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

Re: [P2P-F] [NetworkedLabour] Commons' Movements & “Progressive” Governments as Dual Power
by Michel Bauwens 09 Aug '15

09 Aug '15

will see when I have time to read! On Sun, Aug 9, 2015 at 3:36 PM, peter waterman <peterwaterman1936(a)gmail.com> wrote: > Excellent basis for further discussion! > > I thought it was going to go overboard with the Venezuelan case before it > made its critique of it. And one has to note that his 'best' cases are > those in which the state-nation level has not been reached. In other words, > the Zapatista and Rojava models are those of small isolated communities, > not yet confronted with the Venezuela Problem. > > Further, I agree with his critique of the 'partner-state' model, my > previous criticism of this resting at the level of the concept alone - > which stuck in my gullet. > > I'll be interested to see Michel's response. > > > > On Sun, Aug 9, 2015 at 1:11 AM, Orsan <orsan1234(a)gmail.com> wrote: > >> Commons' Movements & “Progressive” Governments as Dual Power : The >> Potential for Social Transformation in Europe by Antonis Broumas >> >> https://www.academia.edu/14169439/Commons_Movements_and_Progressive_Governm… >> >> >> >> >> _______________________________________________ >> NetworkedLabour mailing list >> NetworkedLabour(a)lists.contrast.org >> http://lists.contrast.org/mailman/listinfo/networkedlabour >> >> > > > -- > *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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Fwd: [NetworkedLabour] Commons' Movements & “Progressive” Governments as Dual Power
by Michel Bauwens 09 Aug '15

09 Aug '15

---------- Forwarded message ---------- From: Orsan <orsan1234(a)gmail.com> Date: Sun, Aug 9, 2015 at 6:11 AM Subject: [NetworkedLabour] Commons' Movements & “Progressive” Governments as Dual Power To: "<networkedlabour(a)lists.contrast.org>" < networkedlabour(a)lists.contrast.org> Commons' Movements & “Progressive” Governments as Dual Power : The Potential for Social Transformation in Europe by Antonis Broumas https://www.academia.edu/14169439/Commons_Movements_and_Progressive_Governm… _______________________________________________ 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: The 'Postmodern Turn' in the Social Sciences
by Michel Bauwens 08 Aug '15

08 Aug '15

---------- Forwarded message ---------- From: Simon Susen <Simon.Susen(a)cantab.net> Date: Wed, Jul 29, 2015 at 7:21 PM Subject: The 'Postmodern Turn' in the Social Sciences To: Simon.Susen(a)cantab.net [image: Palgrave Macmillan] <http://www.palgrave.com/> *The 'Postmodern Turn' in the Social Sciences* *By Simon Susen* "Simon Susen has done a first-class job in bringing some order into postmodern thought, which is notorious for its programmatic disorderliness. He has succeeded in doing so on the basis of research that is of unprecedented width and depth. The resulting compendium of thoughts and thinkers may well serve as a crucial point of reference for people contributing to or affected by the 'postmodern turn' - that is, the rest of us." *- Zygmunt Bauman, University of Leeds, UK* "More commonly associated with the humanities, postmodernism has also had major impacts in the social sciences. Rather than choosing one narrow interpretation, Simon Susen takes a broad and inclusive look at a whole series of important debates and shifts of direction. The result is a timely account not just of past controversies but also of changing presuppositions shaping future scholarship." *- Craig Calhoun, London School of Economics and Political Science, UK * "Simon Susen's detailed, systematic, and precise description of the 'postmodern turn' in all its dimensions - from identity politics to cultural studies - provides a diagnosis of where we stand today in the social sciences. We all need this book in order to engage in a serious assessment of our theoretical (and practical) predicament. There is no excuse - everyone has to read it!" *- Slavoj Žižek, University of Ljubljana, Slovenia; The Birkbeck Institute for the Humanities, UK; New York University, USA * The main purpose of this book is to examine the impact of the 'postmodern turn' on the contemporary social sciences. Here, the 'postmodern turn' is conceived of as a paradigmatic shift from the Enlightenment belief in the *relative determinacy* of both the natural world and the social world to the - increasingly widespread - post-Enlightenment belief in the *radical indeterminacy* of all material and symbolic forms of existence. As illustrated in this enquiry, the far-reaching importance of this paradigmatic transformation is reflected in five influential presuppositional 'turns', which have arguably been taking place in the social sciences over the past few decades and which are inextricably linked to the rise of postmodern thought: (I) the 'relativist turn' in epistemology; (II) the 'interpretive turn' in social research methodology; (III) the 'cultural turn' in sociology; (IV) the 'contingent turn' in historiography; and (V) the 'autonomous turn' in politics. On the basis of this five-dimensional approach, the study provides a systematic, comprehensive, and critical account of the legacy of the 'postmodern turn', notably in terms of its continuing relevance in the twenty-first century. [image: http://images3.ehaus2.co.uk/macmillan-images/m/978023/9780230579293.jpg] <http://www.palgrave.com/page/detail/?K=9780230579293> * Find out more > * <http://www.palgrave.com/page/detail/?K=9780230579293> * Recommend to library > * <http://www.palgrave.com/page/recommend-a-publication-to-your-librarian/?K=9…> * Read a sample chapter > * <http://www.palgrave.com/resources/sample-chapters/9780230579293_sample.pdf> [image: http://contentz.mkt941.com/lp/29786/348078/3082_2015-Sociology-newsletter-e…] <http://www.palgrave.com/page/mailing-list/> *Stay Connected* [image: Twitter] <https://twitter.com/Palgrave_> [image: Facebook] <https://www.facebook.com/PalgraveMacmillan?fref=ts> [image: LinkedIn] <https://www.linkedin.com/company/palgrave-macmillan> [image: Google+] <https://plus.google.com/104124276027157859888/posts> [image: Youtube] <https://www.youtube.com/user/PalgraveMacmillan/videos> *Sign up for **Newsletters & Alerts* <http://www.palgrave.com/page/mailing-list/> © Palgrave Macmillan 2015 <http://www.palgrave.com/> Privacy <http://www.palgrave.com/page/privacy-policy/> Contact Us <http://www.palgrave.com/contacts/contact-list/> Manage Email Preferences <http://www.palgrave.com/page/mailing-list-preference-centre/> This e-mail is confidential and should not be used by anyone who is not the original intended recipient. If you have received this e-mail in error please inform the sender and delete it from your mailbox or any other storage mechanism. Neither Macmillan Publishers Limited nor any of its agents accept liability for any statements made which are clearly the sender's own and not expressly made on behalf of Macmillan Publishers Limited or one of its agents. Please note that neither Macmillan Publishers Limited nor any of its agents accept any responsibility for viruses that may be contained in this e-mail or its attachments and it is your responsibility to scan the e-mail and attachments (if any). No contracts may be concluded on behalf of Macmillan Publishers Ltd or its agents by means of e-mail communication. Macmillan Publishers Limited Registered in England and Wales with registered number 785998 Registered Office 4 Crinan Street, London, N1 9XW If you no longer wish to receive emails from us, you can: Unsubscribe -- 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: [commoning] UN-COMMONS Conference in Berlin Oct 22-24 / Gazette
by Michel Bauwens 08 Aug '15

08 Aug '15

---------- Forwarded message ---------- From: Silke Helfrich <silke.helfrich(a)gmx.de> Date: Thu, Jul 30, 2015 at 4:21 PM Subject: [commoning] UN-COMMONS Conference in Berlin Oct 22-24 / Gazette To: COMMONING LIste engl <commoning(a)lists.commons-institut.org>, Kommening Liste <kommening(a)lists.commons-institut.org>, Mailingliste der Bundes-AG Commons <bundes-ag-commons(a)piratenpartei-hessen.de> Still mourning because I had to decline the invitation Join it! Spread the word, especially the Berliners reading along. UN|COMMONS The Fight For Common Wealth |Conference - October 22-24 | Volksbühne at Rosa-Luxemburg Platz | Berlin More: http://berlinergazette.de/uncommons/ All the best Silke -- Silke Helfrich www.commonsblog.de _______________________________________________ Commoning mailing list Commons-Institut e.V. Germany Commoning(a)lists.commons-institut.org https://lists.schokokeks.org/mailman/listinfo.cgi/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: Corbyn's rising star
by Michel Bauwens 06 Aug '15

06 Aug '15

---------- Forwarded message ---------- From: Pat Conaty <pat.commonfutures(a)phonecoop.coop> Date: Thu, Aug 6, 2015 at 4:51 AM Subject: Corbyn's rising star Mike and colleagues A good piece in the Guardian two hours ago by Seamus Milne on Corbynmania. The Blairites every day try to torpedo his campaign and the wellspring support keeps on expanding……..! He is speaking every night somewhere else in the UK to overflowing halls. http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2015/aug/05/jeremy-corbyn-politica… Pat -- 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: Co-operative research database.
by Orsan Senalp 05 Aug '15

05 Aug '15

Begin forwarded message: > From: Cilla Ross <cillaross7(a)GMAIL.COM> > Date: 5 Aug 2015 19:27:10 GMT+2 > To: CRITICAL-LABOUR-STUDIES(a)JISCMAIL.AC.UK > Subject: Co-operative research database. > Reply-To: Cilla Ross <cillaross7(a)GMAIL.COM> > > Dear All, > > I am writing to tell you about a new Co-operative Research Database. This is being developed by the Co-operative College in Manchester with the support of Co-operatives UK and the University of Lincoln. The database is for people involved in global co-operative research primarily in the fields of education, the world of work and work organisation, history and international development. It might be that we expand to other areas of co-operative research as the database evolves. We anticipate that this database will be complimentary to other, excellent initiatives, such as the Canadian Co-operative Research Network at the University of Saskatchewan. > > > > The aim of the database is to facilitate a network for co-operative researchers to access information about recent and current co-operative research and practice. This will encourage us to share new knowledge and ideas, reflect on the 'place' and value of diverse co-operative models and identify potential research collaborations. Researchers might be established academics, early researchers, students, activists or those simply interested in what is going on as we experience a radical ‘turn’ towards demands for (and examples of) authentic, democratic and unionised co-operative models. > > > > Please access this link to fill in the appropriate fields: > > https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/JT5MTPK > > Our aim is for the database to be formally launched at the Co-operative College’s Research and Education Conference and AGM in April 2016. At the same time, we will launch a new co-operative membership offer which is concerned to engage (and re-engage) those interested and active in all aspects of a ‘refreshed’ and renewed co-operative movement which shares not only its roots but much of its present and future with trade unions and worker interests. The database will be one of many resources available within the offer. Although we will request a small fee from new members to enable access to these resources (so as to maintain running costs and keep resources current), this will not apply to database contributors who will be able to network freely with other researchers, practitioners and activists. If you sign up we will be in touch to let you know how to access the database. > > > Cilla

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Fwd: [NetworkedLabour] Fwd: Documentary online now: Italian logistics worker and strike action
by Michel Bauwens 05 Aug '15

05 Aug '15

---------- Forwarded message ---------- From: Orsan Senalp <orsan1234(a)gmail.com> Date: Wed, Aug 5, 2015 at 6:56 PM Subject: [NetworkedLabour] Fwd: Documentary online now: Italian logistics worker and strike action To: "<networkedlabour(a)lists.contrast.org>" < networkedlabour(a)lists.contrast.org> Begin forwarded message: *From:* kb <kendrabriken(a)YAHOO.DE> *Date:* 5 Aug 2015 13:31:06 GMT+2 *To:* CRITICAL-LABOUR-STUDIES(a)JISCMAIL.AC.UK *Subject:* *Documentary online now: Italian logistics worker and strike action* *Reply-To:* kb <kendrabriken(a)YAHOO.DE> Dear all, Comrades from labournet.tv (Berlin) did a great documentary on logistics strike action in Italy. It's online now. I think it's brilliant material for collective screenings or/and teaching on all kinds of "organising" and/or social strike action. Best Kendra "Since 2008 in northern Italy, unusual things have been happening. Companies, the polical class and the media are using the onset of the crisis to further undermine workers' rights, which have been, up until now, crushed. On the other side, a lively and strong resistance has been forming at the bottom end of the wage scale. Of all people, it is the precarious and largely migrant workers in the logistics sector who have, through solidarity and effective organising, been successful in overcoming their isolation and degrading working conditions. A struggle that hasn't just changed their working conditions but has changed their whole lives." <http://en.labournet.tv/video/6797/ditching-fear> Ditching The Fear | labournet.tv <http://en.labournet.tv/video/6797/ditching-fear> [image: image] <http://en.labournet.tv/video/6797/ditching-fear> Ditching The Fear | labournet.tv <http://en.labournet.tv/video/6797/ditching-fear> Videos on workers struggles and working conditions worldwide. Auf en.labournet.tv anzeigen <http://en.labournet.tv/video/6797/ditching-fear> Vorschau nach Yahoo Dr Kendra Briken | Chancellor’s Fellow | +44 (0)141 548 4074 | kendra.briken(a)strath.ac.uk Department of Human Resource Management University of Strathclyde Graham Hills Building, GH 8.34 50 Richmond Street GLASGOW G1 1XU _______________________________________________ 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: [NetworkedLabour] Fwd: How Uber and the Gig Economy Are Making Voters as Disposable as Temp Workers
by Michel Bauwens 05 Aug '15

05 Aug '15

---------- Forwarded message ---------- From: peter waterman <peterwaterman1936(a)gmail.com> Date: Wed, Aug 5, 2015 at 2:04 PM Subject: [NetworkedLabour] Fwd: How Uber and the Gig Economy Are Making Voters as Disposable as Temp Workers To: "CRITICAL-LABOUR-STUDIES(a)jiscmail.ac.uk" < CRITICAL-LABOUR-STUDIES(a)jiscmail.ac.uk>, "< networkedlabour(a)lists.contrast.org>" <networkedlabour(a)lists.contrast.org>, WSFDiscuss List <WorldSocialForum-Discuss(a)openspaceforum.net>, Debate is a listserve that attempts to promote information and analyses of interest to the independent left in South and Southern Africa <debate-list(a)fahamu.org>, p2p-foundation <p2p-foundation(a)lists.ourproject.org> ---------- Forwarded message ---------- From: Sid Shniad <shniad(a)gmail.com> Date: Tue, Aug 4, 2015 at 10:25 PM Subject: How Uber and the Gig Economy Are Making Voters as Disposable as Temp Workers To: *http://www.truth-out.org/news/item/32152-how-uber-and-the-gig-economy-are-making-voters-as-disposable-as-temp-workers <http://www.truth-out.org/news/item/32152-how-uber-and-the-gig-economy-are-m…>Truthout 31 July 2015 How Uber and the Gig Economy Are Making Voters as Disposable as Temp WorkersBy Michael Meurer**[image: Jeb Bush, the former governor of Florida, catches a ride with Uber driver Jay Salazar after a campaign event in San Francisco, July 16, 2015. The Bush campaign has trumpeted his use of the ride-hailing service to get around San Francisco — a sign of how Uber has become an proxy in the political debate over the future of labor and regulation. (Photo: Jim Wilson/The New York Times)]*Jeb Bush, the former governor of Florida, catches a ride with Uber driver Jay Salazar after a campaign event in San Francisco, July 16, 2015. The Bush campaign has trumpeted his use of the ride-hailing service to get around San Francisco - a sign of how Uber has become a proxy in the political debate over the future of labor and regulation. (Photo: Jim Wilson/The New York Times) A series of recent PR skirmishes between presidential candidates Hillary Clinton and Jeb Bush over the role of Uber workers in the new on-demand sharing economy <https://www.opendemocracy.net/transformation/adam-parsons/sharing-economy-s…> has made it clear that both candidates are focused on disposable temp voters, who are the electoral analog to the disposable temp workers who now drive the US economy. A temp economy has, in effect, produced a temp politics. This new temp politics is not about building social consensus and a governing majority around a bold, unifying democratic vision for the future. Rather, it is about building temporary electoral majorities in key swing states, using sophisticated PR tactics, powerful data tools <http://www.techrepublic.com/article/why-data-driven-campaigning-matters-in-…> and social media to push emotional hot button issues down to the level of the individual. The objective is to pick off demographic niches from a confused and splintered electorate that has been fed a steady diet of intentionally divisive politics <http://www.thefiscaltimes.com/Articles/2013/10/06/Deep-Seated-Roots-Divisiv…> for more than three decades amid widespread economic anxiety that is inherent in the new gig economy. The model of disposable workers that drives the so-called sharing economy has spilled into social and political life. Temp politics is an outgrowth of the sweeping transformation of economic, social and political life over the past 35 years to fit the demands of global capital for "flexible," <http://www.cepr.net/documents/failure-two-fronts-2015-01.pdf> nonunion labor markets that fuel growth in monopoly profits, irrespective of the social and environmental costs. In this new economic order, voters have become as interchangeable and disposable as temp workers. *Clinton and Bush Get Uberized* During a July 13 media event to announce her economic plan for the 2016 presidential campaign, Hillary Clinton made a public show of exquisite handwringing over the lack of worker protections in what she called the new "gig economy," <http://www.salon.com/2015/07/13/8_key_takeaways_from_hillary_clintons_first…> using ride-share companies such as Uber as an example. Jeb Bush countered by staging a July 16 visit to a Silicon Valley tech startup using an Uber car and driver, gushing to the media that the dawn of the new Uber worker model "should be a time for celebration." <http://www.politico.com/story/2015/07/jeb-bush-uber-120256.html> Bush declared that companies such as Uber are "disrupting the old order" <http://www.cbsnews.com/news/jeb-bush-stands-up-for-uber-and-the-sharing-eco…> of traditional "taxi cab cartels," <http://www.bizjournals.com/sanfrancisco/morning_call/2015/07/jeb-bush-presi…> while his campaign released a press statement calling for an end to "big government, Hillary-supported taxi regulations." <http://www.businessinsider.com/jeb-bush-uber-campaign-spending-report-2015-7> Clinton presents herself as the champion of beleaguered workers who now have "gigs" without benefits instead of "jobs." Bush has adopted the language of a faux revolutionary, spouting slogans about the disruptive genius of the market and the brilliant new ways that workers "can customize their lives" <http://www.politico.com/story/2015/07/jeb-bush-uber-120256.html> and use gigs as Uber drivers to stay debt-free while in college. What has gone unremarked in this early PR dust-up is that the model of disposable workers that drives the so-called sharing economy has spilled into social and political life in profound new ways, creating for the first time an enormous cohort of disposable temp voters with weak or no party affiliation. The PR tactics of both candidates are aimed at these unaffiliated temp voters, who confront the acid realities of the new gig economy daily. *The Rise of the Gig Economy* Of the 160,000 people in the United States who work full- or part-time for Uber <http://www.nytimes.com/2015/07/13/business/rising-economic-insecurity-tied-…>, only 4,000 are direct employees who enjoy health, dental and vision insurance. Uber drivers are low-wage, temp "contractors" who use their own cars, pay their own insurance and are left to fend for themselves without benefits. Wall Street loves the Uber model. In what CNBC calls a "funding frenzy," <http://www.cnbc.com/2015/05/14/funding-for-on-demand-start-ups-hits-frenzy.…> on-demand companies such as Uber raised $4.1 billion in capital in 2014, with investment expected to double to over $8 billion in 2015. As a reflection of this economic Uberization, temp workers now account for 18 percent of the US workforce <http://www.nytimes.com/2015/07/13/business/rising-economic-insecurity-tied-…>, having grown from 18 million to 32 million between 2001 and 2014. Yet the gig economy extends well beyond startups. Apple, for example, directly employs only 10 percent <http://www.nytimes.com/2015/07/13/business/rising-economic-insecurity-tied-…> of more than 1 million workers making and selling their products worldwide. Jeb Bush's callow celebration of economic disruption as an unalloyed good driven by entrepreneurial genius is a conscious diversion to cut off discussion about the nature and extent of the disruption, about who benefits and who loses. The media posturing by Clinton and Bush over Uber is an early test of their strategies for reaching these anxious worker-voters. For example, a 2014 study of employment patterns commissioned by the Freelancers Union, an advocacy group for freelance workers, puts the total temp workforce in the United States at one-third of all workers <https://www.freelancersunion.org/blog/dispatches/2014/09/04/53million/> if freelancers are included. The New York Times reports <http://www.nytimes.com/2015/07/13/business/rising-economic-insecurity-tied-…> that in surveying this historic shift to temp labor, Sara Horowitz, founder of the Freelancers Union, "puts the scale of the dislocation on a par with that caused by the spread of railroads before and after the Civil War and the boom in the mass production of goods during the early 20th century." These new workers have no permanent affiliation with, nor allegiance to, a company or organization, such as a union, that might represent their economic interests or provide health and retirement benefits. At the same time, nearly one-fourth of workers <http://www.gallup.com/poll/1720/work-work-place.aspx> with full-time jobs report permanent anxiety and uncertainty about either losing their positions or having their hours cut, while 34 percent worry about benefit cuts. The media posturing by Clinton and Bush over Uber is an early test of their strategies for reaching these anxious worker-voters. They cannot win a general election unless they find ways to capitalize on their economic uncertainty, especially in key swing states. Examining historic shifts in voter perceptions and allegiance makes it clear why this is the case. *Disposable Temp Voters in the Gig Economy* The percentage of Americans who identify as political independents has risen in lock step with the increase in temp employment and economic uncertainty, jumping to 46 percent <http://www.gallup.com/poll/166763/record-high-americans-identify-independen…>in the fourth quarter of 2013. This is the highest percentage in the 25 years since Gallup began polling party identification. Gallup also reports that nearly 60 percent of Americans want a third political party <http://www.gallup.com/poll/177284/americans-continue-say-third-political-pa…> because they believe Democrats and Republicans "do such a poor job" of representing their interests. Among self-described independents, 71 percent favor the formation of a third party. This rise in unrepresented voters is also reflected in the record low approval <http://www.gallup.com/poll/180113/2014-approval-congress-remains-near-time-…> voters give Congress, 14 percent in 2013. A 2014 analysis of US political typologies <http://www.people-press.org/2014/06/26/the-political-typology-beyond-red-vs…>by Pew Research concludes that only 43 percent of registered voters can be counted on to vote reliably Republican or Democratic. Among the remaining 57 percent of registered voters, Pew identifies six voter groups who are increasingly up for grabs in national elections, hence the focus by parties on niche voting blocs and much-vaunted undecided voters. These voters are undecided because after 35 years of deliberate political polarization, a disproportionate percentage are either gig workers or are living with daily economic anxiety and job insecurity. Neither party represents their interests. They are splintered and abandoned in both their economic and political lives. Knowing that Democratic and Republican base voters are insufficient to carry important swing states, the presidential candidates for each party have to find ways to temporarily appeal to the new unaffiliated voter. Permanent allegiance to either party is unnecessary. Candidates from the two corporate-funded parties need their votes only temporarily, in one election. After the election, they are truly disposable; they just "melt away" <http://www.usatoday.com/story/money/business/2013/07/07/temporary-jobs-beco…> without gaining meaningful political or economic representation. During the campaign, and between attack ads that now account for 70 percent of advertising in presidential elections, <http://mediaproject.wesleyan.edu/releases/jump-in-negativity-2/>the candidates will be testing a variety of policy pitches to lure these voters into their column. *Policy Solutions for Gig Workers* As a solution to the problem of jobless worker-voters that the gig economy has created, Clinton is touting vaguely defined tax incentives to induce companies such as Uber to adopt modest profit-sharing programs. After announcing this tepid proposal at her July 13 press event, a senior policy adviser for her campaign told a national media forum <http://www.csmonitor.com/USA/Politics/monitor_breakfast/2015/0714/Hillary-C…> the next day that Clinton has "no beef" with Uber, which she believes is adding "excitement, opportunity and innovation" to the economy. In contrast, Bush sees Uber as a perfect model of disruptive capitalism that advances worker freedom and should be emulated and expanded nationwide, not changed or regulated. Bush touts Uber and other workerless companies as models for what a "21st century" outsourced government <http://www.politico.com/story/2015/07/jeb-bush-uber-120256.html> should look like. The candidates share the capitalist faith of their powerful economic benefactors in market outcomes. Truly disruptive solutions, such as demanding complete worker ownership <http://asbcouncil.org/issues/worker-ownership#.VbJO73ja-e0> (because worker-contractors are the de facto corporate managers in the gig economy) or providing every person in the United States with a guaranteed income <http://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2014/08/why-arent-reformicons-p…> (because work as we know it has become obsolete <http://www.rushkoff.com/blog/2011/9/7/cnncom-are-jobs-obsolete.html>) will not be discussed by either party-anointed candidate. The corporate and Wall Street patrons for whom Clinton and Bush speak, and who have already flooded their campaigns and their bulging super PACs with more than $176 million in cash <http://www.usnews.com/news/politics/articles/2015/07/15/presidential-electi…>, do not want changes in current lucrative ownership arrangements. The candidates share the capitalist faith of their powerful economic benefactors in market outcomes that benefit these job creators <http://economix.blogs.nytimes.com/2014/03/31/who-the-job-creators-really-ar…> as sacred and inviolable. Because the campaign ahead may cost as much as $5 billion <http://thehill.com/blogs/ballot-box/presidential-races/230318-the-5-billion…>, the argument between Clinton and Bush is not about radical change aimed at disrupting an economy rigged in favor of their wealthy donors. It is about the purity of their faith in the mythology of markets. Clinton is a true believer, but to reach disaffected voters, she might do penance for disruptive market inequities by offering a few tepid, ameliorative policy proposals. Bush is more devout. He is burning with the capitalist fire and campaigning to convert temp voters to his crusade to cast out demonic government regulators and liberate worker-voters from the "old order," presumably the order in which at least some of them had health insurance and pensions. *From Temp Voter to Permanently Organized Citizen* Disaffected voters know that they lack powerful institutional representation and that the Democratic and Republican parties therefore see them as increasingly disposable, both politically and economically. Voters see through euphemistic descriptions of a dynamic new sharing economy as an absurd propagandistic distortion of the underlying reality. Neither profits nor benefits, let alone ownership and decision-making, will be shared with temp worker-voters under a President Clinton or Bush. These corporate-sponsored candidates seek a one-off victory cobbled together from disaffected temp worker-voters at any cost. Clinton may be the lesser of the two evils, but they are both captive to powerful economic interests <http://www.nytimes.com/2015/02/22/opinion/sunday/frank-bruni-hillary-clinto…> that benefit from a temp economy fueled by contingent worker-voters. In his campaign for the Democratic presidential nomination, Vermont's social democratic senator, Bernie Sanders, is calling for a "grassroots political revolution" <http://www.wiscnews.com/youtube_c7f530c1-e999-53db-842b-f41e0aff59f4.html> predicated on a mass movement of permanently organized and engaged citizens. Whatever his political prospects may be in 2016, Sanders is pointing his supporters in the right direction. More than 80 percent of voters <http://home.gwu.edu/~jsides/polcomm.pdf> believe that negative, polarizing campaigns are undermining democracy. Yet US politics is now in a state of permanent campaign <http://www.wsj.com/articles/william-galston-the-permanent-campaign-perpetua…>, explicitly designed to polarize these same voters. Making politics as divisive as possible discourages ongoing voter involvement in the political process, but it increases partisan turnout <http://mason.gmu.edu/~rpetrie1/Negative%20Campaigning%20Fundraising%20and%2…>. This superheated campaign environment allows lavishly funded campaign operatives armed with sophisticated data and media tools to target and pick off disaffected splinter groups with emotional hot button appeals. Lacking nationally organized institutional representation, individual worker-voters are relentlessly assaulted with emotionally laden wedge issues <http://home.gwu.edu/~jsides/polcomm.pdf>. It is easy to succumb to the corporate-funded politics of division, but it is a fatal dilution of political agency. The only antidote to being treated as disposable temp worker-voters is to become permanently organized citizen-activists united around a relentless movement for the re-democratization of political and economic life. Creating such a permanent movement while maintaining the essential "plurality of resistance" <http://www.vanderbilt.edu/AnS/philosophy/_people/faculty_files/_medinafouca…> to be effective is the greatest challenge that citizens face in confronting a new temporary political economy predicated on human disposability. Michael Meurer is President of Meurer Group & Associates, a California-Colorado political consulting firm. Michael has served as a Senior Advisor to the California Democratic Party and co-founded the Courage Campaign, where he served as Deputy Chair. -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Labour-l" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to labour-l+unsubscribe(a)googlegroups.com. To post to this group, send email to labour-l(a)googlegroups.com. To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/labour-l/CACKppcwgHMDJ%2ByD2y%2B_Ubkh-E6w… <https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/labour-l/CACKppcwgHMDJ%2ByD2y%2B_Ubkh-E6w…> . For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout. -- *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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Under construction - a faq on the copyfair license
by Michel Bauwens 04 Aug '15

04 Aug '15

Please feel free to contribute to the page here at: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1scsEb-3XWiqGG_Mf93JjtB37_7Msjj4M4PYuO1X… As agreed with stacco and primavera in a skype, I will try to create a basic document for discussion on the principles and need for the copyfair faq. I’m starting with a set of questions, please add yours! Stacco, it would help me if you can prompt me to continue answering a few questions each day, first, please add questions, then, please check the first answers, Note to others, this is not the place to question the existence of a copyfair, but for those who agree that it is needed and discuss how it is to be done, Michel The FAQ What is the Copyfair License ? The copyfair license is the name we give for a new type of license based on stronger reciprocity. The existing mainstream open license that creates a commons, the General Public License, is based on a ‘general reciprocity’ model. Each person has the right to use the code, but any changes to it must be given back to the code base so that other people can continue to use it and the commons can continue to grow. The code base can also be used by persons and companies that do not contribute to the commons, i.e. without such reciprocity. In a license with a strong reciprocity requirement, this is strengthened in the following way: anybody can use the code base of the license, but persons or companies that want to make profit without making any contributions, need to make another contribution to the common effort, for example by paying for the license. The copyfair license does not restrict any usage of the code base and maintains the rights and freedoms enshrined in the GPL-type commons licenses, but it restricts profit-making on the basis of common work without any contribution. Why is it needed ? What it is for ? The dominant free software licenses allow any person and company to use the code base, without asking for any specific reciprocity. This allows huge multinational companies that do not necessarily contribute to the commons, to use this commons for profit-making. This may not be seen to be a major problem in software production itself, where the barriers to entry and participation are low, and the companies may be seen to contribute to the network effect by enlarging the user base. However, in the case of for example design, which is to be used in physical manufacturing, this means that investments are needed in workplaces, machinery, and wages, such a for-profit usage may be seen as extractive by the players who do invest in such production facilities. In practice we see that most of the open source economies are indeed dominated by for-profit entities, which may or may not contribute to the commons. Another example would be a traditional indigenous community involved in medicinal herbs. With a traditional open license, it may retain the knowledge created by their commons, but certainly the economic activities will still be taken on by firms who do not necessarily practice profit or benefit-sharing. So the essential issue addressed by the copyfair license is to insure fair conditions of value creation and distribution. The commoners / contributors who are contributing, investing in commons-based peer production can insure that the value of the common work is not extracted without any reciprocity. How does it relate to other licenses ? The Copyfair license endorses and maintains the free software freedoms enshrined in the GPL, but restricts profit-making potential by a reciprocity requirement. Unlike the Creative Commons Non-Commercial license, the Copyfair does not restrict the creation of an economy around these commons. Unlike the Copysol (= solidarity) license developed by Solidarius, the Copyfair license does not restrict usage by for-protit entities, but only requires a reciprocal contribution. Copyfair extends the user base of the Peer Production License, the first example of a reciprocity-based license, by not restricting usage to worker coops. Who is it for ? How can it be enforced ? Does it restrict freedoms guaranteed by other licenses ? What are the potential benefits ? What are the potential drawbacks ? How can reciprocity be defined ? What kind of entities can use the Copyfair commons ? What kind of entities cannot use the Copyfair commons ? -- 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: [foodsovUK discussion list] Pavlos Georgiadis - Greece
by Michel Bauwens 04 Aug '15

04 Aug '15

---------- Forwarded message ---------- From: <anna(a)shsh.co.uk> Date: Mon, Aug 3, 2015 at 12:49 AM Subject: Fwd: [foodsovUK discussion list] Pavlos Georgiadis - Greece To: Michel Bauwens <michel(a)p2pfoundation.net>, " networkedlabour(a)lists.contrast.org" <networkedlabour(a)lists.contrast.org> Begin forwarded message: *From:* Tessa Burrington <t.burrington(a)hotmail.co.uk> *Date:* 2 August 2015 09:48:29 BST *To:* "ukfoodgroup(a)lists.riseup.net" <ukfoodgroup(a)lists.riseup.net>, " foodsov.uk.coordination(a)lists.riseup.net" < foodsov.uk.coordination(a)lists.riseup.net> *Subject:* *[foodsovUK discussion list] Pavlos Georgiadis - Greece* *Reply-To:* Tessa Burrington <t.burrington(a)hotmail.co.uk> I saw this on face book. Can anyone help and support Pavlos and the Greek people? "It is time to work out a ‪#‎PlanC‬ <https://www.facebook.com/hashtag/planc?source=feed_text&story_id=1015290005…> for ‪#‎Greece‬ <https://www.facebook.com/hashtag/greece?source=feed_text&story_id=101529000…>. But this is ‪#‎NotJustAboutGreece‬ <https://www.facebook.com/hashtag/notjustaboutgreece?source=feed_text&story_…>. PM me if you feel you want to be part of this process! ‪#‎Y4FSNCFS‬" <https://www.facebook.com/hashtag/y4fsncfs?source=feed_text&story_id=1015290…> Pavlos Georgiadis https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4HVRPqNwFjs *Published on Jul 31, 2015* Pavlos Georgiadis (33) is an international, interdisciplinary food systems researcher, ethnobotanist and social entrepreneur. In this video, he presents his idea for the creation of an online interactive platform to map the food system of Greece. His idea also involves the creation of an innovation cluster of "Food Hubs" across Greece. These Food Hubs are physical meeting spaces for startups, social enterprises, investors and food communities, with the aim to generate opportunities for youth in the food economy. This idea is #NotJustAboutGreece and can be applied in other countries, with the purpose of achieving a generational renewal in global agriculture, ensure food security, spur youth rural/urban entrepreneurship and steward natural resources. Twitter: @geopavlos LinkedIn: <https://gr.linkedin.com/in/geopavlos> https://gr.linkedin.com/in/geopavlos ? What do the powers that be have planned for Greek Agriculture? ARC2020 http://www.arc2020.eu/2015/06/focus-on-greece-with-pavlos-georgiadis/ June 2015 *Despite the potential of our land, Greece now imports the majority of its food and on average we are the second most obese people in the EU. These abnormalities are largely attributable to the EU’s Common Agriculture Policy, which has supported the growth and development of a very narrow range of large-scale monocultures, almost entirely for export purposes. The failures of the CAP have had a profound effect not only on our food culture and agricultural skills, but also on the landscape of the country. In just three decades, Greece has lost most of its local agricultural varieties and almost all of its dry land, low-input agriculture was pushed out of the market. In Crete, a large number of two-thousand-year-old olive trees were turned into firewood, within a very short period of time.* <https://gr.linkedin.com/in/geopavlos> ========== You received this message because you are subscribed to the UK food sovereignty coordination list, foodsov.uk.coordination(a)lists.riseup.net If you don't want to be on this list, send an email to: foodsov.uk.coordination-unsubscribe(a)lists.riseup.net -- 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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