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

Fwd: Economics Education
by Michel Bauwens 11 May '14

11 May '14

---------- Forwarded message ---------- From: Layne Hartsell <hartsellml(a)p2pfoundation.net> Date: Sun, May 11, 2014 at 2:40 AM Subject: Economics Education To: Thomas Pogge <tpogge(a)gmail.com>, "Weckert, John" <jweckert(a)csu.edu.au>, Layne Hartsell <hartsellml(a)gmail.com>, Michel Bauwens < michel(a)p2pfoundation.net> University economics teaching isn't an education: it's a £9,000 lobotomy http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2014/may/09/university-economics-t… -- *Please note an intrusion wiped out my inbox on February 8; I have no record of previous communication, proposals, etc ..* 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: Survey on Value in Peer Production
by Michel Bauwens 10 May '14

10 May '14

---------- Forwarded message ---------- From: CelyaHYPhd <celyagd(a)hackyourphd.org> Date: Thu, May 8, 2014 at 5:38 PM Subject: Re: Survey on Value in Peer Production To: Michel Bauwens <michel(a)p2pfoundation.net> Dear Michel Thanks for the survey, I added hackyourphd and I shared it on the networks. It's also a source of inspiration for a survey that I'm working on. It's about OpenScience ecosystem. The goal would be to list OpenScience initiatives and define them according to their activities but also their business model and value. I will present the first results and map during an Open Exp with Without Mode<http://www.withoutmodel.com/without-model/open-experience-pour-debattre-des…>l in june. Here is the first version. I'm not really satisfied with the "OpenScience values" part and also for the costs in the BusinessModel part. If you have advice, opinion, ideas. it would be very helpful. Here is the link : https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1un_VRgKwNy0dorRc80RzI6DODfhrD-UdiXJBVMKMNS… It's on google form. I didn't know the "statistical studies on peer production" website. Do you think that this survey fits with it? Or should I wait a little? This survey is a first prototype. If you have time to do a short interview about your vision of OpenScience ecosystem and its future. I'd like to publish it on withoutmodel website before the event in june. By the way, I met Tibi at the OuiShare Fest and I'm looking forward to staying a few months in Québec next year to know more about Sensorica Lab. I've been accepted at the University of Laval. I will start on january 2015 but I haven't found yet funding :( Thanks Michel! A très vite Célya On Thu, May 8, 2014 at 4:26 AM, Michel Bauwens <michel(a)p2pfoundation.net>wrote: > fyi > > ---------- Forwarded message ---------- > From: Kevin Flanagan <kev.flanagan(a)gmail.com> > Date: Wed, May 7, 2014 at 9:10 PM > Subject: Survey on Value in Peer Production > To: Michael Bauwen <michelsub2004(a)gmail.com>, P2P Foundation mailing list > <p2p-foundation(a)lists.ourproject.org> > > > Please help spread and share this survey with your communities. > > Hello, > > The P2Pvalue project is undertaking research on commons-based peer > production (CBPP) communities around the world. The goal of this > research project is to develop a techno-social platform for sustainable > models and value generation in commons-based peer production. > > As part of this work, the P2P Foundation is interested in understanding > more about how value is created and capture in these communities at > different levels. > > We would be very grateful if you could help by completing the > questionnaire in the link below (click on link or copy and paste link > into browser). Please also feel free to post the survey on your Facebook > page or send to others involved in your or other CBPP communities. > > > surveys.peerproduction.net/ls2/index.php?r=survey/index/sid/981217/newtest/… > > Once the survey will be finished, the resulting raw data will be > anonymized and publicly available. > > Thank you very much for your help! > > Kind regards, > > Ignasi Capdevila > P2P Foundation > > PS: Please help us with 10 min of your time to complete the survey. > > > > -- > *Please note an intrusion wiped out my inbox on February 8; I have no > record of previous communication, proposals, etc ..* > > 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/ > -- Célya Gruson-Daniel Co-founder of HackYourPhD, #OpenScience community "Lets invent a research more open and transparent!" Web : HackYourPhD.org <http://hackyourphd.org/> | Facebook Group<https://www.facebook.com/groups/499463776745202/> | Google Group <hackyourphd(a)googlegroups.com> Twitter : @celyagd <http://www.twitter.com/celyagd> / @hackyourphd<http://www.twitter.com/hackyourphd> -- *Please note an intrusion wiped out my inbox on February 8; I have no record of previous communication, proposals, etc ..* 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: [Commoning] ‘Organizing Digital Labour and Digital Labour Organizing Workshop’ at Global Solidarity Conference Berlin
by Michel Bauwens 10 May '14

10 May '14

---------- Forwarded message ---------- From: Örsan Şenalp <orsan1234(a)gmail.com> Date: Sat, May 10, 2014 at 5:43 PM Subject: [Commoning] ‘Organizing Digital Labour and Digital Labour Organizing Workshop’ at Global Solidarity Conference Berlin To: squares <squares(a)lists.takethesquare.net>, " networkedlabour(a)lists.contrast.org" <networkedlabour(a)lists.contrast.org>, DrY Internacional <dry.international(a)gmail.com>, InterOccupy Info < info(a)interoccupy.org>, WSF L&G <wsf-l-and-g(a)lists.contrast.org>, Nettime < nettime-l(a)kein.org>, commoning <commoning(a)lists.wissensallmende.de> *Preparatory an test call for the planning of the ‘Organizing digital labour & digital labour organizing’ workshop. The actual workshop is being planned to take place in Berlin between 23-25 May 2014, during Labour Start <http://labourstart.org/>'s 5. Global Solidarity Conference <http://labourstart.org/2014/>.* *Original Post <https://on.usilive.org/event_calendar/view/812/online-preparatory-meeting-f…>: * https://on.usilive.org/event_calendar/view/812/online-preparatory-meeting-f… To open up the preparation process for the workshop as wide as possible and to allow those interested online participants to test and practice with the online system we will be using, we will make several test conference calls in coming days. The first call will take place on Wednesday 14 May, between 9.00 am and 15.00 pm [London time], so wider global participation will be possible during the day. The draft description of the workshop, which we be taken as the starting point, can be found at ‘Union Upgrading’ Group Wiki<https://on.usilive.org/dokuwiki/439/doku.php?id=start> created on Organizing Network <https://on.usilive.org/> -which we will be testing and using to document the workshop and the preperation, and to take the minutes. If you like to participate the preparatory call, and the workshop itself please add your name, affiliation, contact information, and any ideas or suggestion of yours on the wiki and click on 'Save'. In order to be able to use all the functions of the Organizing Network, for instance the wiki, you will need to register first. Please read the user guide for the ON here<https://on.usilive.org/pages/view/162/general-instructions-for-using-the-or…> . The test call is open to all unionists, labour organizers, social justice activists, free information and knowledge [h]activists, researchers who are interested in and experienced on the topic. The call is especially set up for those who wish to actively collaborate in the preparation of the content of the workshop, and who needs to practice with the digital tools we will be using. In order to be able to join the call you will need a computer connected to the Internet [the faster the better] that runs an updated version of Flash Player [you can download here<http://www.adobe.com/support/flashplayer/downloads.html>]. In order to be able to join the meeting with a smart phones and/or tablet running Android or IOS you will need to click here<https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=itd8pTnahcI> , follow the video instructions and download Puffin Browser App. Then on the event page here<https://on.usilive.org/event_calendar/view/812/organizing-digital-labour-di…> , you have to click on the ‘Join Conference’ button, on the left hand upper corner. The cyber room for the meeting is already created. So if you like to start practicing yourself right away please do not hesitate to click here<http://bbb.mayfirst.org/client/BigBlueButton.html> to go to the room now. For more information on free libre and open source (FLOS) distance education system BigBlueButton and how it works click here<http://bigbluebutton.org/> . For those who might miss this first session there will be one more call set up same time next week, Wednesday 21 May. The minutes of the call will be taken, yet in case all participants would agree, we want to make audio and video recording of the meetings, to make it accesible online for those who can not join and follow the meetings and the workshop. For any other questions, suggestions, concerns or any other reasons please send a message by using the contact information provided at the end of the text. Finally, we share our gratitude for the comrades at the May First / People Link <https://mayfirst.org/> and Union Solidarity International<https://usilive.org/> for hosting this ethical meeting and collaboration tools and spaces in their secured servers and providing for workers’ and activists’ use for free. In Global Solidarity, Orsan Senalp E-mail networg [at] networg [dot] nl Cell Phone +31 643242552 Skype: Orsan1234 Website: http://networg.nl/ <https://www.facebook.com/NetwOrgDotNL> _______________________________________________ Commoning mailing list Commoning(a)lists.wissensallmende.de http://lists.wissensallmende.de/mailman/listinfo/commoning -- *Please note an intrusion wiped out my inbox on February 8; I have no record of previous communication, proposals, etc ..* 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] Fwd: 18 May, Thessaloniki's water referendum: One no, many yeses
by Michel Bauwens 10 May '14

10 May '14

---------- Forwarded message ---------- From: Orsan Senalp <orsan1234(a)gmail.com> Date: Sat, May 10, 2014 at 9:55 AM Subject: [Networkedlabour] Fwd: 18 May, Thessaloniki's water referendum: One no, many yeses To: networkedlabour(a)lists.contrast.org, squares < squares(a)lists.takethesquare.net> Thanks Theodoros, Sharing here as well Begin forwarded message: *From:* Theodoros Karyotis <tkaryotis(a)gmail.com> *Date:* 10 mei 2014 16:44:16 CEST *To:* undisclosed-recipients:; *Subject:* *18 May, Thessaloniki's water referendum: One no, many yeses* Dear friends, as you might know, next Sunday there is a city-wide referendum organised in Thessaloniki by the movements against water privatisation. It is a significant battle in the ongoing struggle against neoliberal plunder and the degradation of our lives. Find in the following link a text detailing the context and the state of the struggle. http://www.autonomias.net/2014/05/18-may-thessalonikis-water-referendum.html Forward, republish, spread the word! in solidarity, Teo autonomias.net twitter.com/TebeoTeo ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ...buscar y saber reconocer quién y qué, en medio del infierno, no es infierno, y hacer que dure, y dejarle espacio... _______________________________________________ NetworkedLabour mailing list NetworkedLabour(a)lists.contrast.org http://lists.contrast.org/mailman/listinfo/networkedlabour -- *Please note an intrusion wiped out my inbox on February 8; I have no record of previous communication, proposals, etc ..* 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: [unSYSTEM] Fwd: [cryptopolitics] CfP: Interference
by Michel Bauwens 10 May '14

10 May '14

sts.dyne.org <unsystem(a)lists.dyne.org>> TL;DR: Cool-sounding conference at a former squat in Amsterdam, 15-17 August 2014. http://interference.io/ -------- Original Message -------- Subject: [cryptopolitics] CfP: Interference Date: Tue, 15 Apr 2014 14:56:27 +0200 From: groente <groente(a)puscii.nl> To: cryptopolitics(a)randombit.net ========= Call for Papers ========= Interference, n: 1. preventing (a process or activity) from continuing or being carried out properly. 2. the combination of two or more electromagnetic waveforms to form a resultant wave in which the displacement is either reinforced or cancelled. Interference is a gathering of people, perspectives, theories, and actions that share a critical approach to society and technology. It will take place at the Binnenpret in Amsterdam, NL from 15th to the 17th of August 2014. It will be a space where we can meet, debate, share, learn, and find our affinities and oppositions. The event comes as a response to the lack of a common ground for confrontation and discussion over themes like hacking, technology, art and politics that could break out of the existing containers and roles for such concepts and practices. Interference is not a hacker conference. From a threat to the so-called national security, hacking has become an instrument for reinforcing the status quo. Fed up with yet another recuperation, the aim is to re/contextualize hacking as a conflictual praxis and release it from its technofetishist boundaries. Bypassing the cultural filters, Interference wants to take the technical expertise of the hacking scene out of its isolation to place it within the broader perspective of the societal structures it shapes and is part of. Interference tries not to define itself. Interference challenges hacker's identity, the internal dynamics of hackerculture and its ethical values. It undermines given identities and rejects given definitions. Interference is a hacking event from an anarchist perspective: it doesn't seek for uniformity on the level of skills or interests, but rather focuses on a shared basis of intuitive resistance and critical attitude towards the techno-social apparatus. Interference is three days of exploring modes of combining theory and practice, breaking and (re)inventing systems and networks, and playing with the art and politics of everyday life. Topics may or may not include philosophy of technology, spectacle, communication guerrilla, temporary autonomous zones, cybernetics, bureaucratic exploits, the illusions of liberating technologies, speculative software, the creative capitalism joke, the maker society and its enemies, hidden- & self- censorship, and the refusal of the binarity of gender, life, and logic. Interference welcomes discordians, intervention artists, artificial lifeforms, digital alchemists, oppressed droids, luddite hackers and critical engineers to diverge from the existent, dance with fire-spitting robots, hack the urban environment, break locks, perform ternary voodoo, decentralise and disconnect networks, explore the potential of noise, build botnets, and party all night. The event is intended to be as self-organised as possible which means you are invited to contribute on your own initiative with your skills and interests. Bring your talk, workshop, debate, performance, opinion, installation, project, critique, the things you're interested in, the things you want to discuss. Especially those not listed above. Please let us know how you would like to interefere by sending a (brief) abstract of your proposal before June 15 to interference [at] puscii.nl. Updates and more information can be found on http://interference.io =================================== _______________________________________________ cryptopolitics mailing list cryptopolitics(a)randombit.net http://lists.randombit.net/mailman/listinfo/cryptopolitics _______________________________________________ unSYSTEM mailing list: http://unsystem.net https://mailinglists.dyne.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/unsystem -- Nicolas Mendoza PhD Researcher School of Creative Media City University of Hong Kong China PDR - HKSAR -- *Please note an intrusion wiped out my inbox on February 8; I have no record of previous communication, proposals, etc ..* 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: [opennetcoalition] Will the Italian Presidency of the EU Council Support Net Neutrality?
by Michel Bauwens 09 May '14

09 May '14

---------- Forwarded message ---------- From: La Quadrature du Net <contact(a)laquadrature.net> Date: Fri, May 9, 2014 at 10:28 AM Subject: [opennetcoalition] Will the Italian Presidency of the EU Council Support Net Neutrality? To: opennetcoalition(a)laquadrature.net Themes: NET NEUTRALITY, COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION, ITALY La Quadrature du Net – For immediate release Permanent link: https://www.laquadrature.net/en/will-the-italian-presidency-of-the-eu-counc… Will the Italian Presidency of the EU Council Support Net Neutrality? *** Paris, 9 May 2014 — The voice of the Italian presidency of the Council of the European Union could mark a real departure from the usual government talk chastising the vote on Net Neutrality adopted by the European Parliament! According to the information portal Euractiv [1], the Italian presidency could support the text voted by the Members of the European Parliament and be ready to defend it in front of the European governments and telecommunications industry. As the publication of the guidance report of the Council of the European Union about the Net Neutrality (scheduled for 5 or 6 of June) nears, La Quadrature du Net welcomes this encouraging position and asks European citizens to invite their governments to follow this example. *** On May 2, European information portal Euractiv reported [1] on the position of the Italian presidency of the Council of European Union on the Telecom Package reform voted [2] by the European Parliament on the 3rd of April. While the dominant telco players and several governments, including France [3], have declared themselves opposed to this text, which runs the risk of being seriously reworked in a way likely to harm Net neutrality by the Council of the European Union, this position stands in contrast and is a positive sign. Marco Peronaci, assistant permanent representative of Italy to the European Union said during a conference organized by ETNO: “We understand the concerns of the industry but we still think that it deserves a serious look”. A diplomatic source cited by Euractiv argued that Italy, which will take the Presidency of the European Union for 6 months on the 1st of July, wants to defend the text as it was adopted by the European Parliament. While some governments seems to be surrendering to the telecom lobbies' pressure to reintroduce to the text measures allowing commercial discriminations and going back on the progress voted by the MEPs, citizens must support those who take a stand in favour of the European Parliament's vote and of Net Neutrality. “The stand Italy has taken is interesting and encouraging. It shows that Net Neutrality as a social issue is more and more taken into account, including at a high level. The French government, including Mrs. Lemaire who is in charge of digital matters, must follow Italy's lead and clarify the position France will defend during the next legislative steps. Without delay, European citizens must call on their governments to act and carry the European Parliament's citizen voice and that of those who defend Net Neutrality”, declared Adrienne Charmet-Alix, campaign coordinator for La Quadrature du Net. * References * 1. https://www.laquadrature.net/en/euractiv-italian-presidency-to-support-parl… 2. https://www.laquadrature.net/en/net-neutrality-a-great-step-forward-for-the… 3. https://www.laquadrature.net/fr/pcinpact-neutralite-du-net-la-france-plaide… ** About La Quadrature du Net ** La Quadrature du Net is an advocacy group that defends the rights and freedoms of citizens on the Internet. More specifically, it advocates for the adaptation of French and European legislations to respect the founding principles of the Internet, most notably the free circulation of knowledge. In addition to its advocacy work, the group also aims to foster a better understanding of legislative processes among citizens. Through specific and pertinent information and tools, La Quadrature du Net hopes to encourage citizens' participation in the public debate on rights and freedoms in the digital age. La Quadrature du Net is supported by French, European and international NGOs including the Electronic Frontier Foundation, the Open Society Institute and Privacy International. List of supporting organisations: https://www.laquadrature.net/en/they-support-la-quadrature-du-net ** Press contact and press room ** contact(a)laquadrature.net, +33 (0) 972 294 426 https://www.laquadrature.net/en/press-room _______________________________________________ Opennetcoalition mailing list Opennetcoalition(a)laquadrature.net https://laquadrature.net/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/opennetcoalition -- *Please note an intrusion wiped out my inbox on February 8; I have no record of previous communication, proposals, etc ..* 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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epistemologies of the south
by Michel Bauwens 09 May '14

09 May '14

dear Kevin, http://www.boaventuradesousasantos.pt/media/FLYER_Santos%20-%20Epistemologi… this is an important book but I cannot copy/paste from it. Can you create a wiki entry on the book ? We can also publish it on the blog with the pdf embedded, as it is both an important book and we have a very thin buffer right now, thanks, Michel -- *Please note an intrusion wiped out my inbox on February 8; I have no record of previous communication, proposals, etc ..* 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] registro adhesion a P2P Foundation
by Michel Bauwens 09 May '14

09 May '14

dear Marco, as you perhaps know, the p2p-foundation is a network but not a membership organisation, so I'm not sure what your expectation, It would be great to have your bio, to add a profile to our wiki and that you register there, if you have not done so, of course, I (we) am very happy with your adhesion and your work in Bolivia, do let me know how we can help you, Michel On Fri, May 9, 2014 at 8:25 AM, Marco Zubieta <fablab.bolivia(a)gmail.com>wrote: > Nombre: Marcos Zubieta Vargas > Email: fablab.bolivia(a)gmail.com > > -- *Please note an intrusion wiped out my inbox on February 8; I have no record of previous communication, proposals, etc ..* 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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Digital Labour and Karl Marx (Christian Fuchs): New paperback
by Christian Fuchs 09 May '14

09 May '14

Digital Labour and Karl Marx (Christian Fuchs): New paperback Fuchs, Christian. 2014. Digital Labour and Karl Marx. New York: Routledge. ISBN 978-0-415-71615-4. More information about the book: http://fuchs.uti.at/books/digital-labour-and-karl-marx/ Participate in the journal tripleC: Communication, Capitalism & Critique (http://www.triple-c.at)’s Karl Marx-lottery and win one of 6 copies of the book (see the instructions at the end of this e-mail) How is labour changing in the age of computers, the Internet, and “social media” such as Facebook, Google, YouTube, Weibo and Twitter? In Digital Labour and Karl Marx, Christian Fuchs attempts to answer that question, crafting a systematic critical theorisation of labour as performed in the capitalist ICT industry. The book ''Digital Labour and Karl Marx'' shows that labour, class and exploitation are not concepts of the past, but are at the heart of computing and the Internet in capitalist society. It argues that we therefore need an engagement with Karl Marx’s theory to understand digital and social media today. The work argues that our use of digital media is grounded in old and new forms of exploited labour. Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Weibo and other social media platforms are the largest advertising agencies in the world. They do not sell communication, but advertising space. And for doing so, they exploit users, who work without payment for social media companies and produce data that is used for targeting advertisements. The book presents case studies that show that users’ activities on corporate social media is just one form of digital labour. Their usage is enabled by the labour of slaves and other highly exploited workers extracting minerals in developing countries, hardware assemblers in China, California and other parts of the world who face extremely hard working conditions that remind us of the industrial labour that Karl Marx described in 19th century Britain, low paid software engineers and information service workers in developing countries who provide labour for transnational ICT companies in the West, highly paid and highly stressed software engineers at Google and other Western ICT companies, or e-waste workers who disassemble computers under toxic conditions. The case studies in Fuchs’ book show that the profitability of ICT companies is built on the lives and deaths of a global class of exploited workers whose labour is anonymously connected an international division of digital labour. Christian Fuchs, ''Production and use of digital media are embedded into multiple forms of exploitation. The information society is first and foremost a capitalist class society. The only solution is that we become conscious as a new working class and find ways to overcome the realities of exploitation''. CONTENTS PART I Theoretical Foundations of Studying Digital Labour 1. Introduction 2. An Introduction to Karl Marx’s Theory 3. Contemporary Cultural Studies and Karl Marx 4. Dallas Smythe and Audience Labour Today 5. Capitalism or Information Society? PART II Analysing Digital Labour: Case Studies 6. Digital Slavery: Slave Work in ICT-Related Mineral Extraction 7. Exploitation at Foxconn: Primitive Accumulation and the Formal Subsumption of Labour 8. The New Imperialism’s Division of Labour: Work in the Indian Software Industry 9. The Silicon Valley of Dreams and Nightmares of Exploitation: The Google Labour Aristocracy and Its Context 10. Tayloristic, Housewifized Service Labour: The Example of Call Centre Work 11. Theorizing Digital Labour on Social Media PART III Conclusion 12. Digital Labour and Struggles for Digital Work:The Occupy Movement as a New Working-Class Movement? Social Media as Working-Class Social Media? 13. Digital Labour Keywords Participate in the journal tripleC’s (http://www.triple-c.at) Karl Marx-lottery and potentially win one of 6 copies of “Digital Labour and Karl Marx”: send the 2 answer of the following 2 questions, your name and postal address to office(a)triple-c.at How often can the term “means of communication” be found in a) Marx’s “Capital, Volume 1” (excluding the index, the editor’s and translator’s introductions, as well as excluding the “Results of the Immediate Process of Production” included in some editions; including footnotes) and b) Marx’s “Grundrisse” (including the table of contents and footnotes; excluding the index, editor’s or translator’s introductions, including footnotes) Closing date: Thursday, May 15. 18:00 BST The winners will be drawn among the correct answers. If less than 6 sent-in answers are correct, then those answers whose guess is closest will be considered.

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The second machine age is upon us: time to reconsider the Luddites?
by robert searle 09 May '14

09 May '14

Computers are making many jobs redundant – yet our society has no mechanisms for converting redundancy into leisure The sub-heading of this article above makes the claim that ".....our society has no mechanisms for converting redundancy into leisure." However, a careful study of Transfinancial Economics in its Advanced Stage (or Phase II) reveals that "unemployment," or better still more meaningful employment, notably working as paid employees for example in certain NGOs would be possible, and be paid for by newly created money. In other words, "unemployment" would be virtually impossible though new employment could at time appear to be more "leisure-like." With the gradual injection of newly created money, serious inflation would not occur, but would be controlled by direct super-flexible controls which would largely maintain the Free Market Price. Moreover, the amount of new funds created would be accurately assessed as TFE in its Advanced Stage would have a " near complete" understanding of the Economy in Real-Time. Also, the controls just mentioned would be able to help tackle instability, and uncertainty in the Economy itself. The above also has implications for pensions because these could be funded in full, or in part by newly created money without serious inflation. See http://www.p2pfoundation.net/Transfinancial_Economics * * * * Robert Skidelsky * * theguardian.com, Monday 24 February 2014 10.35 GMT * Performers depict the industrial revolution during the opening ceremony of the 2012 Olympics. Photograph: Ryan Pierse/Getty Images At the start of the Industrial Revolution, textile workers in the Midlands and the north of England, mainly weavers, staged a spontaneous revolt, smashing machinery and burning factories. Their complaint was that the newfangled machines were robbing them of their wages and jobs. The rebels took their name, and inspiration, from the apocryphal Ned Ludd, supposedly an apprentice weaver who smashed two knitting frames in 1779 in a "fit of passion". Robert Calvert wrote a ballad about him in 1985: "They said Ned Ludd was an idiot boy/ That all he could do was wreck and destroy," the song begins. And then: "He turned to his workmates and said: 'Death to Machines'/They tread on our future and stamp on our dreams." The Luddites' rampage was at its height in 1811-12. An alarmed government sent in more troops to garrison the disturbed areas than were then available to Wellington in the Peninsular War against Napoleon. More than a hundred Luddites were hanged or transported to Australia. These measures restored peace. The machines won: the Luddites are a footnote in the history of the Industrial Revolution. Historians tell us that the Luddites were victims of a temporary conjuncture of rising prices and falling wages that threatened them with starvation in a society with minimal welfare provision. The Luddites, however, blamed their misfortune on the machines themselves. The new knitting frames and power looms could weave yarn into cloth much faster than the most skilled artisan weaver working in his own cottage. Caught between fixed costs (the hire and upkeep of their domestic appliances) and falling prices for their products, tens of thousands of families were doomed to become paupers. Their plight evoked some sympathy (Lord Byron made a brilliant speech in their defence in the House of Lords); their arguments, however, did not. There could be no rejecting progress: the future lay with machine production, not with old-fashioned handicrafts. Trying to regulate trade, Adam Smith taught, was like trying to "regulate the wind". Thomas Paine spoke for middle-class radicalism when he said: "We know that every machine for the abridgment of labour is a blessing to the great family of which we are part." There would, of course, be some temporary unemployment in the technologically advancing sectors; but, in the long run, machine-assisted production, by increasing the real wealth of the community, would enable full employment at higher wages. That was the initial view of David Ricardo, the most influential economist of the 19th century. But in the third edition of his Principles of Political Economy (1817), he inserted a chapter on machinery that changed tack. He was now "convinced that the substitution of machines for human labour is often very injurious to the class of labourers," that the "same cause which may increase the net revenue of the country, may at the same time render the population redundant." As a result, "the opinion entertained by the labouring class, that the employment of machinery is frequently detrimental to their interests, is not founded on prejudice and error, but is conformable to the correct principles of political economy." Just consider: machinery "may render the population redundant"! A bleaker prospect is not to be found in economics. Ricardo's orthodox followers took no notice of it, assuming it to be a rare lapse by the Master. But was it? The pessimistic argument is as follows: If machines costing $5 an hour can produce the same amount as workers costing $10 an hour, employers have an incentive to substitute machines for labour up to the point that the costs are equal – that is, when the wages of the workers have fallen to $5 an hour. As machines become ever more productive, so wages tend to fall even more, toward zero, and the population becomes redundant. Now, it did not work out like that. Labour's share of GDP remained constant throughout the Industrial Age. The pessimistic argument ignored the fact that by lowering the cost of goods, machines increased workers' real wages – enabling them to buy more – and that the rise in labour productivity enabled employers (often under pressure from trade unions) to pay more per worker. It also assumed that machines and workers were close substitutes, whereas more often than not workers could still do things that machines could not. However, over the last 30 years, the share of wages in national income has been falling, owing to what MIT professors Erik Brynjolfsson and Andrew McAfee call the "second machine age". Computerised technology has penetrated deeply into the service sector, taking over jobs for which the human factor and "cognitive functions" were hitherto deemed indispensable. In retail, for example, Walmart and Amazon are prime examples of new technology driving down workers' wages. Because computer programs and humans are close substitutes for such jobs, and given the predictable improvement in computing power, there seems to be no technical obstacle to the redundancy of workers across much of the service economy. Yes, there will still be activities that require human skills, and these skills can be improved. But it is broadly true that the more computers can do, the less humans need to do. The prospect of the "abridgment of labour" should fill us with hope rather than foreboding. But, in our kind of society, there are no mechanisms for converting redundancy into leisure. That brings me back to the Luddites. They claimed that because machines were cheaper than labour, their introduction would depress wages. They argued the case for skill against cheapness. The most thoughtful of them understood that consumption depends on real income, and that depressing real income destroys businesses. Above all, they understood that the solution to the problems created by machines would not be found in laissez-faire nostrums. The Luddites were wrong on many points; but perhaps they deserve more than a footnote. Copyright: Project Syndicate, 2014.

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