October 2015 - P2P-Foundation - lists.ourproject.org

Fw: Fw: Info
by Natalie Golovin 10 Mar '26

10 Mar '26

Mark: You and your compatriots on P2P view the world from revisionism. Go ahead and keep looking through your microscope-provided by your "teachers." Or take the time and read some very old documented evidence available at a library near you= but you may need to stay there awhile on microfiche. -----Original Message----- From: Mark Janssen Sent: Sunday, October 23, 2011 4:39 PM To: P2P Foundation mailing list Subject: Re: [P2P-F] Fw: Info On Sun, Oct 23, 2011 at 10:32 AM, Natalie Golovin <10natalie(a)cox.net> wrote: > The European Tribes treated the Natives no worse than they treated each > other. Whoa. You should really stop talking. You have NO idea what you're talking about. How about forced acculturation, not allowing them to speak their own language (which hold the record of their own history), confined them under threat of violent force into reservations, among other things. But, really, that's probably not even the worst of it -- the worst of it is that for reasons they couldn't ever understand is why you were doing all of these cruel things when they were willing to share it it all with you. Why, when they handed out their hand to be friends, you chopped it off. Remember, they're the ones who gave us Thanksgiving which is still "celebrated" in this nation today. Read the reports made of making first contact with the Native peoples here. You really should read up before propagating the attitudes of conquest. Sorry.... marcos _______________________________________________ P2P Foundation - Mailing list http://www.p2pfoundation.net https://lists.ourproject.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/p2p-foundation

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Situating the Digital Commons
by furtherfield 31 Oct '15

31 Oct '15

Situating the Digital Commons. A conversation between Ruth Catlow and Tim Waterman. The negotiation of the commons takes place in two distinct realms that are increasingly reaching into and shaping one another: the long history of the landscape commons both in cities and in the countryside, and across digital networks. In this conversation Ruth Catlow and Tim Waterman discuss the ‘Reading the Commons’ project together with Furtherfield’s work on understanding the commons. http://bit.ly/1O9LJfq

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announcement of the book: Patterns of Commoning
by Michel Bauwens 31 Oct '15

31 Oct '15

Dear friend of the commons, We are thrilled to announce the release of a new anthology of original essays,*Patterns of Commoning <http://www.patternsofcommoning.org/>, *about dozens of lively, innovative commons that are pioneering exciting new forms of production, governance and ways of living. The book, edited by David Bollier and Silke Helfrich of the Commons Strategies Group, is arguably the most accessible and far-ranging survey of contemporary commons in print. It introduces readers to the commons, an ancient but rediscovered social system for creating and sharing wealth, beyond markets and the state. *Patterns of Commoning*examines successful, innovative commons around the world -- from community forests in India to high-tech Fab Labs in Germany, and from alternative currencies that are reviving poor neighborhoods in Kenya to Swiss irrigation systems that have lasted for hundreds of years. A central theme that emerges is how the inner dynamics of commons can transform how we think and act. Commoning gives us new aspirations and ways of being in the world, whether it is a theater commons in Rome or Farm Hack, the global network developing open source farm equipment. The social practices of commoning are opening up practical new possibilities for a post-capitalist future. *Patterns of Commoning *was written by an illustrious group of activists, academics, journalists, technologies and project leaders from 20 countries. Contributors include such celebrated writers as Dame Anne Salmond of New Zealand, evolutionary biologist David Sloan Wilson, anthropologist Arturo Escobar and ecophilosopher Andreas Weber. You can learn more about *Patterns of Commoning *at its website, <http://www.patternsofcommoning.org/>http://www.patternsofcommoning.org. You can learn more about the German edition, *Die Welt der Commons Muster gemeinsamen Handelns, *published by transcript Verlag, at <http://band2.dieweltdercommons.de/>http://band2.dieweltdercommons.de. Copies of the 418-page softbound book can be purchased for US$15 plus shipping costs via Off the Commons Books -- <https://store.collectivecopies.com/store/show/0fc200> https://store.collectivecopies.com/store/show/0fc20 -- and Amazon.com (US). The book is the second book of a trilogy anthologies about the commons. The first volume was *The Wealth of Commons <http://www.wealthofthecommons.org/>, *published in 2012. (The German version is*Commons: Für eine neue Politik jenseits von Markt und Staat*). We hope you enjoy the book! Best regards, David Bollier & Silke Helfrich Co-Editors *Patterns of Commoning* -- Check out the Commons Transition Plan here at: http://commonstransition.org 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: The Church of Economism and Its Discontents (GTN Discussion)
by Michel Bauwens 31 Oct '15

31 Oct '15

---------- Forwarded message ---------- From: Great Transition Network <gtnetwork(a)greattransition.org> Date: Sat, Oct 31, 2015 at 1:50 AM Subject: The Church of Economism and Its Discontents (GTN Discussion) To: michelsub2004(a)gmail.com >From Paul Raskin <praskin(a)tellus.org> ------------------------------------------------------- GTN Friends: I write to launch our NOVEMBER DISCUSSION, which will consider Richard Norgaard’s new GTI essay, “The Church of Economism and Its Discontents.” Please read it at www.greattransition.org/publication/the-church-of-economism-and-its-discont…, and consider commenting. Is orthodox economics akin to a secular religion? Are we living in the “Econocene”? Is there a way out? Norgaard, a founder of ecological economics, argues yes, yes, and maybe. In so doing, he guides us further into the terrain of alternative economics we’ve explored recently in our discussions of GTI pieces by Herman Daly, Giorgos Kallis, Peter Barnes, and John Bellamy Foster. I wonder, though: * Is economism still a monolithic ideology? Or are critical currents within the economics mainstream increasingly questioning its reductionist framework and false predictions? * As a framing for our contemporary condition, is “the Econocene” a useful corrective to the geologic emphasis of “the Anthropocene”? How do these compare to GTI’s term, “The Planetary Phase of Civilization,” which aims to convey the multi-dimensionality of the globalizing social-ecological system? I’d appreciate hearing your thoughts on these and other issues raised by Norgaard’s stimulating essay. Comments are welcome through NOVEMBER 30. Looking forward, Paul Raskin GTI Director NOTE ON GTI’S PUBLICATION CYCLE: GTN discussions occur in ODD-NUMBERED months, and GTI publishes in EVEN-NUMBERED months. Each discussion takes up a new essay or viewpoint prior to its publication. After the discussion closes, GTI publishes the piece, edited comments from the discussion, and a response from the author (along with other new articles). You can review all GTN discussions at www.greattransition.org/forum/gti-forum. ------------------------------------------------------- Hit reply to post a message Or see thread and reply online at http://www.greattransition.org/forum/gti-discussions/171-the-church-of-econ… Need help? Email jcohn(a)tellus.org -- Check out the Commons Transition Plan here at: http://commonstransition.org 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] Science and the Working class Alexander Bogdanov 1918 translation by Fabian Tompsett, 1st October 2015
by Michel Bauwens 31 Oct '15

31 Oct '15

---------- Forwarded message ---------- From: Örsan Şenalp <orsan1234(a)gmail.com> Date: Sat, Oct 31, 2015 at 1:22 AM Subject: [NetworkedLabour] Science and the Working class Alexander Bogdanov 1918 translation by Fabian Tompsett, 1st October 2015 To: "networkedlabour(a)lists.contrast.org" <networkedlabour(a)lists.contrast.org > Brilliant work thid is Fabian, thanks a lot! Thought have to reproduce the whole text so it vould be spread in email form as well. Ps. Workin on a Turkish version for a while. Orsan Science and the Working class Alexander Bogdanov 1918 Preface to the English translation This text is a summary of a presentation which Alexander Bogdanov (1873-1928) gave at a conference for the Proletkult organisations of Moscow, 23-28th February 1918. It was written during a period in which Bogdanov was very active in Proletkult. Another version of his speech was given at the First All-Russian Proletkult Conference held 15-20 September 1918, and was reprinted after this conference with 'Methods of Labour and Methods of Cognition' which had previously appeared in Пролетарская культура (Proletarian Culture) No. 4, August 1918. During the summer of 1918, Bogdanov was involved in the founding of the Communist University, founded 25th June 1918 Biggart et al, 1998). It was a “higher education establishment conducting social and natural scientific research” which in pursuit of its tasks “researched the elaboration of questions of history, theory, and the practice of socialism” (Bogdanov 1977). These experiences then feed into the discussion at the September Conference where Bogdanov gave a speech on the Workers' University. This was further elaborated in 'Proletarian University' which appeared in No. 5 of Proletarian Culture which came out in November 1918. This latter text is in preparation. Fabian Tompsett, 1st October 2015 ORCID: 0000-0003-4793-1761 DOI: 10.13140/RG.2.1.4801.0725 This translation is released under a Creative Commons license. (CC BY-SA 3.0) Science and the Working class 1. To say that the class character of science lies in defending the interests of a given class, is just an argument of a pamphleteer or a complete falsification. In reality, science may be bourgeois or proletarian by its very "nature", including its origin, designs, methods of study and presentation. In this fundamental sense, all the sciences, social or otherwise, including mathematics and logic, may and actually do have a class character. 2. The nature of science is to be organized collective experience of humanity and the instrument of the organization of the life of society. The ruling science in its various branches, is bourgeois science: it has worked on all representatives of the bourgeois intelligentsia, it is the concentrated material of the experience accessible to the middle classes; they have understood their bourgeois point of view and have made this generally understandable, they have organised affairs according to their own processes and habits. It follows that this science was used, then as now, an instrument of the bourgeois structuring of society: firstly as an instrument of struggle and victory of the bourgeoisie over the classes that had had their day, and then as an instrument of their rule over the working class, and at all times this organizational instrument for the development of production has been realised under the leadership of the bourgeoisie. Such is the organising strength of this science which at the same time displays its historic narrowness. 3. This narrowness is already being felt in the very material of science, that is to say in the content of experience it organises; this is especially so in the social sciences. Thus, in the study of relations of production, bourgeois science could not grasp or to distinguish the particular higher form, of collectivist fraternal cooperation, because this form is virtually unknown to the bourgeois classes. Even more significant is the narrowness of this fundamental perspective which is evident across the whole of bourgeois science and which is due to the same position of the bourgeois classes in the social system, including their way of life. This special feature is the split between science and its real basis: socialised labour. 4. The separation between mental and physical labor mark the origin of this rupture. In itself, this does not exclude the consciousness of the indissoluble connection of practice and theory in the social process into a single whole. But none of the bourgeois classes can perceive this; it is outside their field of vision. These classes are educated in the individualised economy, private property, and the competition of the market; that is why the citizens have an individualistic consciousness and the social nature of science is incomprehensible to them. For them, science is not a collective experience of organized labor nor an organizational instrument of collective work; for them, knowledge is something in itself, even something opposed to practice, with a special “ideal”, "logical" nature, and if in their view it should lead to some practical outcome, they attribute this precisely to this higher nature, and not because it has arisen from any practice which may have shaped it. This particular fetish that can be named the "fetishism of abstract knowledge." 5. Even as specialization grew, the bourgeois world was developing all areas of its creation, science in particular. Science is split into an ever larger number of branches, increasingly divergent, always weakening the living relationship that existed between them. The individualistic separation of men sharpened this process because although the pooling of ideas is still a need for specialists working in the same industry, this necessity is relatively less compelling for specialists working in different branches. This path led Science to a disparate constitution, similar to that of capitalist society itself, and to extend this comparison, its development follows the same anarchy. This is the result: it has accumulated in all its branches an enormous wealth of material and also a wealth of methods for shaping this material. However, bourgeois science has been unable to achieve full, systematic and harmonious organisation. Each specialty has created their own language that has become incomprehensible not only the broad masses but even to scholars of another specialty. The same correlations, the same experimental links, the same processes of knowledge are studied in different branches, as if it were quite different things. The methods of one branch only share knowledge with other branches with much delay and difficulty. This is the origin of the narrow horizon, the corporatist narrowness that develops in men of science, weakening and slowing their creation. 6. Also as much as science has given a unity for technical methods, the development of mechanised production has also sparked a trend in science to unify methods, to overcome the harmful aspects of specialization. Much has been done in this direction, but in the meantime, the radical rupture between the individual branches of science remains. So far, this trend to unification may only impact on the details, but it can not lead to harmonisation in a single organization of science as a whole. 7. Bourgeois science is not very accessible to the working class; it is dense, its specialized corporatist language is obscure and complicated, and further, as it is of course become a product in capitalist society, it's expensive. If isolated proletarian representatives, at the cost of enormous expenditure of energy, become masters of one or the other of its branches, its class character is then felt: as they are cut from the collective working, they commit to a path of rupture with the life, the interests and thought structure of the working community from which they come. The corporatist narrowness doubles here the tendency towards an intellectual aristocracy. In a word, as a bourgeois ideology (1) , from its origin, science organizes the soul of the proletariat according to a bourgeois model. 8. All this gives to the working class specific missions concerning contemporary science: ▪ we must review it from a proletarian point of view, in content as much as form of presentation; ▪ the creation of a new organization, as much for the elaboration as for the dissemination amongst the working masses. In most branches of science, accomplishing these tasks will mean a methodical consideration of the legacy of the old world. But in some, a large and deep autonomous creation will be required. 9. The review of the content of science must first annul this break with collective working practices: the material of science must be understood and informed as the practical experience of humanity; the schemas, conclusions, formulas must be seen as tools for organizing all the social practice of humanity. At the moment, this work is done almost exclusively in the social sciences, but with insufficient structure and method; it must be extended to all areas of knowledge. This transformation produces a science vitally close to the working class: ▪ Astronomy as the science bringing together the work activity in time and space ▪ Physics as the science of the resistances encountered by the collective work of humanity ▪ Physiology as the science of the labor force, logic as a theory the social agreement of ideas. That is to say, such organizational tools of work will penetrate into the consciousness of the proletariat more immediately, more easily and more deeply than those same sciences in their present form. 10. It is further necessary to do everything possible to eliminate the disparate nature of science that has led to the increase of specialisation; the unity of scientific language most be the objective, matching and generalising the methods of the various branches of knowledge, not only in relation to each other, but as regards the methods of all other areas of practice, developing of a complete monism of them all. It will be embodied in the universal organizational science necessary for the proletariat, the future organizer of the whole life of mankind in all its aspects. 11. With regard to the forms of the presentation of science, it is slightly easier, without prejudice to the essence of what is presented. Recently, the work of the democratisers of science (2) has shown how it is possible to advance in this direction, whether as regards the usual presentations of the useless scholastic hodgepodge or by repeating the same thing under different names in neighbouring branches. Simplification has already reached a sufficient degree for a single review of science from the viewpoint of collective of work which will release science from the abstract fetishism which is a source of the pseudo-problems and unnecessary devices which were often the subject of 'evidence' in the old mathematics, mechanics or logic, etc. 12. The review of the content and of the transformation of the external form of science will constitute its basis, that is to say its "socialism", its mode of adaptation to the tasks of the struggle and socialist construction. The dissemination of knowledge and scientific work must be organised in parallel. The two things are inextricably linked: they must be embodied in life in terms of the Workers' University and Workers' Encyclopedia. 13. The Workers' University shall consist of a system of cultural and educational institutions with levels which converge to a single centre for training and organization of scientific forces. At each level of the system, the general education courses must be complemented by practical, technical and scientific courses, of use to society. The unifying of principle of programmes at each level and their complementary teachings should not hinder the freedom to try to perfect the particular programs or particular teaching methods. The basic characteristic of the relationships between teachers and students should be fraternal co-operation, in which the competence of the former does not become sovereign authority nor the reliance of the latter engendering passivity and the absence of criticism. Education must primarily contain the assimilation of methods. 14. The development of the courses, and in conjunction with this, the work of publication of scientific workers in the Labour University, should be geared towards the creation of a Workers' Encyclopedia which should not be a mere summary of scientific findings, but above all a complete, harmoniously system which presents the methods of practice and knowledge in their vital links. ------------------------------- (1) “Our usual ideas about the social relations between people imply mutual understanding as their first precondition. (…) What is the essence of this mutual understanding? It is contained in a common language and the sum of concepts which are expressed by this language, in what is called common “culture” or, more exactly, ideology” Bogdanov's Tektology Book I (Bogdanov 1996) (2) As an example of such democratisers see John Dewey (1859-1952), Ernst Mach (1883-1916) and Yakov Perelmann (1882-1942). Perelman was influenced by Mach and probably Bogdanov as well (Siemsen 2010). Translators Notes This English translation was made using 'Science et la class ouvrière', the French translation by Blanche Grinbaum of 'Nauki I rabochii klass', which appeared in La science, l'art et la class ouvriere (1977). Additional contextual information was gleaned from Bogdanov and His Work (Biggart et al. 1998), which provides a comprehensive list of Bogdanov's published works and archival holdings. The French book cites the piece as coming from Пролетарская культура (Proletarian Culture) No. 2, however Biggart et al suggest it was published several places elsewhere (ibid pp. 315-6). Gender specific terms have been rendered in a gender free way (e.g. “humanity” for “man”) for ease of reading rather than to mask the gendered language used. Footnotes have also been added for ease of comprehension for a modern readership. Minor formatting changes have been made from the French version. This translation is part of ongoing research into Bogdanov and his relevance in the twenty-first century. Title Image: Vier Männer vor Fabriken (1926) by Franz Seiwert (1894-1933) Seiwert participated in the discussion about Proletkult in the pages of Die Aktion in the early 1920s. This painting is currently in the Hamburg Kunsthalle. (Bohnen 1978) Bibliography Biggart J., Gloveli G., Yassour A., (1998) Bogdanov and His Work: A Guide to the Published and Unpublished Works of Alexander A. Bogdanov (Malinovsky) 1873-1928 Aldershot: Ashgate Bogdanov A. (1977) La science, l'art et la classe ouvrière, trans. Blanche Grinbaum, eds. Dominique Lecourt and Henri Deluy, Paris: Maspero Bogdanov A. (1996) Bogdanov's Tektology Book I translated by tr. Andrei Kartashov, Vladimir Kelle, Peter Bystrov, ed Dudley P., Hull: Centre for Systems Studies Bohnen U. (1978) Franz W. Seiwert 1894–1933. Leben und Werk. Köln : Kölnischer Kunstverein Siemsen, H. (2010) 'Mach’s Science Education, the PISA Study and Czech Science Education' in: Ernst Mach – Fyzika – Filosofie – Vzděláváni. Vol. 1 Brno: Masarykova Univerzita, 2010, pp. 255–265, DOI: 10.5817/CZ.MUNI.M210-4808-2011-255. _______________________________________________ NetworkedLabour mailing list NetworkedLabour(a)lists.contrast.org http://lists.contrast.org/mailman/listinfo/networkedlabour -- Check out the Commons Transition Plan here at: http://commonstransition.org 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: [xnet-news] FCForum 2015: Transparency for the state! Privacy for the rest of us
by Michel Bauwens 30 Oct '15

30 Oct '15

---------- Forwarded message ---------- From: Comunicación Xnet <isabel(a)xnet-x.net> Date: Fri, Oct 30, 2015 at 6:07 PM Subject: [xnet-news] FCForum 2015: Transparency for the state! Privacy for the rest of us To: xnet-news(a)listas.xnet-x.net <http://xnet-x.net/en>Transparency for the state! Privacy for the rest of us!, by Simona Levi Introductory statement for the FCForum 2015 <http://2015.fcforum.net> - International Forum on the Internet and Democracy - organised by Xnet <http://xnet-x.net/en> *https://www.opendemocracy.net/can-europe-make-it/simona-levi/transparency-for-state-privacy-for-rest-of-us <https://www.opendemocracy.net/can-europe-make-it/simona-levi/transparency-f…> * http://xnet-x.net/ https://twitter.com/X_net_ <https://twitter.com/15mparato> https://www.facebook.com/RedX.Net <https://www.facebook.com/15MpaRato> If you do not want to receive information about Xnet activities please let us know in an email with the word DELETE in the subject. Sorry for any inconvenience. -- Check out the Commons Transition Plan here at: http://commonstransition.org 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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BRICS bk
by Michel Bauwens 30 Oct '15

30 Oct '15

Marx & Philosophy Review of Books <http://marxandphilosophy.org.uk/reviewofbooks> » 2015 <http://marxandphilosophy.org.uk/reviewofbooks/reviews/2015> » Parisot <mime-attachment.jpg> <http://marxandphilosophy.org.uk/reviewofbooks/books/2071>*Ana Garcia <http://marxandphilosophy.org.uk/reviewofbooks/authors/g/2070> and Patrick Bond <http://marxandphilosophy.org.uk/reviewofbooks/authors/b/2069> (eds) * *Brics: An Anti-Capitalist Critique* Haymarket, Chicago, 2015. 320pp., $19.95 pb ISBN 9781608465330 <http://books.google.co.uk/books?q=isbn+9781608465330> <mime-attachment.jpg> <http://marxandphilosophy.org.uk/reviewofbooks/books/2074>*Ana Garcia <http://marxandphilosophy.org.uk/reviewofbooks/authors/g/2070> and Patrick Bond <http://marxandphilosophy.org.uk/reviewofbooks/authors/b/2069> (eds) * *Brics: An Anti-Capitalist Critique* Pluto, London, 2015. 320pp., £18.99 pb ISBN 9780745336411 <http://books.google.co.uk/books?q=isbn+9780745336411> *Reviewed by James Parisot <http://marxandphilosophy.org.uk/reviewofbooks/reviewers/714>* Comment on this review <http://marxandphilosophy.org.uk/reviewofbooks/reviews/2015/2072#comments> About the reviewer *James Parisot <http://marxandphilosophy.org.uk/reviewofbooks/reviewers/714>* James Parisot is a PhD Candidate in Sociology at Binghamton University. He has published on questions of American Empire and rising powers, and is currently co-editing a book on cooperation and conflict in a multipolar world. Review It appears global capitalism is going through a fundamental transformation. Gone is the era of the American ‘unipolar moment’. Instead, while the United States remains dominant, rising powers, particularly the BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa) are building new political alliances and economic relations, suggesting a shift towards a multipolar world. On one hand, some scholars have argued this to be a cause for celebration. Western hegemony was always armored with the force of imperialism, forcing underdevelopment upon the global south since the age of colonialism. In this case, the rise of the south may structurally challenge centuries of western domination. On the other hand, some argue that the BRICS are not providing an alternative to neoliberalism; rather, they are reproducing relations of unequal exchange and uneven development, albeit in south-south (or east-south) rather than north-south forms. What does this mean for the international left? Should we celebrate the rise of the BRICS as an alternative to western imperialism? Or condemn the involved states for failing to provide an alternative to the unfettered domination of global neoliberalism, but simply modifying its form? This book is the most significant work yet published to examine these issues through a critical lens. It features essays from leading leftist scholars across the world such as Patrick Bond, Immanuel Wallerstein, Leo Panitch, William Robinson, Elmar Altvater, and Vijay Prashad, among many others. The overall shape of the volume is laid out in the introduction, written by the editors. Here, the authors document the currently existing positions on the BRICS: from those who celebrate it, are cautious of it, to those who criticize it. It provides a useful and comprehensive overview of the current state of debate on the topic and provides a clear way to introduce the volume. The rest of the book is divided into three sections. The first, titled ‘Sub-imperial, inter-imperial, or capitalist-imperial?’ examines the rise of the BRICS in light of the reorganization of world imperialism. Highlighted especially throughout these essays is a revitalization of the concept ‘sub-imperialism’ as originally conceived in the 1960s Ruy Mauro Marini, to make sense of the role of Brazil in Latin America. Bond, for example, sees sub-imperialism as defined by what David Harvey called ‘accumulation by dispossession’, overaccumulation and uneven development, and the use of neoliberal policies by countries previously subjected to their impositions in order to strengthen their position within the global neoliberal hierarchy, rather than replace it. For Bond the BRICS seems to be creating new relations of sub-imperialism, as participants use the meetings and emerging institutions as a way to solidify their regional and international sub-imperial positions. This is further developed by Mathias Luce who argues that sub-imperialism is ‘the highest stage of dependent capitalism’. In other words, BRICS countries continue to be dominated, or incorporated into the western order, at the same time they dominate countries below them in the global inter-imperialist chain. The second section of the volume is titled ‘BRICS “develop” Africa, Latin America and Eastern Europe’. This section focuses on the ways that, rather than looking for a more ecologically sustainable developmental path, the BRICS are using resource extraction as central to increasing their positions in the international hierarchy of global capitalism. Discussed in this section, for example, are the ways that Chinese, Brazilian, and Indian investment in Africa, while bypassing Washington Consensus style conditionalities, do not necessarily provide an alternative to them for the people of Africa. The main interests of these countries, and their businesses, in what has been called the ‘new scramble for Africa’, rather, has been less about helping poor countries ‘develop’, so much as accessing the resources of these countries, at the expense of human rights, to fuel the continued growth of the sub-imperial powers. And as Omar Bonilla Martinez points out, the same relationship has occurred in China-Latin America relations in the Andean region, as China’s main interest has been in oil and natural resources, at the expense of indigenous peoples, who are being deprived of their land and livelihoods. Two of the articles in this section also discuss Russia. Russia’s development under Putin has been based upon oil and gas in Russia itself, and Russia’s participation in the BRICS has gone along with Russia increasingly asserting its regional control in Eastern Europe and Central Asia, as seen in its activities in Ukraine and, for example, the creation of a Eurasian Economic Union. Overall, this series of papers empirically highlights the ways that the BRICS, far from providing an alternative to neoliberalism and imperialism, are simply reorganizing their shapes. The final section, ‘BRICS within global capitalism’, consists of a diverse series of short essays by leading scholars debating the significance of the BRICS in global capitalism. This section is particularly useful for showing the ways that different theoretical persuasions lead to differing analyses of the current global conjuncture. It contains short pieces from, for example, William Robinson, leader of the global capitalism school, who emphasizes the importance of the transnationality of capital, and Immanuel Wallerstein, founder of world-systems analysis, who sees the BRICS as one component of the broader decline of US hegemony. In contrast, Ho-Fung Hung emphasis the continued salience of American power, particularly as the role of the dollar remains unchallenged, and Vijay Prashad sees the Bolivarian Alternative of the Americas (ALBA), resulting from Latin America’s ‘pink tide’, as a predominant alternative to neoliberalism in contrast to the BRICS which have failed to provide a counter-hegemonic set of policies to challenge the power of global neoliberalism. Overall, *BRICS: An Anti-Capitalist Alternative* is required reading for anyone concerned about what the development of the BRICS means for the global proletariat, and for the structure of the capitalist world order more generally. The difficulty of the volume is also its biggest strength in that, while many diverse perspectives are expressed, it can lead the reader to be somewhat bewildered as to what to make of the BRICS, and the shape of the capitalist world order. Just as importantly, left open is the question *how* to make sense of the BRICS, particularly in relation to the possibility—or not—of US decline. In other words, many theoretical frameworks are used, but, given the shortness of the essays, a space is not provided to examine them critically against each other. This could be particularly difficult for students new to the topic, as the volume includes very short essays underlain with fundamentally different conceptual frameworks, which only experts in the field who have read more substantial works by the included authors might fully understand. But even with such a diversity of perspectives a relatively clear picture emerges on which, it seems, the global left agrees: the BRICS do not provide an alternative to neoliberalism. Rather, their main goal is to reposition themselves within it, in doing so continuing to cooperate with the west while, simultaneously, gradually undermining centuries of western domination. The risk that emerges is an even more authoritarian form of global capitalism that is continually dependent on increasing amounts of resource extraction in a world with decreasing amounts of available resources. But if, as this volume suggests, the BRICS are simply intensifying the contradictions of capitalism on a global scale, what might an alternative be? This, perhaps, would be a question for a subsequent volume. *26 October 2015* -- Check out the Commons Transition Plan here at: http://commonstransition.org 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: I just saw a form of tyranny in p2p
by Michel Bauwens 29 Oct '15

29 Oct '15

---------- Forwarded message ---------- From: Paul B. Hartzog <PaulBHartzog(a)paulbhartzog.org> on hierarchy/egalitarianism , selfism/altruism Barabasi modeled it using "preferential attachment" networks and identified one way that power laws of inequality could emerge. Trebor has recently shifted to "platform cooperativism" and has an event in NYC coming up that Nicholas will be at. 1) In the last chapter in Howard Rheingold's book "Smart Mobs" "Always on Panopticon... or Cooperation Amplifier" he mentions that "smart mob" doesn't mean "good mob." Swarming is a behavior not a moral choice. When I used to teach Smart Mobs theory, this is one crucial point I always made sure to cover. 2) Sanctions, punishment, and even "altruistic punishment" are well-studied and there is a lot of good reading. We summarized some it on cooperaitioncommons.org Refs: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barab%C3%A1si%E2%80%93Albert_model https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Preferential_attachment http://platformcoop.net/ https://medium.com/@trebors/platform-cooperativism-vs-the-sharing-economy-2… http://www.amazon.com/Smart-Mobs-Next-Social-Revolution/dp/0738208612 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Smart_mob "Altruistic punishment may be the glue that holds societies together" http://cooperationcommons.com/node/345 "norms can emerge and stabilize only if those who fail to punish violators are also punished." http://cooperationcommons.com/node/334 "Evolution of Indirect Reciprocity" http://cooperationcommons.com/node/354 "On the Evolutionary Foundations of Human Altruism" (strong reciprocity) http://cooperationcommons.com/node/368 "behavior with preferences for altruism, equality and reciprocity, reflections of a human dedication to social norms even at personal cost." http://cooperationcommons.com/node/333 off the top of my head ;-) -p ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- http://www.PaulBHartzog.org PaulBHartzog(a)PaulBHartzog.org (o|o) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- If you bow deeply to the universe, it bows back. ~ Ueshiba Morihei The Universe is made up of stories, not atoms. ~ Muriel Rukeyser Act as if what you do makes a difference. It does. ~ William James We come out of the world, not into it. ~ Alan Watts If the path before you is clear, you're probably on someone else's ~ Joseph Campbell Perceive differently, then you will act differently. ~ Paul B. Hartzog ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- On Tue, Oct 27, 2015 at 6:20 AM, Tiberius Brastaviceanu < tiberius.brastaviceanu(a)gmail.com> wrote: > and it scared me... > > https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qDcaBe4IAMY > > Gregarious animals do it... > > Those in our society who will understand the power of collaboration and > will master the grammar of swarms will adopt their behavior to increase > their chance of success, and that can come to the detriment of any one > else, or any organization that stands in their way. It's game theory... > > Trust is not important in large scale p2p systems. Those who understand > the p2p economics will adopt this behavior, they will act stigmergically, > and as they reach the critical mass they become an attractor, imposing > norms and culture to new comers, growing by feeding on its success. We see > this with Bitcion. > > That is good news if we think about the scaling and spreading of p2p. It > can be a quite fast phenomena. > > *Can that stigmergy create swarms that don't follow good ethics and > justice? Michel asked me a similar question here > <https://youtu.be/GQjscYS33u8?t=9m31s>.* > My answer was that the majority of people would opt out in a open > (voluntary) system. My argument has always been that Wikipedia is a proof > that humans are in majority good, otherwise the bad guys would overpower > the good ones in an open system like Wikipedia, and it could not exist. But > Wikipedia is a specific context. It doesn't offer incentives to go against > good content. > Will people have the choice to opt out when the sward driven by a specific > set of incentives will give them two choices - live with us or suffer. > Street gangs operate that way... it is hard to chose the third option, > which is to opt out, get out of the hood, get an education or a job. > > hmmmmm... > > Is a violet swarm more damaging than classical violent phenomena? > Are we going to see swarms going at each others, keeping social stability? > > Are we going to see Anonimous against a legion or dark hackers swarming at > each others. > > What is social clash going to look like in the future? > > Or I am a bit paranoia tonight? : ) > > I need to admit that I am instinctively using some of that to "punish" > those who step out of the line, who don't attribute authorship for example, > who don't respect the 10 commandments > <http://blog.p2pfoundation.net/the-ten-commandments-of-peer-production-and-c…>, > I do that from my personal frustration and to preserve the network, and I > learned how to do it in a way that generates peer pressure. All the past > SENSORICA conflicts were solved in this way. essentially swarming the bad > guy to the edges of the network, through peer pressure or by mass ignoring > the person. It uses the reputation system, and there's a way to do it very > effectively. Now, believe me, I am acting to preserve SENSORICA from sharks > and freeloaders. It is still an art, but I feel that this can be very well > formalized, which can become a formidable social weapon. > > > > -- > t!b! <http://www.google.com/profiles/tiberius.brastaviceanu> > co-founder of SENSORICA <http://www.sensorica.co>, > an open, decentralized and self-organizing > value network (an open enterprise) > > founder of Multitude Project <http://multitudeproject.blogspot.ca/> > > Google Profile <https://plus.google.com/117593809719446924575/about> > Facebook Tiberius Brastaviceanu > <http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100000279944184> > Twitter @TiberiusB <http://twitter.com/TiberiusB> > -- Check out the Commons Transition Plan here at: http://commonstransition.org 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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PhD studentships
by Andreas Wittel 29 Oct '15

29 Oct '15

*AHRC Midlands3Cities funding for * *UK/EU Arts and Humanities research students* The Midlands3Cities Doctoral Training Partnership will be awarding 410 PhD studentships over a five year period to excellent research students in the Arts and Humanities. The DTP, a collaboration between Nottingham Trent, Nottingham, Birmingham, Birmingham City, Leicester and De Montfort universities, provides research candidates with cross-institutional mentoring, expert supervision, including cross-institutional supervision where appropriate, subject specific and generic training, and professional support in preparing for a career. *Communication, Culture, and Media (CCM)* at Nottingham Trent University is inviting applications from students whose research interests include all areas of communication and media. In particular we are looking for applications which address the following topics: · Digital media and political economy · Social Theory, Critical Theory, Marxian Theory · Digital commons and commoning · Peer production · Sharing in the digital age · Activism and Hacktivism · Open access publishing · Surveillance and encryption · Digital currencies · Copyright and intellectual property The *deadline for AHRC M3C funding applications is 14th January 2015*, by which time students must have applied for a place to study and have provided two references to a university within the DTP. For full details of eligibility, funding and research supervision areas, please visit www.midlands3cities.ac.uk <http://www.nottingham.ac.uk/midlands-3-cities/index.aspx#_blank> or contact enquiries(a)midlands3cities.ac.uk.

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Re: [P2P-F] [NetworkedLabour] Fwd: [historicalmaterialism] NEW FROM VERSO: INVENTING THE FUTURE BY NICK SRNICEK AND ALEX WILLIAMS
by Michel Bauwens 29 Oct '15

29 Oct '15

you can, perhaps with a note asking people to support the authors if they can, Michel On Mon, Oct 26, 2015 at 5:28 PM, peter waterman <peterwaterman1936(a)gmail.com > wrote: > Just bought the e-book version and note that it is DRM-free. Does this > mean I can send it to all my friends? > > P > > > ---------- Forwarded message ---------- > From: peter waterman <peterwaterman1936(a)gmail.com> > Date: Mon, Oct 26, 2015 at 11:25 AM > Subject: Fwd: [historicalmaterialism] NEW FROM VERSO: INVENTING THE FUTURE > BY NICK SRNICEK AND ALEX WILLIAMS > To: Danny <huasquero(a)mac.com>, Dan Gallin <gli(a)iprolink.ch>, Asbjørn Wahl > <Asbjorn.Wahl(a)velferdsstaten.no> > > > > ---------- Forwarded message ---------- > From: Historical Materialism News news(a)historicalmaterialism.org > [historicalmaterialism] <historicalmaterialism-noreply(a)yahoogroups.com> > Date: Mon, Oct 26, 2015 at 11:02 AM > Subject: [historicalmaterialism] NEW FROM VERSO: INVENTING THE FUTURE BY > NICK SRNICEK AND ALEX WILLIAMS > To: historicalmaterialism(a)yahoogroups.com > > > > > OUT NOW: > > INVENTING THE FUTURE > > By Nick Srnicek and Alex Williams > > > > A major new manifesto for a high-tech future free from work > > > > ‘A powerful book: it not only shows us how the postcapitalist world of > rapidly improving technology could make us free, but it also shows us how > we can organise to get there. This is a must-read.’ PAUL MASON, author of > Postcapitalism: A Guide to Our Future > > > > “Most important book of 2015” Aaron Bastani, co-founder of Novara Media > > > > http://www.versobooks.com/books/1989-inventing-the-future > > > > ------------ > > > > LONDON EVENT: Inventing the Future: Nick Srnicek and Alex Williams in > conversation with Emma Dowling > > > > Tuesday 3rd November 2015 7pm - 8pm, at Foyles Charing Cross Road > > > > http://www.foyles.co.uk/Public/Events/Detail.aspx?eventId=2674 > > > > ------------ > > > > Neoliberalism isn’t working. Austerity is forcing millions into poverty > and many more into precarious work, while the left remains trapped in > stagnant political practices that offer no respite. > > > > Inventing the Future is a bold new manifest0 for life after capitalism. > Against the confused understanding of our high-tech world by both the right > and the left, this book claims that the emancipatory and future-oriented > possibilities of our society can be reclaimed. Instead of running from a > complex future, Nick Srnicek and Alex Williams demand a postcapitalist > economy capable of advancing standards, liberating humanity from work and > developing technologies that expand our freedoms. > > > > NICK SRNICEK is the author of Postcapitalist Technologies (Polity, > forthcoming) and the co-editor of The Speculative Turn (Re.press, 2011 with > Levi Bryant and Graham Harman). > > > > ALEX WILLIAMS is a PhD student at the University of East London working on > a thesis entitled Complexity & Hegemony. > > > > ------------ > > > > “Nick Srnicek and Alex Williams' project dares to propose a different way > of thinking and acting. Given the fizzling of the Occupy moment, a radical > rethinking of the anarchic approach is badly needed but just not happening. > This book could do a lot of work in getting that rethink going.” DOUG > HENWOOD author of Wall Street > > > > > > “Srnicek and Williams demonstrate how a sustainable economic future is > less a question of means than of imagination. The postcapitalist world they > envision is utterly attainable, if we can remember that we have been > inventing the economy all along.” DOUGLAS RUSHKOFF, author of Present > Shock: When Everything Happens Now > > > > “Inventing the Future is exactly what we need right now. With immense > patience and care, it sets out a clear and compelling vision of a > postcapitalist society. Equally importantly, it lays out a plausible > programme which can take us from 24/7 capitalist immiseration to a world > free of work.” MARK FISHER, author of Capitalist Realism: Is There No > Alternative? > > > > “A conceptual launch pad for a new socialist imagination…” Mike Davis, > author of Planet of Slums > > > > > > ------------ > > > > PAPERBACK: SEPTEMBER 2015 / 256 pages / ISBN 9781784780968 / $19.95 / > £12.99 / $23.95 (CAN) > > > > AVAILABLE AS AN E-BOOK FROM 13TH OCTOBER 2015 > > > > INVENTING THE FUTURE is 30% off at the moment: > > http://www.versobooks.com/books/1989-inventing-the-future > > > > For more information on university inspection/desk copies visit: > http://www.versobooks.com/pg/desk-copies > > > > ------------ > > > > Visit Verso's website for information on our upcoming events, new reviews > and publications and special offers: http://www.versobooks.com > > > > Sign up for the Verso mailing list: > > https://www.versobooks.com/users/sign_up > > > > Follow us online: > > Facebook https://www.facebook.com/VersoBks > > Twitter: http://twitter.com/VersoBooks > > Instagram: http://instagram.com/versobooks > > Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/18970808-verso-books > > Published in > http://www.historicalmaterialism.org/news/distributed/new-from-verso-invent… > > __._,_.___ > ------------------------------ > Posted by: Historical Materialism News <news(a)historicalmaterialism.org> > ------------------------------ > Reply via web post > <https://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/historicalmaterialism/conversations/mes…> > • Reply to sender > <[email protected]?subject=Re%3A%20NEW%20FROM%20VERSO%3A%20INVENTING%20THE%20FUTURE%20BY%20NICK%20SRNICEK%20AND%20ALEX%20WILLIAMS> > • Reply to group > <[email protected]?subject=Re%3A%20NEW%20FROM%20VERSO%3A%20INVENTING%20THE%20FUTURE%20BY%20NICK%20SRNICEK%20AND%20ALEX%20WILLIAMS> > • Start a New Topic > <https://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/historicalmaterialism/conversations/new…> > • Messages in this topic > <https://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/historicalmaterialism/conversations/top…> > (1) > Visit Your Group > <https://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/historicalmaterialism/info;_ylc=X3oDMTJ…> > > - New Members > <https://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/historicalmaterialism/members/all;_ylc=…> > 1 > > [image: Yahoo! Groups] > <https://groups.yahoo.com/neo;_ylc=X3oDMTJlZGRpcmRvBF9TAzk3NDc2NTkwBGdycElkA…> > • Privacy <https://info.yahoo.com/privacy/us/yahoo/groups/details.html> • > Unsubscribe > <historicalmaterialism-unsubscribe(a)yahoogroups.com?subject=Unsubscribe> • Terms > of Use <https://info.yahoo.com/legal/us/yahoo/utos/terms/> > > . > > __,_._,___ > > > > -- > *Recent publications* > > 1. 2014. From Coldwar Communism to the Global Justice Movement: Itinerary > of a Long-Distance Internationalist. > http://www.into-ebooks.com/book/from_coldwar_communism > _to_the_global_emancipatory_movement/ (Free). 2. 2014. Interface Journal > Special (Co-Editor), December 2014. 'Social Movement Internationalisms'. > (Free).3. 2014. with Laurence Cox, ‘Movement Internationalism/s’, > Interface: a Journal for and about Social Movements. (Editorial), Vol. 6 > (2), pp. 1–12. 4. 2014. ‘The International Labour Movement in, Against > and Beyond, the Globalized and Informatized Cage of Capitalism and > Bureaucracy. (Interview). Interface: a Journal for and about Social > Movements. Vol. 6 (2), pp. 35-58. 5. 2014. 'The Networked > Internationalism of Labour's Others', in Jai Sen (ed), Peter Waterman > (co-ed), The Movement of Movements: Struggles for Other Worlds (Part I). > (10 Euros). 6. 2015. Waterman, Peter. ‘Beyond Labourism, Development and > Decent Work’. > <https://escarpmentpress.org/globallabour/article/download/2338/2433> > Global Labour Journal, 2015, 6(2), pp. 246-50. > > *More publications, click [////]* > > > > -- > *Recent publications* > > 1. 2014. From Coldwar Communism to the Global Justice Movement: Itinerary > of a Long-Distance Internationalist. > http://www.into-ebooks.com/book/from_coldwar_communism > _to_the_global_emancipatory_movement/ (Free). 2. 2014. Interface Journal > Special (Co-Editor), December 2014. 'Social Movement Internationalisms'. > (Free).3. 2014. with Laurence Cox, ‘Movement Internationalism/s’, > Interface: a Journal for and about Social Movements. (Editorial), Vol. 6 > (2), pp. 1–12. 4. 2014. ‘The International Labour Movement in, Against > and Beyond, the Globalized and Informatized Cage of Capitalism and > Bureaucracy. (Interview). Interface: a Journal for and about Social > Movements. Vol. 6 (2), pp. 35-58. 5. 2014. 'The Networked > Internationalism of Labour's Others', in Jai Sen (ed), Peter Waterman > (co-ed), The Movement of Movements: Struggles for Other Worlds (Part I). > (10 Euros). 6. 2015. Waterman, Peter. ‘Beyond Labourism, Development and > Decent Work’. > <https://escarpmentpress.org/globallabour/article/download/2338/2433> > Global Labour Journal, 2015, 6(2), pp. 246-50. > > *More publications, click [////]* > > _______________________________________________ > NetworkedLabour mailing list > NetworkedLabour(a)lists.contrast.org > http://lists.contrast.org/mailman/listinfo/networkedlabour > > -- Check out the Commons Transition Plan here at: http://commonstransition.org 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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