ourselves, teetering on the brink of a new cycle of mercantilist barbarism similar to the times of Marx (Estanque and Costa, 2013). In fact, the Portuguese labour context has in recent years been battered by austerity policies, formally with the entry of the *Troika* (International Monetary Fund (IMF)/ European Central Bank (ECB)/ European Commission(EC0) in May 2011 and even beyond its exit n May 2014. In this text, we initially identify some *internal challenges* put before unions and the external threats underlying austerity policies. We also set out some *tasks* for trade unions. * Internal challenges* Over the last few decades, factors in the crisis of trade unionism have multiplied in Western Europe: (i) *disaggregation of interests* surrounding the working class, as a result of more differentiated, segmented and flexible labour markets, of the decentralisation of production or of more precarious wage relations; (ii) a growing *absence of loyalty and solidarity* on the part of workers vis-à-vis unions, as a reflection of the emergence of individualism, which deviates attention to dispersed interests; (iii)we have also witnessed a *crisis in trade union representativeness*, resulting to difficulties when it comes to mobilising workers since union density is low.[1] Hence it is not surprising that over the last two decades, the trade union camp has been legitimately confronted with its loss of representativeness. Some studies centred on Portuguese society have sought to investigate to what extent people trust unions, what are the signs of union renewal and their influence in society. In Portugal, this subject is also connected with the alleged problem of “instrumentalisation”, bearing in mind that each of the trade union congresses (CGTP-IN and UGT[2]) maintain strong links with party-political forces (Communist Party and Socialist Party, respectively). Added to this, there are some factors of an internal nature that are not outside the realm of the abovementioned tendency of weakening: 1) trust in trade unions depends on the attention they are able to devote to new segments of workers that face greater difficulties in organising (precarious workers, the unemployed etc); 2) if unions demonstrated firm signs of renewal (giving more leadership roles to young people, women and rank-and-file militants, and strengthening internal and external communications etc) certainly more workers would trust them; 3) the high level of bureaucratisation of important trade union sectors, given the weight of older and relatively unskilled members, among other reasons, postponed for a long time the adoption of new digital technologies, and revealed their incapacity to deal with activist networks in cyberspace; 4) the influence of trade unions depends largely on the concrete success of struggles. But the effectiveness of trade union struggles is not always immediate, and often ends up being converted into a quantification exercise (opposing government/companies and unions) regarding numbers of strikers or demonstrators, as if this were the only criterion for the validity of trade union demands. * External threats: Civilisational regression driven by austerity* The evolution of some labour market indicators – high rates of unemployment, proliferation of precarious work, growing numbers of fixed-term contracts, wage reductions, facilitation of dismissals – employers’ are often despotic and the political decisions of governments are some of the external factors that condition and limit the strength of unionism. All of this occurs in an atmosphere of the reinforcement of the neoliberal ideology and consequently ideological prejudice meant to stigmatise the trade union camp as a “conservative” force or a force “blocking” reforms and the “flexibilisation” of the labour market. Furthermore, governments and economic groups impose upon public discourse the idea of “good” unionism (that which negotiates and yields) against “bad” unionism (that which advocates the “rigidity” of labour laws). For example, the European Summit of December 8 and 9, 2011, opened up a period of disenchantment for actors from the world of work because of the “six pack” legislative package aimed at ensuring fiscal discipline. This was confirmed at the next summit on January 30, 2012, with the signing of the “European budgetary pact” by 25 member states of the European Union. In essence, this entails pay cuts and freezes, reductions in social security entitlements, shrinking employment, lower labour costs etc. In sum, it is the culmination of a succession of measures that seek to dismantle the welfare state and impoverish the general population, as if the economy could be miraculously re-launched from that basis. In this setting (in which there is an estimated 1.2 million precarious workers in Portugal, according to data released on October 20, 2014 by the *Associação de Combate à Precariedade – Precários Inflexíveis*), the uncertainties regarding the future of trade unionism become more complex. In the case of Portugal, as a result of the Memorandum of Understanding with the *Troika* (May 2011), of the social pact (January 2012), of the changes in the labour legislation (Law 23/2012, in force since August 1, 2012), there is a series of threats that are being imposed on the trade union movement and this has also been enhanced by the crisis: individualisation of labour relations and destructive collective hiring; weakening of the power of unions in social dialogue; reduction in the rights and duties regulated by collective bargaining, which is attested by the abrupt drop in the issuing of “extension decrees” from 101 in 2009 to 9 in 2013 (Costa, 2012; Marques, 2014: 3). Ultimately, as a result of austerity policies and alterations in labour legislation, one has witnessed a process of income transfer from labour to capital, exemplified by: a reduction by half of overtime pay, implying an average cut in workers’ total remuneration of between 2.3% and 2.9% in 2013; a 75% reduction in holiday pay; an 1-hour increase in the working day for no extra pay i.e. workers have given their employers between 7.9 and 12.8 working days per year without any additional pay; amounting to an extra €2.1-2.5 billion in terms of gross operating surplus (Leite *et al.*, 2014). * The tasks of trade unionism* Therefore, the tasks facing trade unions in Portugal are very demanding. On the one hand, they have to look “inwards” so as to meet certain challenges from the past. On the other, they have to look “outwards”, reacting to (and surviving) austerity policies. The main tasks facing the trade union movement may be summarised in the following points: - Reinforcing vigilance as to how and under what conditions work gets done; - Organising groups that are underrepresented in unions (young people, women, the unemployed, precarious workers, ethnic minorities etc); - Creating partnerships and/or forms of regular activity with non-union organisations that have an interest in the labour sphere; - Reinforcing trade union representativeness in the more vulnerable sectors, particularly in commercial activities; - Strengthening unions’ internal democracy, whilst not allowing trade union activity to be conditioned by the presence of party-political forces or to become their tool; - Investing in trade union activist and leadership education by means of programmes and partnerships with universities and research centres with recognised competence in these fields, thus encouraging critical and self-critical analyses of trade unionism; - Following through with the wave of social protest that has intensified in Portugal in recent years; - Intervening nationally, transnationally and in network mode; - Adding dynamism to electronic trade unionism and ascribing the due importance to activism in “cyberspace”. [1] See Rosanvallon, 1988; Waddington, 2005; Costa, 2008; Estanque, 2011; Sousa, 2011; Estanque and Costa, 2011; 2013 [2] The general confederation of portuguese workers-intersindical and General Union of Workers ------------------------------ Download this article as pdf <http://www.global-labour-university.org/fileadmin/GLU_Column/papers/no_190_…> ------------------------------ *Elísio Estanque and Hermes Augusto Costa are sociologists at the Centre for Social Studies, School of Economics, University of Coimbra. * ------------------------------ *References* Costa, Hermes Augusto (2008), *Sindicalismo global ou metáfora adiada? Discursos e práticas transnacionais da CGTP e da CUT*. Porto: Afrontamento, 347 pp. Costa, Hermes Augusto (2011), “Do enquadramento teórico do sindicalismo às respostas pragmáticas”, in E. Estanque and H. A. Costa (eds.), *O sindicalismo português e a nova questão social: crise ou renovação?* Coimbra: Almedina, 13-48. Costa, Hermes Augusto (2012), “From Europe as a model to Europe as austerity: the impact of the crisis on Portuguese trade unions”, *Transfer – European Review of Labour and Research*, 18 (4), 397-410. Estanque, Elísio (2012), “Trabalho, classe média e sindicalismo”, in E. Estanque and Leonardo Mello e Silva (eds.), *Facetas do Trabalho na Contemporaneidade: Diálogos Luso-Brasileiros*. Curitiba: Editora Appris. Estanque, Elísio (2012), *A classe média. Ascensão e declínio.* Lisbon: Fundação Francisco Manuel dos Santos. Estanque, Elísio; Costa, Hermes Augusto (eds.) (2011), *O sindicalismo português e a nova questão social – crise ou renovação?* Coimbra: Almedina, 181 pp. Estanque, Elísio; Costa, Hermes Augusto (2012), “Labour relations and social movements”, in Denis Erasga (ed.), *Sociological Landscapes: Theories, Realities and Trends*. Rijeka/Croatia: INTECH/Open Access Publishing, 257-282 [available at http://www.intechopen.com/articles/show/title/labour-relations-and-social-m… ]. Estanque, Elísio; Costa, Hermes Augusto (2013), “O sindicalismo europeu no centro do vulcão: desafios e ameaças”, *Janus – Anuário de Relações Exteriores,* 16, 176-177. Leite, Jorge; Costa, Hermes Augusto; Silva, Manuel Carvalho; Almeida, João Ramos (2014), “Austeridade, reformas laborais e desvalorização do trabalho”, in Observatório sobre Crises e Alternativas (ed.), *A economia política do retrocesso: crise, causas e objetivos.* Coimbra: Almedina/CES, 127-188. Marques, Fernando (2014), “Os salários e a contratação coletiva face à crise” (paper presented to *Oficina Direitos Laborais na Encruzilhada: OIT e Portugal*). Lisbon: CES-Lisbon. Rosanvallon, Pierre (1988), *La question syndicale.* Paris: Calmann-Lévy. Sousa, Henrique (2011), *Sindicalização: a vida por detrás das estatísticas (alguns problemas metodológicos*) (working paper). Lisbon: FCSH, Universidade Nova. Waddington, Jeremy (2005), *La syndicalisation en Europe. Étendue du problème et éventail des réponses proposées par les syndicats.* Brussels: ETUI-REHS. ------------------------------ Posted in: Fiscal Austerity <http://column.global-labour-university.org/search/label/Fiscal%20Austerity> ,Neoliberalism <http://column.global-labour-university.org/search/label/Neoliberalism>, Struggle <http://column.global-labour-university.org/search/label/Struggle>,Trade Unions <http://column.global-labour-university.org/search/label/Trade%20Unions> -- 1. *2014. From Coldwar Communism to the Global Justice Movement: Itinerary of a Long-Distance Internationalist. * * http://www.into-ebooks.com/book/from_coldwar_communism _to_the_global_emancipatory_movement/ <http://www.into-ebooks.com/book/from_coldwar_communism_to_the_global_emanci…> (Free, in two formats) * 2. *2014. Interface Journal Special (Co-Editor), December 2014. 'Social Movement Internationalisms'. <http://www.interfacejournal.net/current/> * 3. *2012. EBook: Recovering Internationalism <http://www.into-ebooks.com/book/recovering_internationalism/>. [A compilation of papers from the new millenium. Now free in two download formats]* 4. *2013. EBook (co-editor), February 2013: World Social Forum: Critical Explorations http://www.into-ebooks.com/book/world_social_forum/ <http://www.into-ebooks.com/book/world_social_forum/>* 5. *2012. Interface Journal Special (co-editor), November 2012: For the Global Emancipation of Labour <http://www.interfacejournal.net/current/>* 6. *Ongoing. Blog: http://www.unionbook.org/profile/peterwaterman. <http://www.unionbook.org/profile/peterwaterman.>* 7. *2005-????. Needed: a Global Labour Charter Movement (2005-Now!) <http://interfacejournal.nuim.ie/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2010/11/Interf…>* 8. *2011. Under, Against, Beyond: Labour and Social Movements Confront a Globalised, Informatised Capitalism <http://www.into-ebooks.com/book/under-against-beyond/>(2011) (c. 1,000 pages of Working Papers, free, from the 1980's-90's).* _______________________________________________ NetworkedLabour mailing list NetworkedLabour(a)lists.contrast.org http://lists.contrast.org/mailman/listinfo/networkedlabour -- Check out the Commons Transition Plan here at: http://en.wiki.floksociety.org/w/Research_Plan P2P Foundation: http://p2pfoundation.net - http://blog.p2pfoundation.net <http://lists.ourproject.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/p2p-foundation>Updates: http://twitter.com/mbauwens; http://www.facebook.com/mbauwens #82 on the (En)Rich list: http://enrichlist.org/the-complete-list/

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