March 2016 - P2P-Foundation - lists.ourproject.org

Fwd: [NetworkedLabour] Unionizing Uber: New front in battle over wildly successful ride-hailing app
by Michel Bauwens 24 Mar '16

24 Mar '16

---------- Forwarded message ---------- From: Orsan Senalp <orsan1234(a)gmail.com> Date: Thu, Mar 24, 2016 at 9:54 PM Subject: Re: [NetworkedLabour] Unionizing Uber: New front in battle over wildly successful ride-hailing app To: peter waterman <peterwaterman1936(a)gmail.com> Cc: networkedlabour(a)lists.contrast.org Should uber's global driver organize itself globally, locally, virtually, or all of the above? On 24 Mar 2016, at 15:42, peter waterman <peterwaterman1936(a)GMAIL.COM> wrote: ---------- Forwarded message ---------- From: Sid Shniad <shniad(a)gmail.com> Date: Wed, Mar 23, 2016 at 10:30 PM Subject: Unionizing Uber: New front in battle over wildly successful ride-hailing app To: Cc: Labour-l <Labour-l(a)googlegroups.com>, Paul Buhle <Paul_Buhle(a)brown.edu> *http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/uber-unions-washington-state-1.3496655 <http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/uber-unions-washington-state…>CBC Mar 23, 2016 * *Unionizing Uber: New front in battle over wildly successful ride-hailing appSeattle became 1st city in North America to give Uber drivers the right to unionize late last year<image.png>By Chris Brown, Chris Corday* Chris Brown is CBC's National Reporter based in Vancouver. He has a passion for great stories, and continues traveling all over Canada and the world to find and tell them. There's a four-wheeled workers' revolution spinning through the streets of Seattle that could end up rolling over one of the most profitable business models of the so-called "sharing economy." Drivers for the ride-hailing service Uber have been given the right to unionize by Seattle city council, the only jurisdiction in North America to do so. The union drive brings the potential to achieve what regulators in cities around the world, including in Canada, have been mostly ineffective at doing — imposing local rules and labour standards on how Uber relates with its drivers. "We have no say," Seattle Uber driver Don Creery told CBC News on a recent visit to the city. "We can email the company about issues, but they just get ignored. It seems the company has an agenda to push the prices as low as they can." Supporters cheer during a meeting in December 2015 when Seattle's city council voted to approve a measure that would allow ride-hailing drivers for Uber and Lyft to unionize. (Matt Mills McKnight/Reuters) Rates, benefits as contentious issues The rates Uber pays its drivers, as well as other compensation issues, such as tipping, are among the most contentious claims. Uber's rates vary from city to city but in Seattle, Creery says they began at $1.80 US a mile when the ride-hailing service first started up there in 2013. But now Creery says rates are just over a dollar and can drop even lower at a moment's notice when Uber announces special pricing. Uber counters that drivers have the flexibility to drive whenever and wherever they want, but Creery disagrees. "When the rates were higher, that flexibility option was real. When the rates do down, there are certain hours you have to work." Seattle Uber driver Don Creery is on the leadership council of the App-Based Drivers Association, and is an advocate for unionization. (Simon Charland/CBC) City Coun. Mike O'Brien has championed the drivers' cause before Seattle's council and co-wrote the bylaw granting them collective bargaining rights. "What we're trying to do in Seattle with this legislation that lets drivers collectively bargain is say we're going to acknowledge this is a new world," said O'Brien. "We like the creativity and innovation, but we want some innovation for workers." Hugely profitable The obstacles to unionization are significant, but so is the potential to disrupt Uber's wildly successful business model. One recent valuation claimed the company is worth more than $62 billion US. The question of whether Uber drivers are employees or independent contractors is at the heart of the dispute. In both the United States and Canada, federal anti-trust legislation — the cornerstone of modern labour law — prohibits contractors from unionizing so as to avoid practices such as price-fixing and to encourage competition. Seattle Coun. Mike O'Brien spearheaded the bylaw that gives Uber drivers the right to form a union. (Simon Charland/CBC) The U.S. Chamber of Commerce has slapped Seattle with a lawsuit, claiming its local, pro-union bylaw is an overt violation of the federal statute. But O'Brien, the bylaw's author, argues the federal law never anticipated a company like Uber, where workers meet the definition of both contractors and employees. "In some ways, these drivers look like independent contractors. They own their own cars, they set their own hours," says O'Brien. "In other cases they look like workers. They don't set their rates of pay. Uber can decide arbitrarily that you can't work for us. You get 'deactivated' or fired. So it's a hybrid." Questions for Canada Some Canadian jurisdictions, such as British Columbia, recognize a third category of workers called "dependent contractors." An example might include truck loggers, who own their hauling rigs but work primarily for one forestry company and receive set rates. The leadership council of the App-Based Drivers Association meets at the Teamsters Union headquarters in Tukwila, Wash., near Seattle. (Simon Charland/CBC) Tom Knight, a professor with UBC's Sauder School of Business, says whether such employees can unionize is decided on a case-by-case basis by the provincial labour relations board. "I wouldn't hazard a prediction as to what would be found to be the case [with Uber drivers]," Knight said. On a recent trip to Seattle, CBC News hailed several Uber vehicles and found a mix of views among local drivers. "They're trying to control a system that not necessarily needs to be controlled," said driver Larry Green. "When I look at a union, I look at fees. I look at a big fight." Uber's Seattle general manager acknowledged the company has been calling drivers, urging them to say no to the unionization effort. "We believe that flexibility and freedom of flexibility for drivers is paramount," Brooke Steger told CBC News. "All we have here is an ordinance that has some very serious legal questions." Some Uber drivers, like Kameron Trout, say a union could ruin the "be your own boss" idea that attracted them to Uber. (Simon Charland/CBC) Bigger than Uber Until the legal fight is settled in court, some Uber drivers have formed the "App-Based Drivers Association" and are working alongside the Teamsters labour union to raise awareness before a potential vote. Teamsters representative Dawn Gearhart says Uber is worried that the union idea could spread around the world as quickly as the company's app has. "I think it's significant because more and more of the work we do is going to be dispatched through apps. Whether it's for health care, home-cleaning businesses, delivery services," said Gearhart. "That work is going to happen over a smartphone, not on the factory floor. Still you are a worker and you need rights." -- 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/CACKppcxWbnP_48qMCV48eKbBpiOQ8mE… <https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/labour-l/CACKppcxWbnP_48qMCV48eKbBpiOQ8mE…> . For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout. -- Click for recent writings: *https://drive.google.com/file/d/0BwAVbfM6AWJpUmloOEhtUlppSnM/view?usp=sharing <https://drive.google.com/file/d/0BwAVbfM6AWJpUmloOEhtUlppSnM/view?usp=shari…> * _______________________________________________ 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: Farming for a Small Planet: Agroecology Now (GTN Discussion)
by Michel Bauwens 24 Mar '16

24 Mar '16

---------- Forwarded message ---------- From: Great Transition Network <gtnetwork(a)greattransition.org> Date: Thu, Mar 24, 2016 at 11:06 PM Subject: Farming for a Small Planet: Agroecology Now (GTN Discussion) To: michelsub2004(a)gmail.com >From Fred Magdoff <fmagdoff(a)uvm.edu> ------------------------------------------------------- Frances Moore Lappé’s essay captures numerous facets necessary to understand the current state of farming as well as the possibilities for the future. Along the way she dispels many false notions (dare I say myths?) about industrial agriculture and the potential for small farms and presents a compelling case for the importance of agroecological approaches to farming and living. And you can never explain too many times that the persistence of hunger and malnutrition amidst plenty is not an issue of production—there is sufficient food produced to feed everyone in the world—but of disparities of economic and political power. Let me turn to a few of Lappé’s central points, ones that I completely agree with. We know how to produce food in ecologically sound ways and that true empowerment of small farmers in the poor countries of the world, along with ecologically sound growing techniques can have profound beneficial effects. In addition, small farm production using agroecological principles and practices can produce high yields per acre (hectare) and encourage community members to work together. Assistance is needed to make rural areas more attractive with amenities provided for a good life. This will help reduce the mass migration to slums of the South’s cities that have few job opportunities, help the countryside to flourish, and assist in achieving food security for a region, and perhaps, a country. A few bulleted (well, “lettered”) statements will help me to clarify a number of issues: a) I would suggest that the heart of the matter is *not* “an economic model and thought system,” but rather natural outcomes of the way the economic system of capitalism functions. The model and thought system are ways people try to describe this particular economic system, they are derived from living in its midst. b) Concentration of production in agriculture (input industries, processing industries, and in farming itself) or manufacturing is a natural outcome of a competitive system in which production is for the purpose of making profits. Smaller firms and farms are not able to compete with the market power or economies of scale—which include both physical economies of scale along with strictly financial ones—of larger units and go out of business. (In the wealthy countries, some small farms are able to survive by fitting into limited niche markets.) c) Decisions made by capitalist firms—be they in the service sector, manufacturing, or in farming—are made for the purpose of producing profits. Greatest income minus input costs. d) This means that ecological or social effects are at best secondary or tertiary concerns during the decision making process, although in most cases they aren’t considered at all. (Regulations, if they are enforced, may alter this, of course.) e) This is the origin of the social and ecological problems that arise from the way the capitalist economic system works. Economists call them “externalities,” even though they are very much internal to how capitalism operates. They are best viewed as costs that businesses, instead of paying for, force onto people and the environment. Decisions that are completely rational within the logic of capital are at the same time ecologically and/or socially irrational. For example, Carrier recently announced that it is moving manufacturing of furnaces and heating equipment to Mexico, putting some 1,400 employees in Indiana out of work. A Carrier manager explained it clearly: “This is strictly a business decision.” That is precisely the logic of capital. It is the same logic that makes sense of the factory system for raising animals. The whole purpose is to produce animals to marketable weights and have them processed as quickly and cheaply as possible so as to maximize profits. But there is nothing socially or ecologically rational about the inhumane raising of animals with routine use of antibiotics, separating the animals from the fields that produce their feed (necessitating large amounts of fertilizer application on the cropland while piles of manure accumulate on the factory animal farms), the poor treatment of farm labor and workers in the processing plants, etc. f) There are many examples of successful agroecological projects, and Lappé cites one in Ethiopia. But Ethiopia is also one of the prime targets for the 21st century land grabs which are displacing the inhabitants and providing few (if any) jobs. A successful agroecology project shows what is possible, but the existence of the self-interest of powerful economic and political forces indicate the enormity of what must be dealt with in order to create a better life for all inhabitants. This brings me to the last paragraph of the essay. To me the issue is to change the economic-political-social system to one that depends upon (modified, by deletion, from Lappé): “Democratic governance—accountable to citizens, not to private wealth—makes possible the necessary public debate and rule-making… within democratic values and sound science.” But the only way truly democratic governance and ecologically rational decision making about what goods to produce and how to produce them can meaningfully occur is outside the logic of capital and the “logic” of the market. Markets might serve a minor purpose in a post-capitalist society, but only if there is true equity and social justice. However, extreme care is needed because as market mechanisms “naturally” function, they reproduce power (wealth) relations. They cannot do otherwise as long as significant differences in “private wealth” exist. I would suggest that that food, clean water, sanitation, health care, education, and other basic human needs should *not* be commodities—produced in order to sell in the marketplace with the objective of making profits. Rather, such goods should be produced for the purpose of people using them. While distribution might entail the use of markets (though other mechanisms are possible), these goods should be considered to be among those that are the right of every human being. For this to happen, we need a profoundly democratic and equitable economic-political-social system that, by the very way it functions, supplies the basic needs of everyone using approaches and techniques that ensure the world ecosystem in which we are embedded—with all its complexities, essential cycles, and biological interrelationships—remains healthy over the long term. Fred Magdoff ************************************************** February 29, 2016 >From Paul Raskin <praskin(a)tellus.org> ________________________________________ GTN Colleagues: The MARCH DISCUSSION will focus on a key dimension of transition: the future of agriculture. I am pleased to kick it off by sharing with you Frances Moore Lappé’s GTI essay, “Farming for a Small Planet: Agroecology Now.” Please access it at www.greattransition.org/publication/farming-for-a-small-planet. Frankie’s best-selling “Diet for a Small Planet,” first published in 1971, mapped the way to better eating; her new essay points to a better way of farming. The essay sharply critiques the system design and dire consequences of industrial agriculture, and finds hope in the alternative agroecological model now gaining traction. This debate about farming systems defines a critical field of struggle for the larger Great Transition movement. The essay touches on many key questions: Is the industrial model doomed? Can ecological farming meet the nutrition needs of a large and growing world population? What’s the scope for change within the reigning political economy? What are the implications for development in poor countries? Let’s extend our winning streak of rich, animated discussions! If you work in this neck of the woods, please draw from your experience to comment on the essay and the issues it raises. The rest of us will have questions to ask and connections to make. Remember, both expansive and brief comments are appreciated. Comments are welcome through MARCH 31. Frankie’s essay and selected comments will be published in April, along with an interview with Wes Jackson and a review by Randy Hayes, both long-time leaders of the effort to forge a society in harmony with the land. Looking forward, Paul Raskin GTI Director GTI’S PUBLICATION CYCLE: ODD-NUMBERED months are for discussions of new essays or viewpoints for GTN eyes only. EVEN-NUMBERED months are for publication and distribution of the piece. You will receive discussion comments by email. You can also access them on-line at www.greattransition.org/forum/gti-forum, where you will find, as well, an archive of previous discussions. ------------------------------------------------------- Hit reply to post a message Or see thread and reply online at http://www.greattransition.org/forum/gti-discussions/173-farming-for-a-smal… 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: Documentary Program
by Kevin Carson 21 Mar '16

21 Mar '16

---------- Forwarded message ---------- From: Suzy McClintock <suzy.mcclintock(a)barcroftproductions.com> Date: Mon, Mar 21, 2016 at 7:51 AM Subject: Documentary Program To: kevin(a)kevinacarson.org Dear Kevin, I hope that you don’t mind my contacting you out of the blue. I am working on a new documentary series for a major US broadcaster that takes an in-depth look at non-mainstream beliefs and lifestyles and the people who live them. I would like to feature some people/families or groups with anarchist beliefs as part of the series. At this stage I’m just contacting people to get an idea who might be interested/open to the idea of participating. If this isn’t something that appeals then perhaps you might be able to put me in touch with others who you think would be interested? I look forward to hearing from you. Warmest regards, Suzy Suzy Mcclintock Assistant Producer - Development Barcroft Productions E: suzy.mcclintock(a)barcroftproducions.com T: 0207 033 1030 M: 0773 904 9765 -- Kevin Carson Senior Fellow, Karl Hess Scholar in Social Theory Center for a Stateless Society http://c4ss.org "You have no authority that we are bound to respect" -- John Perry Barlow "We are legion. We never forgive. We never forget. Expect us" -- Anonymous Homebrew Industrial Revolution: A Low-Overhead Manifesto http://homebrewindustrialrevolution.wordpress.com Desktop Regulatory State http://desktopregulatorystate.wordpress.com

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Fwd: <nettime> notes from the DIEM25 launch
by Dante-Gabryell Monson 20 Mar '16

20 Mar '16

---------- Forwarded message ---------- From: Geert Lovink <geert(a)desk.nl> Date: Sun, Mar 20, 2016 at 11:22 AM Subject: Re: <nettime> notes from the DIEM25 launch To: a moderated mailing list for net criticism <nettime-l(a)mail.kein.org> Dear nettimers, perhaps it is good to give an update where DIEM25 stands at the moment. I can by no means claim that I have an overview. There is a core group around Yanis Varoufakis and they have been busy with setting up a website including a separate forum for discussions: http://www.diem25.org/forum/ The next milestone is the DIEM25 event in Rome on March 23, 2016: https://democracyineurope.eu/ There is also an event in Amsterdam called the G-10 of the Economy: http://www.g10vandeeconomie.nl/programEN.php Here are more articles and news snippets: http://diem25.org/news/. Best, Geert -- This is the update from March 17 by Yanis Varoufakis: Hello everyone. I feel a certain trepidation posting my first comment on our brand new Forum. So, let me go straight into the one aspect of DiEM25 that has been at the top of everyone's mind: How to kick start our Transparency in Europe Now! campaign in a manner that is not only effective 'externally' (i.e. making the Rome event a success, helping attract numerous signatories to our petition etc.) but also in a manner reflecting our capacity to bring transparency to DiEM25's internal operations. I have followed with interest some criticisms waged at the way members have been observing "things happening in DiEM25 out of nowhere" (the very announcement of the Rome event, the choice of stuff that appears on the site etc.) and without feeling they have a say in any of this. Undoubtedly, this smacks of hypocrisy for any movement that places transparency at the top of its list of priorities. But, let me assure everyone, that this is also the view of those of us who have been working behind the scenes. Every initiative needs initiators - even initiatives that seek to embrace a flat management, spontaneous order, horizontal organisation way of doing 'stuff'. We were hoping to be able to move quickly from the initiation phase (during which a number of us would get DiEM25 together) to the open source phase (where the rest of you would take over and run with it). Unfortunately, our digital platform proved unequal to the task immediately after Berlin. So, we spent a great deal longer than we wanted at the initiation phase. We are now close to the moment of the Great Transition (to the open source phase). To the moment when DiEM25 will be able to practise that which it preaches regarding transparency. But before we get there, perhaps it is pertinent to ask everyone: HOW DO YOU SUGGEST WE GO TO THE OPEN SOURCE PHASE? WHAT WOULD THIS PHASE BE LIKE IN TERMS OF ORGANISING DIEM25 PER LANGUAGE, PER EUROPEAN COUNTRY, AND EUROPE-WISE? Let's talk about this, shall we? Yanis Varoufakis # distributed via <nettime>: no commercial use without permission # <nettime> is a moderated mailing list for net criticism, # collaborative text filtering and cultural politics of the nets # more info: http://mx.kein.org/mailman/listinfo/nettime-l # archive: http://www.nettime.org contact: nettime(a)kein.org # @nettime_bot tweets mail w/ sender unless #ANON is in Subject:

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Fwd: Farming for a Small Planet: Agroecology Now (GTN Discussion)
by Michel Bauwens 20 Mar '16

20 Mar '16

---------- Forwarded message ---------- From: Great Transition Network <gtnetwork(a)greattransition.org> Date: Sat, Mar 19, 2016 at 1:47 AM Subject: Farming for a Small Planet: Agroecology Now (GTN Discussion) To: michelsub2004(a)gmail.com >From Emily Helminen <emhelmi(a)gmail.com> ------------------------------------------------------- The Yardfarmer Response to Farming for a Small Planet The world as a whole absolutely needs to make the shift to an organic, agroecological way of farming, and this transition will indeed address the issues presented in Farming for a Small Planet, including: inadequate nutrition, climate change impacts, concentration of social power, profit driven production, and the lack of a sustainable, closed loop system in our current mode of industrial agriculture. An important area of the paper that could potentially be expanded upon is the method by which to implement the switch to widespread organic agriculture. Industrial agriculture concentrates social power and exacerbates problems of food insecurity and poverty, whereas small-scale organic farming on an individual or community level can significantly distribute social power across communities all over the world. An approach like this is one we like to call “yardfarming” (a concept we’ve spent the last year advocating for through www.Yardfarmers.us) Yardfarming is the process of turning unsustainable, resource-intensive lawns and otherwise underutilized green spaces into small food production sites, or yardfarms. In this regard, individuals would be contributing to their own sustenance with healthy, organic produce. When people grow their own food, they know exactly what does and does not go into the process. If they are educated in organic farming techniques, they will replace a portion of their diet with home-grown, sustainable, and healthy food. Yardfarming effectively changes the profit-driven motivation behind farming to an individual and community level motivation focused on gaining access to nutritious food. This is especially important in areas where access to fresh produce is difficult to come by. This approach to agriculture could combat the existence of food deserts across the world. A yardfarming revolution (yardfarmers.us/why-yardfarm/our-vision/) could drastically mitigate the effects of climate change. In America alone, there are 40 million acres of turf grass (yardfarmers.us/why-yardfarm/) that could be converted into smallholder farms. The process of growing food right in one’s backyard removes many of the environmentally deleterious processes associated with our current industrial form of agriculture. Food would no longer have to be shipped thousands of miles but merely dozens of feet. The vast amounts of fossil fuel-intensive fertilizers that large monocropped farms need to function would be reduced when the demand for these crops declined as more families grew a portion of their own produce. The most environmentally degrading aspect of the current system, animal agriculture, could be reduced due to increased consumption of plant foods. With fresh fruits and vegetables readily accessible on a yardfarm, per capita meat consumption could potentially be decreased. Yardfarmers could also grow some of their own meat as part of their sustainable farms, thus reducing demand further. In addition to removing harmful effects and processes associated with industrial agriculture, yardfarming would also start to slowly rebuild soils across the world. Healthy soils have huge potential for carbon sequestration. With small-scale (but widespread) yardfarms practicing organic farming concepts, soils would get healthier and be able to sequester more carbon with each passing growing season. Compost is an essential component of building healthier soils. When people have their own yardfarms to tend to, there is greater incentive to start a compost bin or even a composting initiative in their community. The excessive amount of organic material that ends up in landfills, especially in industrial countries, would instead be put back into the earth. This effectively closes the current linear “farm to table to trash to landfill” path, and instead puts food waste back into the soil to create a healthier yardfarm for the next season. Yardfarming spreads social power and gets individuals involved and invested in their own health and food production. It decreases and in some cases can reverse environmental degradation (for example not only by displacing industrially-produced foods but by redirecting some labor from the consumer economy (offering livelihoods in backyards rather than in cubicles). Yardfarming creates a healing, closed-loop system between us and the planet. It removes the motivation for profit and replaces it with a motivation for health and nutrition. Yardfarming addresses all of the problems created with an industrial agriculture system and provides an effective approach to organic agriculture, especially in overdeveloped countries like the United States. Our unsustainable, suburban sprawling, environmentally degrading ways could instead be a nourishing landscape of small-scale, organic yardfarms—which in turn can offer local food security and resilience that we’ll certainly need in the warming century ahead. Emily Helminen and Erik Assadourian (Advocates of yardfarming, particularly through the mobilization of America’s underemployed Millennials to move back into their parents’ underutilized suburban homes and convert their parents’ and nearby lawns into yardfarms.) ************************************************** February 29, 2016 >From Paul Raskin <praskin(a)tellus.org> ----- GTN Colleagues: The MARCH DISCUSSION will focus on a key dimension of transition: the future of agriculture. I am pleased to kick it off by sharing with you Frances Moore Lappé’s GTI essay, “Farming for a Small Planet: Agroecology Now.” Please access it at www.greattransition.org/publication/farming-for-a-small-planet. Frankie’s best-selling “Diet for a Small Planet,” first published in 1971, mapped the way to better eating; her new essay points to a better way of farming. The essay sharply critiques the system design and dire consequences of industrial agriculture, and finds hope in the alternative agroecological model now gaining traction. This debate about farming systems defines a critical field of struggle for the larger Great Transition movement. The essay touches on many key questions: Is the industrial model doomed? Can ecological farming meet the nutrition needs of a large and growing world population? What’s the scope for change within the reigning political economy? What are the implications for development in poor countries? Let’s extend our winning streak of rich, animated discussions! If you work in this neck of the woods, please draw from your experience to comment on the essay and the issues it raises. The rest of us will have questions to ask and connections to make. Remember, both expansive and brief comments are appreciated. Comments are welcome through MARCH 31. Frankie’s essay and selected comments will be published in April, along with an interview with Wes Jackson and a review by Randy Hayes, both long-time leaders of the effort to forge a society in harmony with the land. Looking forward, Paul Raskin GTI Director GTI’S PUBLICATION CYCLE: ODD-NUMBERED months are for discussions of new essays or viewpoints for GTN eyes only. EVEN-NUMBERED months are for publication and distribution of the piece. You will receive discussion comments by email. You can also access them on-line at www.greattransition.org/forum/gti-forum, where you will find, as well, an archive of previous discussions. ------------------------------------------------------- Hit reply to post a message Or see thread and reply online at http://www.greattransition.org/forum/gti-discussions/173-farming-for-a-smal… 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: BookTV tonight and more
by Michel Bauwens 20 Mar '16

20 Mar '16

---------- Forwarded message ---------- From: <douglas(a)rushkoff.com> Date: Sun, Mar 20, 2016 at 6:46 AM Subject: BookTV tonight and more To: rushkoff(a)simplelists.com I've been traveling and promoting the cause of "digital distributism" along with my book. It's been great but exhausting. I did this talk <http://link.brightcove.com/services/player/bcpid4737475051001?bckey=AQ~~,AA…> at the SouthBySouthWest festival, and the followed up with 15 interviews over the next 10 hours. There have been a whole lot of great interviews and articles on the book and its issues. And I've been making an impassioned plea for people not to rely on a single interview or tweet as a substitute for getting a full 'education' on how digital economics works and how to optimized it for distributed prosperity instead of winner-takes-all extremes. It took us over 500 years to get into this predicament, and it really does take a few hours to absorb what happened, why it happened, and how we can make it better. Anyway, I'm posting the best of what's happening on my blog, and sharing as much as I can here. I will be on BookTV tonight (Friday) at 8:15p. That's a show on CSPAN-2, for which they shot the discussion about the book I had with New America Foundation at Civic Hall in NYC. I've got some great big events upcoming. San Francisco! - City Lights <http://www.citylights.com/info/?fa=event&event_id=2558>, Wednesday, March 23, 7p - SF Commonwealth Club <http://www.commonwealthclub.org/events/2016-03-24/douglas-rushkoff-throwing…>, Thursday March 24, 6:30p NYC! - 92nd St Y <http://www.92y.org/Event/Throwing-Rocks-at-the-Google-Bus>, March 30, 7pm (get student-rate tickets) - Webvisions <http://www.webvisionsevent.com/new-york/>, April 7 (it's a whole conference, though - no a la carte) More soon. For now, here's a piece and super-short video you might have missed, from TechTimes: DOUGLAS RUSHKOFF ON ‘THROWING ROCKS AT THE GOOGLE BUS: HOW GROWTH BECAME THE ENEMY OF PROSPERITY’ by Stacey Szewczyk In late 2013, activists in San Francisco and nearby Oakland responded to an influx of affluent tech workers to the Bay Area, and the attendant skyrocketing rents, by throwing rocks at the buses Google provided to shuttle itsemployees to and from Silicon Valley. The event forms the backdrop for Douglas Rushkoff‘s latest book, *Throwing Rocks at the Google Bus: How Growth Became The Enemy of Prosperity* (Portfolio/Penguin, 2016), a historically-minded look at the effects digital technology has had on local economies, big business and the life expectancy of the corporation as we know it. As a bestselling author of books about the interface between digital technology and culture, ranging from *Cyberia, Life in the Trenches of Hyperspace*(HarperOne, 1994), a survey of the subcultures evolving around the then-burgeoning World Wide Web, to *Present Shock: When Everything Happens Now* (Current, 2013), a critique of our digitally enhanced present, Dougles Rushkoff is a top future tech speaker and sought-afterconsultant among CEOsunder pressure to sharpen their digital edge. In his view, the problem with Google and other high-tech corporations is that they are configured to extract value from people and communities to fulfill shareholder expectations of constant growth, and that’s inappropriate in a digitally charged world. Long-term survival in a digital landscape requires corporations to “re-code” for greater value creation, scalability and sustainablility. “They’re still operating as if they were twentieth-century industrial corporations – only the original corporate code is now being executed by entirely more powerful and rapidly acting business plans,” he writes in a keyed-up technospeak that enlivens erudite historical passages, and *Economics for Dummies*-styleexplainers, in an engaging discourse on the parameters of a digital economy. “What algorithms do to the trading floor, digital business does to the economy. In the purely rational light of the computer program, a digital corporation is optimized to convert cash into share price – money and value into pure capital.” The bigger the corporation, the less efficient it becomes at putting its cash to work. “You have giant companies sitting on tons and tons of cash but they don’tknow how to deploy it,” he says. “They don’t have research and development. They don’t even do their own work. They’ve outsourced their competencies.” Among other things, Rushkoff‘s book is a call for tech companies to recalibrate their growth targets, re-educate their shareholders and redirect profits back to the communities that comprise their markets. “Big companies need to begin thinking of their employees and the towns in which they operate as economies they need to develop,” says Rushkoff. “You can make platforms that are optimized toward helping people create and transact value. If your users get rich, that’s not a bad thing. That’s not money you’ve lost.It’s money that comes into the ecosystem of your business.” He’s speaking to Walmart, Uber and every mobile app developer with aspirations of making his or her first billion by 30. He’s speaking from Codecademy, in NewYork’sFlatIron District, a free, online coding school where he serves on the advisory board. “Their business model is based on helping people create value and transact between each other,” says Rushkoff, holding forth from a co-working space armchair like a bantam edition of an Oxford World Classic – his manner is a Marshall McLuhan-Woody Allen mash-up.” After you’ve learned a little bit of code you get up to a level where other students can pay you to tutor them in their lessons. There’s all these different ways that the platform lets people create value. And that’s really the trick in the modern Internet.” A longtime observer of the digital landscape, he sees a world where the Internet can no longer make money purely by extracting value. “Look at what’s happening to Uber and its drivers,” he says. “People can’t be squeezed anymore.” Rushkoff calls for harnessing the hyper-local, hands-on applications digital tools offer to introduce value-building to businessess that currently focus on value extraction. His book advocates for replacing corporate growth imperatives withlong-term sustainability. “All you have to do is think of your business, the way you start it, the way you run it and even the way you sell it – think of it less as something to grow and flip and rather as something that has a sustainable business model,” he suggests. “Think about your company like a family business where, instead of trying to earn enough money so that you could pay for your child’s future, [you] think about creating a business where your kid would want to work.” Throwing rocks at Google shuttle buses is, in Rushkoff‘s view, a wrongheaded response to a system that is working as it was programmed to work. Reprogramming the system is the way to effect change. “People don’t realize how much power they have,” says Rushkoff. “And that’s partly because the real world has been dwarfed by this digital simulacra which seems much more important than our reality, but its not – it needs to be in service of our reality.” ---- This is RushkoffList, a monthlyish update and advance look at work in progress. Feel free to forward to your friends as long as you include this footer. To subscribe, use this link: http://www.simplelists.com/subscribe/rushkoff To unsubscribe: http://www.simplelists.com/confirm.php?u=grdK4Lvi7veNxafT2DxZrw1oAyoTFsEc -- 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: Modern Feudalism
by Michel Bauwens 18 Mar '16

18 Mar '16

---------- Forwarded message ---------- From: Michel Bauwens <michel(a)p2pfoundation.net> Date: Fri, Mar 18, 2016 at 8:35 PM Subject: Re: Modern Feudalism To: Chris Quigley <cmqesquire(a)gmail.com> thanks! 2016-03-18 17:57 GMT+07:00 Chris Quigley <cmqesquire(a)gmail.com>: > > > > > [image: Inline image 1] > > > > > > > > -- 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/ -- 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] Special Issue Articles: Student Movements and Political Change in Contemporary Latin America
by Michel Bauwens 18 Mar '16

18 Mar '16

---------- Forwarded message ---------- From: Pat Cuninghame <pgcuninghame(a)yahoo.co.uk> Date: Thu, Mar 17, 2016 at 10:53 PM Subject: [NetworkedLabour] Special Issue Articles: Student Movements and Political Change in Contemporary Latin America To: Movimientos Sociales <observatoriomovimientos(a)gmail.com>, Social Movements List <social-movements(a)listserv.heanet.ie>, Conflicts and Transformations of the University <edufactory(a)listcultures.org>, Steve Wright <steve.wright58(a)optusnet.com.au>, Youngsu Won <labour97(a)gmail.com>, Gigi Roggero <conricerca(a)hotmail.com>, Guiomar Rovira < ondina_peraire(a)yahoo.com>, David Oscar Villarruelv < dovillarruelv(a)hotmail.com>, Willivalddo Delgadillo <willivaldo2000(a)yahoo.com>, Myk Zeitlin <mykzeitlin(a)googlemail.com>, Red Autónoma Estudiantil Rae < redautonoma.estudiantil(a)gmail.com>, Aut-op-sy <aut-op-sy(a)lists.resist.ca>, WSF <worldsocialforum-discuss-request(a)openspaceforum.net>, Devi Sacchetto < devi.sacchetto(a)unipd.it>, Alioscia Officine Zero Roma < alioscia.pirata(a)gmail.com>, Networkedlabourlist < networkedlabour(a)lists.contrast.org>, Hector Pedraza-Reyes < hpedrazar(a)hotmail.com>, Immanuel Ness <manny.ness(a)gmail.com>, Angel Escamilla <joanesro1987(a)hotmail.com>, Claudio Albertani < claudio.albertani(a)gmail.com>, Cesar Altamira <caltamira(a)arnet.com.ar>, Dario Azzellini <dario(a)azzellini.net>, Alessia Di Eugenio < alessia.dieugenio(a)hotmail.it>, Massimo De Angelis <m.deangelis(a)ntlworld.com>, Alejandro Goronlex CEM UAMX <goronlex(a)hotmail.com>, Andrés Ruggeri < andres.ruggeri(a)gmail.com>, Alex Kakafikas <ak_g4(a)yahoo.com>, Yvone Garcia < albazul1968(a)gmail.com>, Adriana Gomez <luna-azulvioleta(a)hotmail.com>, Andreas Bieler <andreas.bieler(a)nottingham.ac.uk>, Emi Armano < emi_armano(a)yahoo.it>, John Ackerman <johnackblog(a)gmail.com>, Alexei Penzin < penzhouse(a)mail.ru>, Andrej Grubacic <balkanozapatista(a)gmail.com>, Arlette Gautier <arlette.gautier(a)univ-brest.fr>, Tariqul Alam Khan <tariq61(a)msn.com>, August Spies <classwaru(a)gmail.com>, Annalisa Murgia < annalisa.murgia(a)unitn.it>, Compa As Guero <asguero(a)gmail.com>, Alessandro Scalondro <z3ro.alfa(a)gmail.com>, Arianna Bove <ariannabove(a)gmail.com>, Augusto Illuminati <augustoilluminati(a)virgilio.it>, Araceli Mondragón González <araceli_mondragon(a)hotmail.com>, Academicos Yo Soy132 < congresoacademicos132(a)gmail.com>, Joe Berry <joeberry(a)igc.org>, Moulier Boutang Yann <yann.m.boutang(a)gmail.com>, Eduardo Barrera Herrera < eduamerica2000(a)yahoo.com>, Franco Barchiesi <f_barchiesi(a)yahoo.com>, Irma Eréndira Sandoval Ballesteros <irmaerendira(a)hotmail.com>, "C. Barker" < c.barker(a)mmu.ac.uk>, David Barkin <dbarkin(a)correo.xoc.uam.mx>, Ben Trott < b.j.trott(a)gmail.com>, "David L. Brunsma" <brunsmad(a)vt.edu>, Elizabeth Bowman <bowmanbetsy(a)gmail.com>, Enda Brophy <enda.brophy(a)gmail.com>, Sergio Tischler Bajo El Vulcan <sergiovisq(a)yahoo.com.mx>, Vincenzo Ruggiero < v.ruggiero(a)mdx.ac.uk>, Clara Ferri <claferant(a)gmail.com>, John Holloway < johnholloway(a)prodigy.net.mx>, Jeff Juris <jeffjuris(a)yahoo.com>, Neil Harvey <nharvey(a)nmsu.edu>, Katia Valenzuela Fuentes <ldxkcv(a)nottingham.ac.uk> http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/journal/10.1111/(ISSN)1470-9856/earlyview 1. 2. Special Issue Articles: Student Movements and Political Change in Contemporary Latin America 1. Introduction: Student Movements and Political Change in Contemporary Latin America <http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/blar.12469/abstract> CESAR GUZMAN-CONCHA Article first published online: 16 MAR 2016 | DOI: 10.1111/blar.12469 - Abstract <http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/blar.12469/abstract> - Full Article (HTML) <http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/blar.12469/full> - Enhanced Article (HTML) <http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/enhanced/doi/10.1111/blar.12469> - PDF(74K) <http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/blar.12469/epdf> - - References <http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/blar.12469/references> - Request Permissions <https://s100.copyright.com/AppDispatchServlet?publisherName=Wiley&publicati…> 2. Changing Repertoires and Partisan Ambivalence in the New Brazilian Protests <http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/blar.12470/abstract> ANGELA ALONSO and ANN MISCHE Article first published online: 16 MAR 2016 | DOI: 10.1111/blar.12470 - Abstract <http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/blar.12470/abstract> - Full Article (HTML) <http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/blar.12470/full> - Enhanced Article (HTML) <http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/enhanced/doi/10.1111/blar.12470> - PDF(193K) <http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/blar.12470/epdf> - - References <http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/blar.12470/references> - Request Permissions <https://s100.copyright.com/AppDispatchServlet?publisherName=Wiley&publicati…> 3. Mass Higher Education and the 2011 Student Movement in Chile: Material and Ideological Implications <http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/blar.12471/abstract> NICOLAS FLEET and CÉSAR GUZMÁN-CONCHA Article first published online: 16 MAR 2016 | DOI: 10.1111/blar.12471 - Abstract <http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/blar.12471/abstract> - Full Article (HTML) <http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/blar.12471/full> - Enhanced Article (HTML) <http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/enhanced/doi/10.1111/blar.12471> - PDF(139K) <http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/blar.12471/epdf> - - References <http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/blar.12471/references> - Request Permissions <https://s100.copyright.com/AppDispatchServlet?publisherName=Wiley&publicati…> 4. The Discreet Charm of University Autonomy: Conflicting Legacies in the Venezuelan Student Movements <http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/blar.12472/abstract> MARIYA P. IVANCHEVA Article first published online: 15 MAR 2016 | DOI: 10.1111/blar.12472 - Abstract <http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/blar.12472/abstract> - Full Article (HTML) <http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/blar.12472/full> - Enhanced Article (HTML) <http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/enhanced/doi/10.1111/blar.12472> - PDF(142K) <http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/blar.12472/epdf> - - References <http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/blar.12472/references> - Request Permissions <https://s100.copyright.com/AppDispatchServlet?publisherName=Wiley&publicati…> 5. #YoSoy132 and the ‘Mexican Spring’ of 2012: Between Electoral Engagement and Democratisation <http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/blar.12473/abstract> PATRICK GUN CUNINGHAME Article first published online: 15 MAR 2016 | DOI: 10.1111/blar.12473 - Abstract <http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/blar.12473/abstract> - Full Article (HTML) <http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/blar.12473/full> - Enhanced Article (HTML) <http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/enhanced/doi/10.1111/blar.12473> - PDF(136K) <http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/blar.12473/epdf> - - References <http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/blar.12473/references> - Request Permissions <https://s100.copyright.com/AppDispatchServlet?publisherName=Wiley&publicati…> 3. Articles 1. The great and only error lies in thinking that a line of flight consists in fleeing from life; the flight into the imaginary, or into art. On the contrary, to flee is to produce the real, to create life, to find a weapon. (Gilles Deleuze) _______________________________________________ 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: [tapas] Let's increase the readership of the P2P Foundation blog!
by Michel Bauwens 18 Mar '16

18 Mar '16

---------- Forwarded message ---------- From: Stacco Troncoso <staccotroncoso(a)p2pfoundation.net> Date: Fri, Mar 18, 2016 at 7:02 PM Subject: [tapas] Let's increase the readership of the P2P Foundation blog! To: tapas(a)lists.p2pfoundation.net Dear Tapas friends. As you know we've been working really hard on renewing the P2PF blog so it can really become *the* daily "nespaper" of the P2P/Commons movement. The Post Growth Alliance, a content sharing coalition for affinity-based collectives has recently prepared the Social Media materials shown below. If you'd like to share what we're doing with your peers and contacts, please follow the guidelines below to share on Facebook, Twitter (or Diaspora, Minds and Social GNU :) ). We're also looking for more original contributions and reporting on P2P and the Commons. If you're interested in contributing, please contact me and/or Michel and we'll set you up with a user and the posting guidelines. Thanks and keep commoning! Dear Stacco, Here is the latest content from the Post Growth Alliance that we'd love you to help distribute! Please share our latest post on Twitter and Facebook by clicking on the buttons below. Share Twitter Post <http://postgrowth.us2.list-manage.com/track/click?u=dcc08996cc57fb1c3f5af62…> Share Facebook Post <http://postgrowth.us2.list-manage2.com/track/click?u=dcc08996cc57fb1c3f5af6…> Alternatively, you're welcome to use any or all of the copy at the end of this email and the image above to craft your own post. Feel free to customize the messages to suit your audiences, and remember to retype in the names of groups that have been highlighted using the '@' symbol. The image at the top of this message has been custom designed to be uploaded as a nice big link image <http://postgrowth.us2.list-manage2.com/track/click?u=dcc08996cc57fb1c3f5af6…> on Facebook. This content is based on a submission from P2P Foundation <http://postgrowth.us2.list-manage.com/track/click?u=dcc08996cc57fb1c3f5af62…> . *Twitter Copy:* The best solutions to a problem come from those who face it: http://bit.ly/1WulosU <http://postgrowth.us2.list-manage.com/track/click?u=dcc08996cc57fb1c3f5af62…> #p2p #commons @P2P_Foundation *Facebook Copy:* The best solutions to a problem come from those who face it. And the best solutions can be best scaled when people freely share their knowledge and capabilities with their peers – customizing and improving as they go. This is what happens with open-source software development, and advocates think the principle can revolutionise society. Or perhaps more accurately, enable an evolution of society. The so-called ‘‪#peer‬-to-peer’ movement is closely entwined with the concept of the ‪#commons‬ (two sides of the same coin, even), with enabling digital tech, and a collaborative ethic that moves away from top-down hierarchies. Our friends at the P2P Foundation, which supports and promotes peer-to-peer and commons-based solutions, have just launched a revamped version of their ‪#blog‬. It’s fresh off the press, as of this week. Their aim with the blog is to bring a more hopeful future into focus by highlighting real peer-to-peer solutions, as well as critical analysis of the challenges. In this way, they hope to “endow the P2P/Commons movement with a sense of mutual recognition and emergent identity”. Visit the blog: https://blog.p2pfoundation.net/ <http://postgrowth.us2.list-manage1.com/track/click?u=dcc08996cc57fb1c3f5af6…> (There are also opportunities for interested writers to contribute!). ‪#PostGrowthAlliance‬ submission from P2P Foundation CC: Charles Eisenstein Shareable Sustainable Human Economics of Happiness To submit content to this service, please use the PGA Content S <http://postgrowth.us2.list-manage1.com/track/click?u=dcc08996cc57fb1c3f5af6…>ubmissions Form <http://postgrowth.us2.list-manage.com/track/click?u=dcc08996cc57fb1c3f5af62…>. unsubscribe from this list <http://postgrowth.us2.list-manage.com/unsubscribe?u=dcc08996cc57fb1c3f5af62…> update subscription preferences <http://postgrowth.us2.list-manage.com/profile?u=dcc08996cc57fb1c3f5af62ec&i…> This email was sent to staccotroncoso(a)guerrillatranslation.com *why did I get this?* <http://postgrowth.us2.list-manage.com/about?u=dcc08996cc57fb1c3f5af62ec&id=…> unsubscribe from this list <http://postgrowth.us2.list-manage.com/unsubscribe?u=dcc08996cc57fb1c3f5af62…> update subscription preferences <http://postgrowth.us2.list-manage.com/profile?u=dcc08996cc57fb1c3f5af62ec&i…> Post Growth Institute · 1250 Siskiyou Boulevard · Ashland, OR 97520 · USA [image: Email Marketing Powered by MailChimp] <http://www.mailchimp.com/monkey-rewards/?utm_source=freemium_newsletter&utm…> -- - Strategic direction steward P2P Foundation <https://blog.p2pfoundation.net/about-2>. Director of content commonstransition.org - Co-founder guerrillatranslation.org -- - Strategic direction steward P2P Foundation <https://blog.p2pfoundation.net/about-2>. Director of content commonstransition.org - Co-founder guerrillatranslation.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: [CommonGood] Report on rome 11-12-3-16 by Birgit Daiber
by Michel Bauwens 18 Mar '16

18 Mar '16

---------- Forwarded message ---------- From: Schepers, Norbert <schepers(a)rosalux.de> Date: Fri, Mar 18, 2016 at 6:54 AM Subject: [CommonGood] Report on rome 11-12-3-16 by Birgit Daiber To: Common Good Newsgroup <commongood(a)listi.jpberlin.de> Dear friends and colleagues, the Transform! European Left Foundation organised on March 11 and 12 a debate on “production and commons” in Rome. In his introduction to the workshop *Roberto* *Morea* said Commons could become a method/to create an alternative model to confront capitalism. *Dario Azzellini *presented a new view on self-managed and companies recuperated by workers(WRCs): They break with the individualisation and commodification of labour power by the capitalist mode of production. Dario says “To manage labour as a commons entails a shift away from the perception of labour as an individual commodity, towards a new notion of labour as a collectively and sustainably managed resource, as the human capacity to create, which is put to use for the benefit of society as a whole.” (see the attached short conclusion by D.A.) In my reception this is an essential step forward including WRCs in the diversity of commons initiatives. Furthermore it could become the starting point of a closer connection between classical workers movements and the commons movement. Underlining this *Yannis Barkas* and his friends from the Viome WRC and *Ilektra* * Bethmouli* from the autonomous clinic, both in Thessaloniki reported on the development of WRCs and social projects in Greece, where self-organisation is a simple necessity under the threat of the EU/IMF-Regime. *Andres Ruggeri *from the “Programa de Extensiòn Faculta Abierta” at the University of Buenos Aires presented the developing sector of WRCs in Argentina, which started during the crisis in Argentina in 2001 and are practised actually of about 16 000 people. In these presentations the specific contribution of WRCs to the diversity of Commons get visible: first of all they respond to the existential needs of workers not to loose their jobs and to organise work but they engage in related fields as well b.e.. in education and they create projects especially in cultural fields. *Gianni Rinaldini *from the Italian metal-workers-trade-union FIOM was talking about the history of the cooperative movement in Italy and it’s enormous relevance for the left affine socio-cultural environment in Italy – but today finds itself in a defensive position – even in some cases under accusation of corruption. Gianni wants to promote the idea of a radical cooperative movement – but first of all he said there is a lesson to learn from the traps the old cooperative movements fell in. In the actual situation of pushing down traditional public services governments following neo-liberal strategies could use cooperative movements and commons making the loss of public services passable to the people – this, he said, is a threat to be opposed. *Marina Sirin *referred to the development of commons in North America and the aspects of “affective politics” in commons movements, especially the experience how strong we relate in others and the appearance of care, trust and love. *Elisabetta Cangelosi *explained her approach to the definition of commons and *Francine Mestrum *widened the view on production with regard to social reproduction. Social commons as democratic, participative and rights-based version of social protection are to be included into the diversity of commons perspectives she pointed out. *Massimo de Angelis *referred to the difference between social revolution and political revolution Marx made in “Das Kapital” and defined commons as solidarity work within a process of social revolution – not yet (but perhaps in future) becoming part of a political revolution. *Roberto Musacchio *gave a short report on Scuola Altramente in Rome, where they organise voluntary work in schools with children and families often of migrant backgrounds to help them to integrate as an example for the cooperation between a commons oriented project and public schools. The two days of discussion took place in “Officine Zero – Roma non si vende”, an occupied former railway control centre, were cultural events are organised by young commoners. *Alessandro *from Officine Zero reflected on the IT-development as a world were a free resource became privatised in a completely new way, initially without exploiting labour and no input of great capital. One of the effects of this “post-labour”-world in his regard is the continuous devaluation of labour. He sees Officine Zero as a place of commemoration to the old world of labour on the one hand and as protest against privatisation – another starting point of new thinking beyond the traditional patterns. Yes, these were two outstanding interesting days of intense discussion. *Chantal Delmas* and * Roberto Morea*, both in charge of the Transform!-Commons-Network, intend to organise the next seminar in the later spring in Brussels. Yours, Birgit *bir.dai(a)hotmail.com <bir.dai(a)hotmail.com>* *www.birgitdaiber.eu <http://www.birgitdaiber.eu>* *Fon: 0039-090-9452432 <0039-090-9452432>* *Mobile: 0039-366-4207762 <0039-366-4207762>* *Brussels: Rue du Canal 19, B-1000 <1000> Brussels * *Sicily: Casella Postale No. 28, I-98055 Lipari * _______________________________________________ CommonGood Mailingliste JPBerlin - Politischer Provider CommonGood(a)listi.jpberlin.de https://listi.jpberlin.de/mailman/listinfo/commongood -- 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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