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

Fwd: Motivation and Overlapping Ideologies ? : Systematic Ideology
by Michel Bauwens 22 Aug '14

22 Aug '14

---------- Forwarded message ---------- From: Dante-Gabryell Monson <dante.monson(a)gmail.com> Date: Thu, Aug 21, 2014 at 9:03 PM Subject: Motivation and Overlapping Ideologies ? : Systematic Ideology To: "econowmix(a)googlegroups.com" <econowmix(a)googlegroups.com>, " op-n-m(a)googlegroups.com" <op-n-m(a)googlegroups.com> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Systematic_ideology *It seeks to understand the origin and development of ideologies, how ideologies and ideological groups work together, and the possibilities of guiding the development of ideologies on a global scale. The basic premise of systematic ideology is that ideology is the central motivator <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Motivation> in human affairs; that the characteristics that make up the major ideologies come in sets; that those sets of characteristics form a series; and that the ideological series forms a system.* -- 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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isis and social media
by Michel Bauwens 22 Aug '14

22 Aug '14

Fred thought you might be interested in this link from the Guardian: Islamic State moves to other social networks after Twitter clampdown Diaspora, the open-source social network, struggles to stop Isis accounts spreading propaganda after the murder of James Foley Samuel Gibbs Thursday 21 August 2014 theguardian.com http://www.theguardian.com/technology/2014/aug/21/islamic-state-isis-social… ---- After the clampdown by Twitter and YouTube on Islamic State (Isis) propaganda <http://www.theguardian.com/technology/2014/aug/20/james-foley-how-social-me…>, the social media war has spread to open-source social network Diaspora – where the content is impossible to remove. Isis <http://www.theguardian.com/world/isis> accounts are posting propaganda images, video and text via Diaspora sites, and the site’s developers who once promised, in a now-deleted blogpost, that it offered “a brighter future for all of us” <https://web.archive.org/web/20111002003516/http://blog.diasporafoundation.o…> are powerless to stop them. But they are concerned at legal implications for other users who are connected to the network. “Diaspora started off with the purpose to be decentralised, which has both good and bad aspects,” explained Dr Bernie Hogan, who researches social media and identify at the Oxford Internet Institute. “The good part is that you don’t get state interference and the bad is that you don’t get state interference.” Launched in 2010 <http://www.theguardian.com/media/pda/2010/sep/16/diaspora-facebook-privacy-…>, Diaspora is unlike Twitter, Facebook and most other social networks which rely on a central database. Instead it has an open, decentralised platform, with an estimated 1 million users <http://pods.jasonrobinson.me/>. Anyone can download use the Diaspora <https://diasporafoundation.org/> software to set up their own “pod”, which is hosted on a private server but connects to the rest of the Diaspora network to share posts, messages and media. As on Facebook or Twitter, users have to choose who they follow in order to see their posts. Diaspora was originally marketed as a user-owned social networking alternative to Facebook, that respects user privacy and data, to “be whoever you want to be” and “interact with whomever you choose in whatever way you want”. In the now-deleted blogpost from September 2011, its American founders said that “... our distributed design means no big corporation will ever control Diaspora. Diaspora will never sell your social life to advertisers, and you won’t have to conform to someone’s arbitrary rules or look over your shoulder before you speak.” Open network But the arrival of activists supporting Isis on the network has raised concerns for the administrators, who say there could be legal risks to pod administrators as content - including Isis propaganda - is copied onto it from the network. The Diaspora Foundation, which controls the development of the software said in an unsignedstatement on its website <https://blog.diasporafoundation.org/4-islamic-state-fighters-on-diaspora>: “There is no central server, and there is therefore no way for the project’s core team to manipulate or remove contents from a particular node in the network (which we call a “pod”). This may be one of the reasons which attracted Isis activists to our network.” People who own and run the individual pods, called “podmins”, can intervene if they desire or are compelled to do so, as happens on Twitter and other commercial social networks. “Because this is such a crucial issue, we have accumulated a list of accounts related to Isis fighters, which are spread over a large number of pods, and we are in the process of talking to the podmins of those pods,” the foundation said. “So far, all of the larger pods have removed the Isis-related accounts and posts. This includes a high-volume account on JoinDiaspora.com <http://joindiaspora.com/> which was apparently used as a main distribution channel.” The foundation went to great lengths to point out that despite creating and maintaining the software, it has no direct control over how it is used, but would do anything it could to notify individual pod owners to the risks of hosting Isis material. *‘End up being a game of a whack-a-mole’* “I don’t think third-party censorship is going to be very successful - it’s just going to end up being a game of whack-a-mole,” said Hogan. “Instead we need to be impervious to this content and let it sadly wash over us.” Hogan explained that the only way to combat this kind of propaganda was to not share it, not report it and not give those posting it a platform. “It’s a collective, social responsibility to ensure that violent, potentially contagious content that could reinforce messages that we find problematic does not spread,” said Hogan. Isis accounts have popped up on various social networks beyond the mainstream like Twitter and Facebook. Diaspora is the latest, but Isis has used Friendica and Quitter; both promptly shut down Isis accounts. “Isis is certainly running out of platforms, especially those curated by third parties like Twitter,” said Hogan. “They could find their way to the dark web, but it obviously wouldn’t be particular useful for recruitment.” *• **James Foley: How social media is fighting back against Isis propaganda* <http://www.theguardian.com/technology/2014/aug/20/james-foley-how-social-me…> -- 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] P2P Foundation List Moderation Notice
by Michel Bauwens 22 Aug '14

22 Aug '14

this is not about opinions Quirilo, it's about a systematic policy of defamation and disinformation, in my case, I was accused of being an austrian economist, while i am in opposition to it, david is accused of doing his commons work for political gain, allianzia solidaria in quito, the best coop we've seen in 6 months of study, was accused etc .. etc ... it is the standard operating procedure of willi and it degrades the culture of discourse stick to arguments, don't use freedom of speech to systematically attack the personal integrity of your brothers and comrades, you are free to do this, but not here, refrain from personal attacks, and there is absolute no issue of staying on the list On Fri, Aug 22, 2014 at 9:15 AM, Quiliro Ordóñez Baca < quiliro(a)congresolibre.org> wrote: > I feel someone's exclusion because they speak their mind out is the > worst kind of censorship. The worst insult a person can suffer is > censorship. I think that it is only seen where people of low cultural > level stay. It is fear of being disapproved which motivates censorship. > It is low self esteem. "Get out or I will kick you out" is a very bully > kind of attitude. > > I was asking to become part of this list. But censorship does not make > me feel there is a neutral point of view or an academic environment but > a dogmatic one. Please ignore my petitions to subscribe to this list. > > > > El 21/08/14 a las 20:51, willi uebelherr escibió: > > > > Dear Kevin, > > > > i respect your doing and can accept it. I am new on your list, we > > never find a clear base of our principles and vision. So, what can i > > do on this list? To look for interest contribution i can use the archive. > > > > With the request from Michel i saw, this is a private space from > > Michel and, maybe, you have to act like an employee. I don't > > understand the backsides. Gordon talked about. You can also shorten > > the period. This is my last mail to the list. > > > > 3 persons vote for exclusion, 2 persons was not sure, 1 person > > against. Maybe, some people vote silent for exclusion. They have no > > power to speak open. > > > > I know, this is a personal conflict from Michel with me since the FLOK > > project. Never i attacked a person on this list. I have criticized, > > have questioned. And this i always do it. And i like people, they do > > the same. I hate people without agreement of thinking and doing. I > > know, many people don't like this style. They want to speak around. > > > > many greetings, willi > > Popayan, Colombia > > > > > > Am 21/08/2014 um 20:21 schrieb Kevin Flanagan: > >> Dear Willi, > >> > >> I do not make decisions to unsubscribe people from the list > >> unilaterally. Many people have complained both publicly and privately > >> about your behaviour. Personal attacks are not acceptable. > >> > >> In the case of this mailing list. Where an individual is not willing to > >> abide by the culture and norms of the list then s/he are welcome to > >> unsubscribe and move on. > >> > >> I am offering you here a opportunity to resolve this conflict. > >> Here are the terms. It's really quite simple. > >> > >> If in the next 24 hours from the time of this email you are willing to > >> reconsider your behavior on this list, apologize for that behavior > >> publicly on list and will refrain from further personal attacks in > >> future. Then you are welcome to stay. > >> > >> If these terms are not acceptable then I offer you 24hrs from the time > >> of this email to unsubscribe. If you have not unsubscribed in that time > >> I will exercise my responsibilities as list moderator and will do it for > >> you. > >> > >> Regards > >> > >> Kevin Flanagan > >> P2P Foundation Mailing List Moderator > >> > > > > -- > Saludos libres, > Quiliro Ordóñez > 600 8579 > > > -- 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: P2P-Foundation Digest, Vol 44, Issue 43
by Michel Bauwens 21 Aug '14

21 Aug '14

I used to maintain a strong rule of no personal attacks on the list, but I must say I have gotten tired to be the only one reacting, Willi, who is notorious for these kinds of attacks and false accusations, is clearly making a gratuitous accusation against our friend David Bollier, whom I know as a lifelong activist for the commons, at great personal sacrifice, and the contrary of someone who uses the commons for private personal gain. does everyone find that normal ? do we have to the time to spend answering such provocations ? personally, it is here that I would give a warning to Willi, and say, this is not the place for such unsupported attacks, and please abstain or you will have to leave this forum. But for Willi, this is just been systematic practice, so the warnings have been repeated endlessly in various forums, and it has had no effect, So I'm requesting the removal of Willi from this list, as he has been removed recently from the networked labour list, exactly for the same reason, Kevin, as list manager, I believe this is your job? personal defamation is not an acceptable practice on this list, I am not going to get into a debate on this, but if any people would find it such practices normal, I would propose to disband this list and start a new one where this rule is made clear from the very beginning, avoiding endless discussions on it, Michel Bauwens ---------- Forwarded message ---------- From: <p2p-foundation-request(a)lists.ourproject.org> Date: Wed, Aug 20, 2014 at 9:49 PM Subject: P2P-Foundation Digest, Vol 44, Issue 43 To: p2p-foundation(a)lists.ourproject.org Message: 2 Date: Wed, 20 Aug 2014 09:49:22 -0500 From: willi uebelherr <willi.uebelherr(a)gmail.com> Subject: [P2P-F] Fwd: Book of the Day: Think Like a Commoner Dear friends, i love the contributions of hartsellml. You think, David Bollier is working for the commons? No. You see, he want to sell his books only. Try to find a free access to his writing. He use the commons resource, our discussion, our visions, our doing, our history to make a private buisness with his description. many greetings, willi -------- Weitergeleitete Nachricht -------- Betreff: Book of the Day: Think Like a Commoner Datum: Tue, 19 Aug 2014 16:35:36 PDT Von: hartsellml Book of the Day: Think Like a Commoner ** Book: Think Like a Commoner <http://www.newsociety.com/Books/T/Think-Like-a-Commoner>. A Short Introduction to the Life of the Commons by David Bollier. New Society, 2014*

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NYC's solidarity economy
by Michel Bauwens 21 Aug '14

21 Aug '14

http://p2pfoundation.net/Possibilities_for_Collaboration_in_New_York_City%2… dear Amanda, in the context of our last skype, I suggest you read this report, just in case it works for you, it didn't for me, if you could copy/paste the description/introduction into our wiki, it would be great, Dear Kevin, could you scribd this to publish on our blog ? 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: knowledge democracy and social transformation
by Michel Bauwens 20 Aug '14

20 Aug '14

---------- Forwarded message ---------- From: Michael Edwards <edwarmi(a)hotmail.com> Date: Wed, Aug 20, 2014 at 8:12 PM Subject: knowledge democracy and social transformation Dear friends who I know are interested in alternatives to standardized education and learning! I thought you might be interested in this piece published on Transformation today by Budd Hall and Rajesh Tandon, using examples like the Shack Dwellers Movement university in South Africa. Please help us to get it to a wider audience through your social media networks. Many thanks, Mike https://opendemocracy.net/transformation/budd-hall-rajesh-tandon/no-more-en… Michael Edwards Distinguished Senior Fellow, Demos, New York Editor, http://www.opendemocracy.net/transformation Follow me on Twitter @edwarmi and check out my website at http://www.futurepositive.org for free downloads and all the latest news about my work My latest book, Civil Society, is now available from Polity: http://www.politybooks.com/book.asp?ref=0745679358 -- 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: Book of the Day: Think Like a Commoner
by willi uebelherr 20 Aug '14

20 Aug '14

Dear friends, i love the contributions of hartsellml. You think, David Bollier is working for the commons? No. You see, he want to sell his books only. Try to find a free access to his writing. He use the commons resource, our discussion, our visions, our doing, our history to make a private buisness with his description. many greetings, willi -------- Weitergeleitete Nachricht -------- Betreff: Book of the Day: Think Like a Commoner Datum: Tue, 19 Aug 2014 16:35:36 PDT Von: hartsellml Book of the Day: Think Like a Commoner ** Book: Think Like a Commoner <http://www.newsociety.com/Books/T/Think-Like-a-Commoner>. A Short Introduction to the Life of the Commons by David Bollier. New Society, 2014* *Description from the publisher*: *From the publisher*: “The biggest “tragedy of the commons” is the misconception that commons are failures – relics from another era rendered unnecessary by the Market and State. Think Like a Commoner dispels such prejudices by explaining the rich history and promising future of the commons – an ageless paradigm of cooperation and fairness that is re-making our world. With graceful prose and dozens of fascinating stories, Bollier describes the quiet revolution that is pioneering practical forms of self-governance and production controlled by people themselves. Think Like a Commoner explains how the commons: * Is an exploding field of DIY innovation ranging from Wikipedia and seed-sharing to community forests and collaborative consumption, and beyond * Challenges the standard narrative of market economics by explaining how cooperation generates significant value and human fulfillment * Provides a framework of law and social action that can help us move beyond the pathologies of neoliberal capitalism. We have a choice: Ignore the commons and suffer the ongoing private plunder of our common wealth. Or Think Like a Commoner and learn how to rebuild our society and reclaim our shared inheritance. This accessible, comprehensive introduction to the commons will surprise and enlighten you, and provoke you to action.” (http://www.newsociety.com/Books/T/Think-Like-a-Commoner) *Excerpted from an interview of the author conducted by Jessica Conrad*: “*Jessica Conrad*: *What inspired you to write Thinking Like a Commoner?* *David Bollier*: I was inspired to write the book because I kept encountering people who wanted to learn about the commons and its significance, yet the only literature I could point them to was either Elinor Ostrom’s academic writing—which is insightful but also dense and not necessarily accessible to the layperson—or issue-specific, theoretical political writing, such as Marxist analysis. There wasn’t a book I could give to my mother or to a college freshman or to my friends that offered an easy introduction to the commons. I’ve been studying and thinking about the commons for about fifteen years, and I decided it was time for me to try to give a succinct overview of the commons in layperson’s language. *Jessica Conrad: You describe the commons as an “exploding field of DIY innovation ranging from Wikipedia and seed-sharing to community forests and collaborative consumption.” Can you elaborate on your definition?* *David Bollier*: The question “What is the commons?” implies that the commons is a unitary thing, but it’s a cultural abstraction just like the market or GDP, neither of which really exist. They are social constructions. We simply agree to talk about certain social activities in a certain way. The market, for example, includes everything from Wall Street to a hardware store to a lemonade stand. Similarly, the commons is an umbrella term for a paradigm of social behavior and activity that involves self-organized governance and a self-provisioning of resources that tend to be local and specific. There isn’t a universal inventory of commons; instead there are countless commons. When a group of people identifies a resource and says “We want to manage and steward this resource collectively for the benefit of all,” that’s how a commons gets created. So the commons is not just a resource. It’s a resource plus the social community that manages it and the rules, values, and practices that are used. All of this means that commons vary immensely across the world. But of course that’s what makes them so durable and hardy. They adapt to their locality, ecosystem, resource, and culture. Circling back to the market, it’s controversial whether the commons can coexist with the market. I personally think they can, but the people who are involved in the commons must take great pains to ensure that the market doesn’t prey upon and destroy the commons. In other words, the temptation to monetize our relationships and resources tends to destroy the social solidarity and collective stewardship of a resource. So there needs to be certain social understandings or technological systems or legal protections to ensure that a commons remains a commons. There are a lot of models—new and old—in the so-called sharing economy where people meet their needs through the market: local food systems, community-supported agriculture, Airbnb, Lyft, Uber, and so on. Some people think the latter three examples belong instead to a micro-rental economy, while others believe those services still require social cooperation. Either way, I think the more important question is whether or not the commons can continue to be a commons. Can it protect itself as a social organism and reproduce itself? When Airbnb, Lyft, or Uber users start to behave as consumers and producers rather than collective managers of the resource, that is the beginning of the end of the commons. *Jessica Conrad: Was there a time when the commons were more visibly central to human life?* *David Bollier*: I think the commons has been central to life for most of human existence. Only in the last two hundred years or so has the market essentially emancipated itself from social community, kinship, morality, and religion—and more recently, from political accountability. The Great Transformation, by Karl Polanyi, is a landmark book on this topic. It talks about how the market became the universal ordering principle for society after the industrial revolution. In some ways the contemporary commons movement is trying to recover a way of life that existed before industrialization, which, not coincidentally, emphasizes provisioning for basic needs (as opposed to profit), a rough social equity, and limits on the exploitation of nature. *Jessica Conrad: What caused us to lose sight of the commons?* *David Bollier*: As the market culture became more and more dominant, especially during the Reagan-Thatcher era of the 1980s, we started to lose the language of the commons. The business world has made a concerted effort to assert market-friendly interpretations of the world, versus ones that help us remember the importance of the commons. This ranges from aggressive propagandizing for free markets to the privatization of government and civil infrastructure to the corporate naming of beloved stadia and public spaces. Businesses often perceive the commons as posing a very serious threat to business investment interests. That’s why we’re seeing an attack on sharing. But business almost always resists changes that might disrupt existing markets and revenue flows, even if the eventual result is more socially benign or economically constructive. The two major political parties in the US also have little interest in talking about the commons because it might jeopardize their cozy relationships with business interests. And there is a lot of money to be made by enclosing our shared wealth, whether it is the Internet, public lands, federal drug research, or the human genome. **Jessica Conrad*: Why is it essential that we begin to see the commons and think like commoners today?* *David Bollier*: It’s partly about recovering our humanity. Simply put, the market culture—in which we assume the role of selfish, utility-maximizing individuals—is incredibly alienating and makes us unhappy. It also has some profoundly harmful consequences for the planet and our social lives and democracy. We need to relearn and reeducate ourselves about what it means to be in relationship to one another and to the world. The commons helps us do that—while providing a framework for new policy and technology that will enable those essential social relationships to flourish again. *Jessica Conrad: What do you see as the greatest challenge to helping people see the commons and think like commoners?* *David Bollier*: That’s a good question because you can’t just write a book and expect a social revolution. Helping people understand the commons will involve a process of engagement and exposure to commons in different types of contexts. During the civil rights movement, people gathered in church basements. In the early days of the women’s movement, “consciousness raising sessions” were an important vehicle for personal engagement. I’m not quite sure what the vehicles will be for the commons movement, but we need to start engaging people in a respectful, collaborative process so that we can better protect the shared wealth that we love. My immodest hope, of course, is that my book will contribute to the process. *Jessica Conrad: What is the greatest opportunity for helping people see the commons and think like commoners?* *David Bollier*: The most accessible example to my mind is the Internet because digital culture is so hospitable to commoning. This is made evident by the wide diversity of Internet-based commons, including open-source software, Wikipedia, open-access publishing, various social media platforms. The list goes on. The Internet is one promising place where I think commons culture can start to crystallize itself. However, I also think there are lots of opportunities for learning internationally. The people of Greece and Madrid, for example, or those from the Arab Spring and Occupy, all had or have similar grievances with their governments. They all believe that genuine democracy is missing—that supposedly democratic, representative government is a sham. The commons is a source of hope because provides a different mode of real, participatory governance as opposed to centralized, hierarchical, corporate-controlled government. The commons also has huge potential for meeting people’s needs more effectively. People around the world are starting to discover this fact, or to associate “the commons” with existing forms of commoning, such as that done by indigenous peoples. *Jessica Conrad: If you could suggest one strategy or tactic for helping people begin to shift to a commons-based worldview, what would it be?* *David Bollier*: It has to start with your passions and talents. No commons functions well without a certain level of care and engagement. If you happen to love the natural world, perhaps you should put your energy into land trusts or open-space preservation. Or if you’re digitally savvy, there are all sorts of online commons you can participate in. It all starts with the desire to protect a resource that matters to you. The other important piece is to learn the language of the commons, which helps us see that all of our commons projects, no matter how small or seemingly isolated, are related. This can provide the basis for new forms of social solidarity, despite national boundaries and other differences among us.” (http://www.shareable.net/blog/new-book-inspires-us-to-think-like-a-commoner) Facebook <http://www.addtoany.com/add_to/facebook?linkurl=http%3A%2F%2Fblog.p2pfounda…>Twitter <http://www.addtoany.com/add_to/twitter?linkurl=http%3A%2F%2Fblog.p2pfoundat…>Google+ <http://www.addtoany.com/add_to/google_plus?linkurl=http%3A%2F%2Fblog.p2pfou…>Reddit <http://www.addtoany.com/add_to/reddit?linkurl=http%3A%2F%2Fblog.p2pfoundati…>Share <http://www.addtoany.com/share_save#url=http%3A%2F%2Fblog.p2pfoundation.net%…> <http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/P2pFoundation?a=0RtQmOS_f9M:zGENkNbE7ks:7Q7…> <http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/P2pFoundation?a=0RtQmOS_f9M:zGENkNbE7ks:D7D…> <http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/P2pFoundation?a=0RtQmOS_f9M:zGENkNbE7ks:2mJ…>

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Fwd: Matriarchal Studies
by Michel Bauwens 20 Aug '14

20 Aug '14

---------- Forwarded message ---------- From: Dante-Gabryell Monson <dante.monson(a)gmail.com> Date: Fri, Aug 8, 2014 at 5:54 PM Subject: Matriarchal Studies To: Michel Bauwens <michelsub2004(a)gmail.com> http://www.hagia.de/en/matriarchy.html http://www.hagia.de/en/matriarchy/matriarchal-studies.html Matriarchy Matriarchies are not just a reversal of patriarchy, with women ruling over men – as the usual misinterpretation would have it. Matriarchies are mother-centered societies, they are based on *maternal values:* care-taking, nurturing, motherliness, which holds for everybody: for mothers and those who are not mothers, for women and men alike. Matriarchal societies are consciously built upon these maternal values and motherly work, and this is why they are much more realistic than patriarchies. They are, on principle, need-oriented. Their precepts aim to meet everyone’s needs with the greatest benefit. So, in matriarchies, mothering – which originates as a biological fact – is transformed into a *cultural model.* This model is much more appropriate to the human condition than the way patriarchies conceptualise motherhood and use it to make women, and especially mothers, into slaves. The deep structure of “matriarchal society” (a structural definition): With matriarchal cultures, equality means more than just a levelling of differences. Natural differences between the genders and the generations are respected and honoured, but they never serve to create hierarchies, as is common in patriarchy. The different genders and generations have their own dignity, and through complementary areas of activity, they function in concert one other. More precisely, matriarchies are societies with complementary equality, where great care is taken to provide a balance. This applies to the balance between genders, among generations, and between humans and nature. Maternal values as ethical principles pervade all areas of a matriarchal society. It creates an attitude of care-taking, nurturing, and peacemaking. This can be observed on all levels of society: the economic level, the social level, the political level and the areas of their worldviews and faiths. * At the social level,* matriarchal societies are based on the clan, and on the “symbolic order of the mother”. This also means maternal values as spiritual principles, one that humans take from nature. Mother Nature cares for all beings, however different they may be. The same applies to motherliness: a good mother cares for all her children, embracing their diversity. This holds true for men as well. If a man in a matriarchal society desires to acquire status among his peers, or even become a representative of the clan to the outside word, then he must be like a “good mother”. But in matriarchies, you don’t have to be a biological mother in order to be acknowledged as a woman, because matriarchies practice the common motherhood of a group of sisters. Each individual sister does not necessarily have to have children, but together they are all “mothers” of any children that any of them have. This motherhood is founded on the freedom of women to decide on their own about whether or not to have biological children. This is possible because matriarchal people live together in large kinship groups, formed according to the principle of *matrilineality*. The clan’s name, and all social status and political titles, are passed on through the mother’s line. Such a matri-clan consists of at least three generations of women, along with their brothers, nephews and maternal uncles. In classic cases, the matri-clan lives in one big clan-house. This is called *matrilocality. *Their spouses or lovers stay only over-night, in a pattern called “visiting-marriage”. These principles of matrilineality and matrilocality put mothers at the center; in this way women guide their clans without ruling. In order to achieve social cohesion among the clans of a village or city, complex marriage conventions have been developed that link them in mutually beneficial ways. The intended effect is that all inhabitants of a village or city are related to each other by birth or by marriage. This shapes a society that sees itself as a big clan, where everybody is “mother” or “sister” or “brother” to everybody else. Thus matriarchies can be defined at the social level as *non-hierarchical, horizontal societies of matrilineal kinship.* This social order based on motherhood includes far reaching consequences for the *economical level: *Matriarchal economy is a subsistence economy. There is no such thing as private property, and there are no territorial claims. The people simply have usage rights on the soil they till, or the pastures their animals graze, for Mother Earth can not be owned or cut up in pieces. She gives the fruits of the fields and the young animals to all people. Parcels of land and a certain number of animals are given to each matri-clan, and are worked on communally. Most importantly, women have the power of disposition over goods and clan houses, and especially over the sources of nourishment: fields, flocks and food. All the goods are put in the hands of the clan mother, the matriarch, and she, mother of all the clan members, distributes them equally among her children and grand-children. She is responsible for the sustenance and protection of all clan members. In a matriarchal community, the clans enjoy perfect mutuality: every relative advantage, or disadvantage, in terms of acquiring goods is mediated by social guidelines. For example, at the seasonal festivals of the agricultural year, clans that are comparatively better off will invite all the inhabitants to be their guests. The members of such a clan organize the banquet, the rituals, and the music and dances of one of the annual festivals – and then give away their goods as a gift to all their neighbours. By doing this, they gain nothing except honor. At the next festival in the cycle, another lucky clan will step up, outdoing itself by inviting everybody in the village or neighbourhood, entertaining them all, and dispensing presents. Since this is the general attitude, matriarchal economy can be called a “gift economy”. It is the economic manifestation of maternal values, which prevents development of an exchange economy and instead fully achieves a gift economy. Due to these features, matriarchies can be defined at the economical level as *societies of balanced economic reciprocity, based on the circulation of gifts.* The patterns of* the political level* follow the principle of consensus, which means *unanimity* regarding each decision. To manifest a principle like this in practice, a society must be specifically organized to do so, and matrilinear kinship lines are, once again, the starting point. The basis of each decision-making is the individual clan house. Matters that concern the clan house are decided upon by the women and men in a consensus process, of which the matriarch is the facilitator. Each person has only one vote – even the matriarch – and no member of the household is excluded. The same applies to decisions concerning the whole village. The clan delegates meet together in the village council, but do not make decisions themselves; they simply communicate the decisions that have been made in their clan houses, and move back and forth, until a consensus decision is reached by the whole village. The same applies at the regional level. The delegates move between the local council and the regional council until consensus of all the villages is reached. The origin of all politics is in the clan houses, where the people live, and in this way, a true “grass roots democracy” is put into practice. The result of these practices is that matriarchies are *egalitarian societies of consensus.* This clearly shows how maternal values also permeate political practice. But such a societal system as matriarchy could not function as a whole without a deep, supporting and all-permeating spiritual attitude. *At the spiritual and cultural level, *matriarchal societies do not have hierarchic religions based on an omnipotent male God. In matriarchies, divinity is immanent*,* for the whole world is regarded as divine: as feminine divine. This is evident in the widely held concept of the universe as the Great Goddess who brought forth everything by birth, and of the earth as the Great Mother who created everything living. And everyone, and everything, is endowed with divinity by virtue of being a child of the Great Mother Nature. In such a culture, everything is spiritual. In their festivals, which follow the cycle of the seasons and the cycle of life, everything is celebrated. There is no separation between sacred and secular, so the everyday tasks also have ritual significance. In this sense matriarchal societies are sacred ones. The entire societies are constructed in the image of the creative Mother Nature. This divine mother is reflected in every woman’s being, and in her abilities to create. Every social, economic and political action is informed by the principle of the world’s – and the universe’s – all-encompassing maternal attitude. Therefore, on the spiritual level, matriarchies are *sacred societies and cultures of the Divine Feminine or Goddess.* Read more in: Heide Goettner-Abendroth (ed.): *Societies of Peace. Matriarchies Past, Present and Future* Inanna Press, York University, Toronto/Canada 2009 Heide Goettner-Abendroth: *Matriarchal Societies. Studies on Indigenous Cultures across the Globe* Peter Lang, New York/USA, March 2012 -- 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: ZNet Commentary: Benjamin Dangl: Overkill: How the Pentagon Militarized the US Police Force
by Michel Bauwens 20 Aug '14

20 Aug '14

---------- Forwarded message ---------- From: ZCommunications <no-reply(a)zcomm.org> Date: Wed, Aug 20, 2014 at 6:52 PM Subject: ZNet Commentary: Benjamin Dangl: Overkill: How the Pentagon Militarized the US Police Force To: michelsub2004(a)gmail.com Is this email not displaying correctly? View it in your browser <http://send.zcomm.org/wf/click?upn=9PHos1J7-2FD2Lw6jereECeNLGs3ocss1O2kcgD4…>. Benjamin Dangl: Overkill: How the Pentagon Militarized the US Police ForceZ Communications Daily Commentary “Have no doubt, police in the United States are militarizing, and in many communities, particularly those of color, the message is being received loud and clear: ‘You are the enemy,’” writes Tom Nolan <http://send.zcomm.org/wf/click?upn=9PHos1J7-2FD2Lw6jereECeNLGs3ocss1O2kcgD4…>, who worked for 27 years in the Boston Police Department. “Many communities now look upon police as an occupying army, their streets more reminiscent of Baghdad or Kabul than a city in America.” This is no coincidence; much of the equipment used by police forces on the streets of America today is in fact directly from the US military. >From a weaponization bonanza enabled by a little-known Pentagon program, to an escalation in SWAT team deployments, the militarization of the US police force poses an increasing threat to the American public <http://send.zcomm.org/wf/click?upn=9PHos1J7-2FD2Lw6jereECeNLGs3ocss1O2kcgD4…>, as recently exhibited in Ferguson, Missouri. Behind this militarization is the Pentagon’s “1033 program,” created in the National Defense Authorization Act for 1997, which enables the Defense Department to provide surplus military equipment <http://send.zcomm.org/wf/click?upn=9PHos1J7-2FD2Lw6jereECeNLGs3ocss1O2kcgD4…> at a highly reduced cost to local police departments. The program was expanded after 9/11 <http://send.zcomm.org/wf/click?upn=9PHos1J7-2FD2Lw6jereECeNLGs3ocss1O2kcgD4…>, and has led to the distribution of $4.2 billion <http://send.zcomm.org/wf/click?upn=9PHos1J7-2FD2Lw6jereECeNLGs3ocss1O2kcgD4…> in equipment. Police departments across the country now utilize <http://send.zcomm.org/wf/click?upn=9PHos1J7-2FD2Lw6jereECeNLGs3ocss1O2kcgD4…> some 500 military aircraft, 93,763 assault weapons and 432 Mine-Resistant Ambush Protected military vehicles – which cost around $700,000 new, and are being sold to police departments for as low as $2,800 <http://send.zcomm.org/wf/click?upn=9PHos1J7-2FD2Lw6jereECeNLGs3ocss1O2kcgD4…> . An example of the program cited by *The Guardian* <http://send.zcomm.org/wf/click?upn=9PHos1J7-2FD2Lw6jereECeNLGs3ocss1O2kcgD4…> pointed to a Richland County sheriff in South Carolina obtaining a tank with 360-degree rotating machine gun turrets. The tank was named “The Peacemaker.” Such unnecessary equipment is being utilized in cities and small towns across the country without sufficient oversight, proper training, or public input. Following the outcry over police violence in Ferguson, the Pentagon still maintains that the weapon-selling program is for the public good. As Pentagon spokesman John Kirby told *Newsweek* <http://send.zcomm.org/wf/click?upn=9PHos1J7-2FD2Lw6jereECeNLGs3ocss1O2kcgD4…>, “This is a useful program that allows for the reuse of military equipment that would otherwise be disposed of, that could be used by law enforcement agencies to serve their citizens.” However, rather than serving citizens, this militarization of the police force has contributed to unnecessary violence, primarily against people of color and under the pretext of the so-called war on drugs. In June of this year, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) released a comprehensive report entitled “War Comes Home: The Excessive Militarization of American Policing <http://send.zcomm.org/wf/click?upn=9PHos1J7-2FD2Lw6jereECeNLGs3ocss1O2kcgD4…>,” which concludes that the US police force has become “excessively militarized through the use of weapons and tactics designed for the battlefield” and that this alarming trend “unfairly impacts people of color and undermines individual liberties, and it has been allowed to happen in the absence of any meaningful public discussion.” While this escalation is ostensibly aimed at protecting the population from violent threats, the ACLU found that 62% of the SWAT raids examined were used to search for drugs, while only 7% were used for “for hostages, barricade, or active shooter scenarios.” The use of SWAT teams has been skyrocketing over the past 45 years, according to Professor Peter Kraska <http://send.zcomm.org/wf/click?upn=9PHos1J7-2FD2Lw6jereECeNLGs3ocss1O2kcgD4…> of Eastern Kentucky University’s School of Justice Studies. In the 1970s, they were used only a few hundred times a year; now they’re deployed about 50,000 times annually, Kraska estimates. In some cases, they’ve even been used to break up illegal poker games, unlicensed barber shops and under-age drinking. In the case of Jesus Llovera <http://send.zcomm.org/wf/click?upn=9PHos1J7-2FD2Lw6jereECeNLGs3ocss1O2kcgD4…>, a suspected organizer of cockfights in Maricopa County Arizona, in 2011 a SWAT team took over the man’s living room, and drove a tank into his yard, killing his dog and over 100 of his chickens. Highlighting the fact that this militarization is part of a wider assault of people of color in America, Alex Kane points out in *Alternet <http://send.zcomm.org/wf/click?upn=9PHos1J7-2FD2Lw6jereECeNLGs3ocss1O2kcgD4…>* that this violence is tied to the “war on undocumented immigrants.” Kane cites the ACLU’s report on Arizona’s infamously anti-immigrant sheriff Joe Arpaio, who, in addition to acquiring five armored vehicles and ten helicopters, has “a machine gun so powerful it could tear through buildings on multiple city blocks.” One step in the right direction following police violence in Ferguson would be to demilitarize the US police force. As an unnamed Ferguson resident recently told the *BBC* <http://send.zcomm.org/wf/click?upn=9PHos1J7-2FD2Lw6jereECeNLGs3ocss1O2kcgD4…> about his city’s police officers: “It’s power. They have the power, they feel we don’t. That’s why they do the things that they do. What they did to young Michael Brown, that’s unnecessary. That’s overkill.” *Benjamin Dangl is a doctoral candidate in Latin American History at McGill University, and the author of the books Dancing with Dynamite: Social Movements and States in Latin America <http://send.zcomm.org/wf/click?upn=9PHos1J7-2FD2Lw6jereECeNLGs3ocss1O2kcgD4…>**, and The Price of Fire: Resource Wars and Social Movements in Bolivia <http://send.zcomm.org/wf/click?upn=9PHos1J7-2FD2Lw6jereECeNLGs3ocss1O2kcgD4…>**. He edits UpsideDownWorld.org <http://send.zcomm.org/wf/click?upn=9PHos1J7-2FD2Lw6jereECeNLGs3ocss1O2kcgD4…>**, a website on activism and politics in Latin America, and TowardFreedom.com <http://send.zcomm.org/wf/click?upn=9PHos1J7-2FD2Lw6jereECeNLGs3ocss1O2kcgD4…>**, a progressive perspective on world events. Twitter: @bendangl <http://send.zcomm.org/wf/click?upn=9PHos1J7-2FD2Lw6jereECeNLGs3ocss1O2kcgD4…>* ZCommunications, 18 Millfield St., Woods Hole, MA, USA, 02543 Unsubscribe <http://send.zcomm.org/wf/click?upn=9PHos1J7-2FD2Lw6jereECeNLGs3ocss1O2kcgD4…> | Manage Subscription <http://send.zcomm.org/wf/click?upn=9PHos1J7-2FD2Lw6jereECeNLGs3ocss1O2kcgD4…> If you'd like to unsubscribe and stop receiving these emails click here <http://send.zcomm.org/wf/unsubscribe?upn=V-2FUUiW5KvBPNV-2FItFYsbuIFOqr58Na…> . -- 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] [Networkedlabour] Raul Zibechi: Governments and Movements (from around 2009)
by Michel Bauwens 19 Aug '14

19 Aug '14

thanks Peter, comes very close to what I have observed in Ecuador, Michel On Tue, Aug 19, 2014 at 5:30 PM, peter waterman <peterwaterman1936(a)gmail.com > wrote: > > Further to the exchange with Daniel and Michel concerning the state and > the movements, I contribute this piece by the Uruguayan, Zibechi. > Interesting for me are its reference to Latin American cases. I do not > know, of course whether the situations he talks of have changed > significantly since then, nor if he has (tho recalling a presentation on > the Brazilian state I heard in Lima not so long ago, I think not. > > There is another such Latin American piece I have to find and forward. > More theoretical than this piece, but likewise informed by intense local > experience. > > Best, > > Peter > > [image: Share] > <http://www.addtoany.com/share_save#url=http%3A%2F%2Fpostcapitalistproject.o…> > Governments and Movements: Autonomy or New Forms of Domination?* > Raúl Zibechi > > The end of 2008 marked the ten-year anniversary of Hugo Chávez's first > electoral victory (December 6, 1998), which initiated a new period marked > by the emergence of progressive and left governments in South America. His > clinching of the presidency was the result of a long process of struggles > from below, beginning in February 1989 with the *Caracazo*—the first > great popular insurrection against neoliberalism—which drove into crisis > the party-system that for decades had sustained elite domination. > > In the years that followed, seven other presidents embodying > the ongoing political-institutional changes came to power, accounting for a > total of eight out of ten governments in the region: Luiz Inácio Lula da > Silva in Brazil, Néstor and Cristina Kirchner in Argentina, Michelle > Bachelet in Chile, Tabaré Vázquez in Uruguay, Evo Morales in Bolivia, > Rafael Correa in Ecuador, and Fernando Lugo in Paraguay. These > administrations were made possible—to a greater or lesser degree—by the > resistance of social movements to the neoliberal model. > > In some cases, admittedly, this change at the top level arose from years > of steady electoral growth (notably, in Brazil and Uruguay), while in other > countries it was the fruit of social movements capable of overthrowing > neoliberal parties and governments (Bolivia, Ecuador, Venezuela, and to an > extent Argentina). A decade after the start of this process, it is time for > a brief evaluation of what has happened: > > 1. Beyond the differences between these processes, they share > something fundamental in common: the return of the state to a central role > as the driver of change. > > 2. Movements that in the 1990s and early 2000s were the central > protagonists of resistance to the neoliberal model have been marginalized. > > 3. The dominant contradiction in this period is between the > governments and right-wing sectors, a change that has sucked movements into > a statist whirlwind from which most have been unable to escape. > > 4. There are some tendencies—still dispersed—that seek to rebuild the > movements on new foundations, based on new issues and new forms of > political action. > > The twilight of the "progressive" decade as a source of social, political, > and economic change makes it necessary for social movements to balance > their accounts and take stock of the gains and losses this decade has > brought to popular forces. > > *The risks of subordination* > > An initial stage was marked by government subordination of the > movements, or rather by the movements’ demobilization and division, and the > fragmentation of their initiatives. Only small nuclei remained in open > confrontation with the governments, while most slid toward government > collaboration in exchange for direct economic subsidies (known as *planes > sociales*) and other material benefits. Many other movement collectives > simply dissolved. > > By contrast, in Chile, Peru, and Colombia, the movements are experiencing > an era of vibrant activity. In all three countries, indigenous groups are > taking the lead. In Chile, the Mapuche are recovering from the ravages of > the Pinochet-era anti-terrorism law, which was reactivated by "socialist" > President Ricardo Lagos (2000-2006). The Mapuche, along with high school > students and workers from various sectors, particularly mining and > forestry, have generated a major reactivation of social struggles. > > Indigenous communities affected by mining in Peru are vigorously resisting > through the grassroots Quechua organization Conacami, paying a high price > in lives and arrests for their struggles. The group is leading the fight > against genocidal mining projects that leave behind contaminated water > sources and un-breathable air just to line the pockets of the > multinationals. CONACAMI fiercely opposes the U.S.-Peru Free Trade > Agreement (FTA) and President Alan García's neoliberal policies. > > In Colombia, the long struggle of the indigenous Nasa represented by the > ACIN and CRIC has been doubly fruitful.[1] > <http://postcapitalistproject.org/node/37#_ftn1> The broad social > mobilization known as the "Minga" (literally, collective work), which > brought together dozens of indigenous groups in October 2008 in Cauca, > managed to break through a military siege and the militarization of society > that had immobilized indigenous communities. Cane cutters—most of them > Afro-Colombians—service workers, neighborhood organizations, and human > rights activists all joined the indigenous-led Minga. > > The example set by these movements, which are beset by and born out of > adversity, should be a point of inspiration for the rest of the continent's > movements. The long hunger strike by Mapuche advocate Patricia Troncoso > between November 2007 and January 2008 and Colombia's indigenous Minga > share the potent mission of breaking through the isolation and "soft" > genocide that seek to wipe indigenous groups off the map in an attempt to > silence their existence as a people. > > In other countries, the panorama for the movements is > extremely complex. Perhaps the most emblematic case is that of Argentina. > The vast majority of the *piquetero* movement of unemployed workers has > been coopted by the state through economic subsidies to families (the *planes > sociales*) and the awarding of government posts to their leaders. The > human rights movement—particularly, the Association of the Mothers of the > Plaza de Mayo, which had played a prominent role in resisting neoliberalism > during the 1990s—has joined officialdom, becoming an unequivocal defender > of government policies. Meanwhile many neighborhood assemblies have simply > disappeared. > > Nonetheless, not everything has been a step backward. Over the last five > years, innumerable collectives have sprung up, many of them focusing on > environmental issues, such as open-pit mining, forestry, and soy > mono-cropping. From this process, some 100 local assemblies have emerged > and are organized into the Union of Citizen Assemblies (UAC), which has > become one of the most active opponents of multinational mining. > > Also in Argentina, campesinos and small farmers formed the National > Campesino Front, made up of some 200 rural organizations representing > family and community agriculture against the impetuous advance of soy > agribusiness. The organization represents long-standing movements (such as > MOCASE from Santiago del Estero) as well as new organizations of small > producers, including a handful of collectives from urban peripheries. > > In Brazil, the movements have been incapable of advancing > beyond their long-standing defensive footing—a position aggravated by the > Lula government. In Uruguay, despite organized labor's growing > strength—largely attributable to state protection of labor leaders' > activities—the movements are far from being an anti-systemic actor, and > organizational levels among the urban poor remain local and fragmented. The *planes > sociales* are largely responsible for this weakening of the movements. > > In Bolivia, the situation is quite different. The movements > have not been defeated and maintain their significant capacity for > mobilization and pressure over the government and right-wing sectors. The > September 2008 crisis, for example, was resolved in favor of popular > sectors thanks to the movement's intense mobilization, which included the > cordoning off of Santa Cruz and the resistance of Plan 3000—the poor and > indigenous peripheral suburb of the oligarchic mestizo city.[2] > <http://postcapitalistproject.org/node/37#_ftn2> > > As Raquel Gutiérrez noted about the current conjuncture, > Bolivian movements have "recovered a margin of political autonomy in > relation to government decisions," particularly when they see the > government as incapable of stopping the oligarchy. "But they have no > inclination to be subordinated when it comes to the fulfillment of their > demands."[3] <http://postcapitalistproject.org/node/37#_ftn3> > > The pressure exerted by the movements, however, comes up > against statist logic, which remains firmly enmeshed in bloated state > bureaucracies (military, judicial, legislative, ministerial, and > municipal). Those bureaucracies are reticent to change. Bureaucracies are > not only conservative by nature, they are also managed by newly empowered > officials—both elected (deputies, senators, council members, mayors) and > non-elected (ministers and hundreds of advisers)—whose main ambition is to > maintain their positions. > > *The new forms of domination* > > It is not possible for movements to overcome state dependency > and subordination without understanding that the new "left" and > "progressive" governments are exercising new forms of domination. The *planes > sociales* aimed at "integrating" the poor play a central role in these > novel modes of social control. > > I recently had the following conversation with a top-level > official of Uruguay's Ministry of Social Development: > > The official said, "For us, social policies are emancipatory > policies, not a way of disciplining the poor." > > "Is this your personal opinion or is it the ministry's as well?" I > wondered. > > The official replied, "It's not just mine, it's also that of the national > government and of the Ministry of Social Development. The national > government did not come here to placate the poor; it came to generate > opportunities for integration and emancipation." > > Such affirmations, no doubt honest in their intent, implicitly > undermine the role of social movements by adopting their discourses and > even their practices. This raises three central questions: > > 1. *The end of the old right*: The new governments born from the crisis > of the first stage of neoliberalism—the period of privatization and > deregulation—consolidated their rule by destroying right-wing elites' > traditional bases of domination. These elites had built extensive > clientelistic networks with local political bosses (*caudillos*), who > used their role as mediators with state institutions and the electoral > system to subjugate the poorest sectors. > > The movements arose to fight against these elites. The *piquetero* case > is symptomatic: the piqueteros’ struggle for direct control of the *planes > sociales* sought to snatch from caudillos their ability to control > patron-client networks. In confronting the right directly, this wave of > mobilizations strengthened the piquetero movement and modified Argentina's > regional political map. > > With mixed success, the new governments have sought to displace these > clientelistic networks, putting government-directed state bureaucracies in > their place. This is arguably the main "progressive" action of the new > governments. In the process of dismantling the old elite networks, the > governments have employed the same language and codes used by the movements > of organized popular sectors. > > 2. *New forms of control*: The crisis of discipline as a way of molding > bodies in closed spaces was one of the most prominent characteristics of > the "Revolution of '68." The overwhelming of patriarchal hierarchies and > the defiance of authority in the workshop, the school, the hospital and the > barracks forced capital and the state to create new forms of open-air > social control. They now had to find new ways to deal with the population > and to maintain security. > > The state-backed *planes sociales*, directed by a coterie of NGO > officials, are how these new forms of domination are being introduced into > spaces and territories that are impervious to discipline. In these sites, > the state becomes capillary, working from within, stretching its reach into > ramshackle neighborhoods that had been bastions of revolt. It works with > the very sectors that had been organized as movements, but its aim is to > disorganize them. > > The state’s presence no longer manifests itself in the grotesque form of > the police baton—though, for sure, it's never absent—but rather in the > subtler form of "social development for citizen integration." For this, the > state counts on all the knowledge accumulated by NGOs over decades of local > "cooperation," during which they adopted the "participatory" practices of > popular education. > > Young NGO officials constitute a new army of functionaries who no longer > wait for children at schools or tend to patients at hospitals, but who > instead go directly to the territories of poverty and rebelliousness. And > they have something that makes this job much easier: They have insider > knowledge of these popular sectors, because many of these officials at one > time participated in resistance against the neoliberal model; they had been > militants or, at least, deeply tied to social activism. > > Echoing Brazilian sociologist Francisco de Oliveira, it could be said that > the *planes sociales* are instruments of biopolitical control in which > the state classifies people according to their material needs and "restores > a type of clientelism" (let's call it state-scientific) in which politics > become irrelevant.[4] <http://postcapitalistproject.org/node/37#_ftn4> > > True, the *planes sociales* help alleviate poverty, but they do not > change the distribution of income, and they altogether avoid the growing > concentration of wealth, while leaving the fundamental aspects of the model > intact. And by affecting the organizational capacity of the movements and > blocking their ability to grow, the *planes sociales* serve the > neoliberal drive to turn all of life into a commodity. In this regard, it > is alarming that left intellectuals are nearly unanimous in viewing the *planes > sociales* as an achievement of progressive politics. > > 3. *An offensive against autonomy*: States now adopt the language of the > movements, even claiming support for the "critical autonomy" of those > receiving the *planes sociales*. States have devised mechanisms of > coordination so that the movements themselves participate in the design of > the *planes sociales* and are involved in the implementation of local > policies (never general policies, though, or those that might question the > model). > > The movements are persuaded to undertake a "participatory diagnosis" of > the neighborhood or town; in fact they are even put in charge of carrying > out the local charity work. This all falls into the policy of "capacity > building" designed by the World Bank, which involves choosing which > ministry each organization is suited to work with. > > All of this is aimed at "state building" within the everyday practices of > popular sectors, and it is done precisely in areas where people had learned > "movement building." The *planes sociales* are directed straight at the > heart of territories that were incubators of rebellion. These programs seek > to neutralize or modify networks and forms of solidarity, reciprocity, and > mutual assistance that were created by the poor (*los de abajo*) in order > to survive neoliberalism. Once the social ties and knowledge that assured > their autonomy have disappeared, these sectors are easier to control. > > None of this should be attributed to a supposed malevolence on the part of > the progressive governments. Whenever the poor have overturned existing > forms of domination, new and more perfected ones have necessarily taken > their place. Only by neutralizing these *planes sociales* and overcoming > their offensive against the autonomy of the poor will the movements be able > to get back on their feet and resume their march toward emancipation. > > > > > > > > ------------------------------ > [1] <http://postcapitalistproject.org/node/37#_ftnref1> [*Ed. Note*: For > details, see Mario Murillo’s article in *S&D, no. 51* (November 2009).] > [2] <http://postcapitalistproject.org/node/37#_ftnref2> [*Ed. Note*: > For Plan 3000 resistance to the right wing coup, see Marxa Chávez in *S&D > no. 51*.] > [3] <http://postcapitalistproject.org/node/37#_ftnref3> Raquel > Rodriguez, “Winds of Civil War in Bolivia: Understanding a Four-party > Conflict,” Center for International Policy-Americas Program, October 29, > 2008 (http://americas.irc-online.org/am/5632) > > [4] <http://postcapitalistproject.org/node/37#_ftnref4> See Francisco de > Oliveira, “The Duckbilled Platypus,” *New Left Review* 24, > November/December 2003. > > > -- > > 1. *EBook, November 2012: Recovering Internationalism > <http://www.into-ebooks.com/book/recovering_internationalism/>. [A > compilation of papers from the new millenium. Now free in two download > formats] <http://www.into-ebooks.com/book/world_social_forum/> > <http://www.into-ebooks.com/book/world_social_forum/>* > 2. > *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/> * > 3. *Interface Journal Special (co-editor), November 2012: For the > Global Emancipation of Labour <http://www.interfacejournal.net/current/>* > 4. *Blog: http://www.unionbook.org/profile/peterwaterman. > <http://www.unionbook.org/profile/peterwaterman.> * > 5. *Interface Journal Special (Co-Editor) Social Movement > Internationalisms. See Call for Papers <http://www.interfacejournal.net/>, > (Deadline: May 1, 2014). * > 6. > *Needed: a Global Labour Charter Movement (2005-Now!) > <http://interfacejournal.nuim.ie/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2010/11/Interf…>* > 7. *Under, Against, Beyond: Labour and Social Movements Confront a > Globalised, Informatised Capitalism > <http://www.into-ebooks.com/book/under-against-beyond/>(2011) Almost 1,000 > pages of Working Papers, free, from the 1980's-90's.* > 8. *Google Scholar Citation Index:* > *http://scholar.google.com.pe/citations?user=e0e6Qa4AAAAJ > <http://scholar.google.com.pe/citations?user=e0e6Qa4AAAAJ> * > > > - > > > _______________________________________________ > 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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