October 2017 - P2P-Foundation - lists.ourproject.org

Re: [P2P-F] [CommonGood] The Neoliberal Danger of Basic Income
by Michel Bauwens 09 Oct '17

09 Oct '17

counting on you for a response, dear Barb <g> a significant quote about the mindset of the organizers: "f faith in a progressive basic income is misplaced, we wish we could offer a shining and readily attainable alternative but this is not possible. We are largely fighting a defensive struggle against a virulent agenda to undermine social provision and increase the rate of exploitation. We can only offer the hard slog of building stronger inclusive movements of social resistance, rejuvenating unions and building a working class political challenge to neoliberalism." On Mon, Oct 9, 2017 at 1:26 PM, tina ebro <cgebro(a)gmail.com> wrote: > The Ontario Coalition Against Poverty <http://ocap.ca/> (OCAP) has drawn > up the following statement on basic income (BI). It makes the case that, > progressive hopes to the contrary notwithstanding, BI is being developed as > a measure of neoliberal attack that should be opposed. We invite > progressive organizations and individuals who hold positions in agencies > and academic institutions, who agree with our arguments, to sign onto the > statement. We hope that it will raise a voice of opposition and help > develop information sharing and forms of co-operation among those, > internationally, who reject the notion that basic income represents any > kind of realistic response to the neoliberal attack. > > Endorsements and other responses can be directed to OCAP at ocap(a)tao.ca. > from Socialist ProjectThe Neoliberal Danger of Basic Income > > We, the undersigned, are convinced that the emerging model of basic > income, reflected in pilot projects and other initiatives in a number of > countries and jurisdictions, is one that would intensify the neoliberal > agenda. The hope that there is any realistic chance of ensuring a truly > adequate, universal payment, that isn’t financed by undermining other vital > elements of social provision, is misplaced in our view. > [image: Basic Income: Wolf in sheep's clothing] > > We are far from wanting to suggest that existing systems of income support > are anywhere close to adequate. They provide precarious sub-poverty income > under conditions that are marked by intrusive regulations and forms of > moral policing. Moreover, decades of neoliberal austerity have made these > systems considerably worse. > > However wretched and inadequate present systems may be, the assumption > that basic income must or even could be an improvement on the status quo > has to be tested by considering a number of factors. Historically, income > support has been provided because those in political power concluded that > outright abandonment of those not in the workforce would create > unacceptably high levels of unrest and social dislocation. In the far from > dead tradition of the English Poor Laws, income support has been provided > at levels that were low enough to maintain a supply of the worst paid > workers, in forms that were as punitive and degrading as possible. Again, > the neoliberal years have seen these features intensified in what we must > concede has been a highly effective drive to create a climate of > desperation and a plentiful supply of low paid and precarious workers. > > If austerity driven governments and institutions of global capitalism are > today looking favourably at basic income, it’s not because they want to > move toward greater equality, reverse the neoliberal impact and enhance > workers’ bargaining power. They realize that a regressive model of basic > income can be put in place that provides an inadequate, means tested > payment to the poorest people outside of the workforce but that is > primarily directed to the lowest paid workers. This would be, in effect, a > subsidy to employers, paid for out of the tax revenues and it would be > financed by cuts to broader public services. Such a model would lend itself > to disregarding the particular needs of disabled people > <http://socialistproject.ca/bullet/1399.php> and, as a “citizen’s > income,” could readily be denied to many immigrants > <http://socialistproject.ca/bullet/1489.php>, especially those left > undocumented. Under such a system, you would shop through the rubble of the > social infrastructure with your meagre basic income. The kind of pilot > projects and other initiatives that are emerging offer severe warnings in > this regard (we include some links at the bottom of this article that > provide information on several of these). > Workless Future? > > However, some suggest that while regressive models could be developed and > may pose a danger, a progressive and even “emancipatory” form of basic > income is possible and realistic as a goal. Often, this is linked to the > idea of preparing for a “workless future” in which vast numbers of > technologically displaced workers can be provided for. The notion is that a > universal payment would be provided unconditionally and that it would be > adequate enough so that paid work, if it were an option, would be a matter > of choice rather than necessity. While there are a few who suggest this > could be won through large scale social action, advocates for a progressive > basic income more often seem to assume that capitalist support and > acceptance by the state can be won by way of a vigorous lobbying effort. > > In our view, a truly adequate and redistributive, let aside > transformative, basic income is not possible within the confines of the > current economic system. Firstly, the present balance of forces in society, > after decades of neoliberalism, does not lend itself to the conclusion that > a sweeping measure of social reform, that would reverse this whole agenda, > is immediately likely. Beyond this, however, an income support system that > removed economic coercion in a way that progressive basic income advocates > suggest, would be more than turning back the neoliberal tide. It would > actually mean that the state was providing the working class with an > unlimited strike fund. It would undermine the very basis for the capitalist > job market. It would constitute social transformation, a revolutionary > change that is, to say the least, beyond the capacity of any possible > social policy enactment. > > If basic income as emancipation is not possible, it can only too easily > take form as neoliberal intensification. Yet, sadly, progressive advocates > end up offering legitimacy to that regressive alternative but placing hopes > in musings about basic income by Silicon Valley billionaires or by > presenting cynical pilot projects, set up by austerity driven governments, > as flawed but important first steps. However much they wish otherwise, the > sow’s ear will not become a silk purse. > > “ > > We must fight for free, expanded and accessible public services. We must > win decent wages and workers’ rights.” > > If faith in a progressive basic income is misplaced, we wish we could > offer a shining and readily attainable alternative but this is not > possible. We are largely fighting a defensive struggle against a virulent > agenda to undermine social provision and increase the rate of exploitation. > We can only offer the hard slog of building stronger inclusive movements of > social resistance, rejuvenating unions and building a working class > political challenge to neoliberalism. As we do this, we must fight for > free, expanded and accessible public services. We must win decent wages and > workers’ rights. We must struggle for income support systems that are based > on adequacy, full entitlement and that are purged of intrusive rules and > moral policing. We must infuse all of these movements and struggles with a > sense of a very different kind of society from the capitalist one we are > fighting. This doesn’t have the glitter of the dream of a progressive basic > income but it does accept the reality that there is no social policy way > around neoliberalism or a long and hard fight against it. The progressive > welcome mat for basic income is a very big mistake. • > > _______________________________________________ > 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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Fwd: Best Article On Inflation I Have Read In Years
by Michel Bauwens 08 Oct '17

08 Oct '17

---------- Forwarded message ---------- Kind regards, Christopher ------------------------------------------------------------ ------------------------------------------------------------ --------------------------------------- WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 04, 2017 Of Two Minds - Charles Hughs Smith Be Careful What You Wish For: Inflation Is Much Higher Than Advertised <http://charleshughsmith.blogspot.ie/2017/10/be-careful-what-you-wish-for-in…> *What the Federal Reserve is actually whining about is not low inflation--it's that high inflation isn't pushing wages higher like it's supposed to.* *It's not exactly a secret that real-world inflation is a lot higher than the official rates--the Consumer Price Index (CPI) and Personal Consumption Expenditures PCE).* As many observers have pointed out, there are two primary flaws in the official measures of inflation: 1. Big-ticket expenses such as rent, healthcare and higher education--expenses that run into the thousands or tens of thousands of dollars annually--are severely underweighted or mis-reported. While rents are soared, the CPI uses an arcane (and misleading) measure of housing costs: owners equivalent rent. Why not just measure actual rents paid and actual mortgages/property taxes/home insurance premiums paid? Healthcare is 18% of GDP but only 8.5% of CPI. To those exposed to actual costs of healthcare, 8.5% of the CPI is a joke. The same can be said of higher education: households paying tuition and other college costs are exposed to horrendously high rates of inflation, as illustrated in this chart: Revealing the Real Rate of Inflation Would Crash the System <http://www.oftwominds.com/blogaug16/inflation-crash8-16.html> (August 3, 2016) The Burrito Index: Consumer Prices Have Soared 160% Since 2001 <http://www.oftwominds.com/blogaug16/burrito-index8-16.html> (August 1, 2016) Inflation Isn't Evenly Distributed: The Protected Are Fine, the Unprotected Are Impoverished Debt-Serfs <http://www.oftwominds.com/blogmay17/protected-inflation5-17.html> (May 25, 2017) Then there's the *hedonic adjustments* that are made to reflect improvements in quality, features, safety, etc. So the price of computers is discounted to reflect the increase in memory, etc. compared to previous models. This is a can of worms, as anyone shopping for a new car or truck can attest: yes, the vehicles have more safety features, but the sticker price is much higher. Do we knock off $10,000 the "price" because of these additional features? Why should we, when consumers have to pony up $10,000 more than they did a decade ago? *More honest and accurate estimates of real-world inflation that include the big-ticket categories of housing, healthcare and higher education reckon annual inflation is around 7% or even as high as 10% in high-cost metro areas, not 2%.* This sets up a very peculiar cognitive dissonance in the financial media. *On the one hand, government agencies are bending over backward to under-report inflation. On the other, the Federal Reserve is whining that inflation is too low and their efforts to push it higher have failed.* Heck, folks, the solution is obvious: just report real-world inflation without the hedonic adjustments and other shuck and jive, and when the rate of inflation comes in at a hot 7% instead of the official 2%, the Federal Reserve can declare victory. *Why does the Fed want higher inflation?* The general explanation is higher inflation benefits bankers, borrowers and the expansion of credit that underpins our consumerist economy. The idea is that as wages rise with inflation (assuming wages are rising, which they're not for the bottom 90%), households will have an easier time servicing existing debt and getting new loans. The payments due on existing debt become easier to make as inflation expands everyone's paychecks. (Note that this expansion doesn't mean the purchasing power of the wage has increased; it's an illusory expansion that serves the credit industry.) Banks benefit because they earn fees on originating new loans and rolling over existing debts into new loans. *But the supposed benefits of high inflation are undercut if wages don't rise as fast as prices.* As many observers have noted, wages for the bottom 90% have not kept pace with higher costs. For the bottom 90%, rising rents, higher property taxes, higher health insurance premiums, higher healthcare co-pays and deductibles, soaring college tuition and so on, have squeezed household budgets while household income has stagnated. *No wonder the government wants to mask the real rate of inflation.* If it was widely understood that inflation is reducing our purchasing power at an annual rate of 7% while wages are rising at 1% or 2% if at all, people might realize the Fed and other authorities have stripmined the many to enrich the few. *So what the Federal Reserve is actually whining about is not low inflation--it's that high inflation isn't pushing wages higher like it's supposed to.* In the simplistic models of conventional economics, inflation is supposed to be a monetary function, i.e. a generalized secular dynamic that pushes everything higher--not just prices, but wages, too. *Alas, the world isn't as simple as the economists' models.* So what we have instead is stagnating wages and soaring wealth-income inequality. No wonder so many people reckon this was the real plan all along: it's worked brilliantly for the eight years of "recovery", greatly enriching the few at the expense of the many -- 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: State repression in India - An interview with Tripti Tandon
by Michel Bauwens 08 Oct '17

08 Oct '17

---------- Forwarded message ---------- From: Frank Barat <russelltribunaluk(a)gmail.com> Date: Thu, Oct 5, 2017 at 6:17 PM Subject: State repression in India - An interview with Tripti Tandon To: Frank Barat RToP <RussellTribunalUK(a)gmail.com> Tripti Tandon from The Laywers Collective answers questions from Frank Barat about the clampdown on freedom of speech and the silencing of critical voices in India and how this is connected to shrinking space worldwide. You can watch video here: https://www.tni.org/en/ article/interview-shrinking-space-in-india Feel free to share. In solidarity Frank *"Freedom is a constant struggle"* Out Now! Order here <http://www.haymarketbooks.org/pb/Freedom-Is-a-Constant-Struggle> Follow on Facebook here <https://www.facebook.com/angeladavisfreedom> -- 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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Re: [P2P-F] A globa-local synthesis of a possible city-supported public-commons partnership for climate- friendly and ecologically balanced provisioning systems
by Michel Bauwens 08 Oct '17

08 Oct '17

I don't use growth myself, degrowth, though an objective necessity, is not the right political message so we joined the post-growth alliance, but rather focus on a positive formulation, that formulation is that commons-based mutualization can drastically reduce the human footprint (hence degrowth) , but at the same time guarantees our capacity to create more wellbeing services (hence grow happiness) Francois Grosse has calculated that any growth of our matter/energy usage highter than 1%,makes the very idea of a circular economy moot, see http://commonstransition.org/peer-peer-commons-matter-energy-thermodynamic-… christian arnsperger's new book on a perma-circular economy is also vital in this regard Michel On Sun, Oct 8, 2017 at 7:31 PM, Henry Tam <htam.global(a)talk21.com> wrote: > Pat, Michel, > > > > One thing I will chip in – and it’s something I mentioned to Michael > recently – about is the notion of ‘growth’ itself. ‘Growth’ encapsulated > by more polluting vehicles, more weapons manufactured and deployed, more > accidents and hence insurance claims, more unhealthy food consumed, etc, > etc, is neither good nor sustainable. And socio-economic structures > designed to promote such ‘growth’ ought to be criticised, and the end of > such ‘growth’ should be celebrated. But what about growth as > development? For example, more and better care provisions for the sick > and frail elderly, more leisure engagement in creative activities, better > and more widespread access of treatment and medication, greater liberation > from cold and dark hours through sustainable use of renewable energy, more > projects to promote and protect biodiversity, more cultural exchanges and > sharing of experiences across borders, etc. > > > > Having more of something, & getting it in an efficient manner, is not > inherently undesirable. It depends on what it is. The presentation of > growth and development as negative features that should be eliminated gives > the wrong impression, and leads many who are not supporters of > commons/multi-stakeholder coops to shy away unnecessarily out of concern > that this is all about putting on the brakes to stay put at a static > society. > > > > I’m more inclined towards ‘wise development’ than ‘no growth’. > > > > Henry > > > > *From: *Pat Conaty <pat.commonfutures(a)phonecoop.coop> > *Reply-To: *Pat Conaty <pat.commonfutures(a)phonecoop.coop> > *Date: *Sunday, 8 October 2017 at 13:00 > *To: *Michel Bauwens <michel(a)p2pfoundation.net> > *Cc: *Holemans Dirk <Dirk.Holemans(a)stad.gent>, Tim Crabtree <tim.crabtree@ > schumachercollege.org.uk>, John Restakis <restakis1(a)gmail.com>, Colm < > colm(a)solidarityeconomy.coop>, p2p-foundation <p2p-foundation@lists. > ourproject.org>, David Bollier <david(a)bollier.org>, Stephen Yeo < > stephen.yeo(a)phonecoop.coop>, Michael Lewis <Lewiscccr(a)shaw.ca>, TWC Group > <htam.global(a)talk21.com>, <mendell(a)alcor.concordia.ca>, Stacco Troncoso < > staccotroncoso(a)p2pfoundation.net>, Cilla Ross <Cilla(a)co-op.ac.uk>, < > kev.flanagan(a)gmail.com>, <mikeg(a)athabascau.ca> > *Subject: *Re: A globa-local synthesis of a possible city-supported > public-commons partnership for climate- friendly and ecologically balanced > provisioning systems > > > > Hi Michel > > A key question Michel, here is my attempt to answer this. Others like > Stephen Yeo may wish to chip in that know the history. > > Daly argues for a shift from growth economics to steady-state economics. > The latter implies no capitalism. His argument is based on the forecasts by > Adam Smith, JS Mill and Keynes that in future growth will decline when the > opportunities for it dry up. Marx called this the accumulation crisis. From > 1776 in the Wealth of Nations, Adam Smith foresaw this endpoint in about > 250 years. Keynes foresaw this in his Essay on the Future Economics of Our > Grandchildren as happening about 2025. Mill did not give a date. > > The issue for Daly was what system would replace an economy without growth > as other economists have foreseen such a state as leading to the abyss. > Mill argued that with worker ownership of the means of production via > worker co-ops and comprehensive land reform, this steady state could be a > positive future for qualitative human development. > > Mill argued though that the ownership question was crucial to set the > enabling circumstances for this. Hence his argument for land taxation to > move property into common ownership or public ownership. Henry George takes > his single tax idea directly from Mill. But Mill also argued as another > crucial reform for worker ownership and he made the case that consumer > co-ops were not sufficient. The reason for this Mill showed is that > economic democracy and in fact full democracy required participative > structures and educational reform to secure this. Only then could socialism > be practical he felt. This was his argument against other non-democratic > forms of socialism that he feared would lead to authoritarian outcomes. > > Polanyi is of this school of democratic socialism and Daly is a strong > supporter of Polanyi in his books Beyond Growth and For the Common Good. > > There is a major problem with the history of socialism. Socialism was the > term coined by the early Co-op movement in England from the 1820s. Robert > Owen in particular called it also social science. He used the terms almost > interchangeably. These socialists were also for land reform, co-operative > land solutions and interest free money. Mill picked up his ideas for a > democratic socialism from this original socialist movement. But Marx and > Engels argued for communism and derided the early socialists as utopian and > non-scientific. Sadly Marx also misunderstood money and the need for > interest-free forms as the Owenite socialists, the Proudhonian socialists > and other early co-op movements like these in the US understood. > > Polanyi followed all this and celebrates this in the Great Transformation > and so did the Guild socialists who felt strongly about economic democracy > (RH Tawney, GDH Cole, Bertrand Russell) and in the case of Clifford Douglas > (who was very involved with the early guild socialist movement), monetary > reform. Frederick Soddy picked up ideas from Douglas and Silvio Gesell in > the 1920s and argued for 100% money free of interest and debt. > > Daly's arguments follows closely Polanyi and Soddy who he quotes and > celebrates in Beyond Growth. > > But because Marx was muddled on the money question and weak on the need > for economic democracy, Marxists are blind to the needs for really taking > land, people and money out of the market as Polanyi showed the need for. A > pity this as like Polanyi Marx saw labour, money and land enclosure so well > and how they had been made into false commodities. > > I can recommend to you and others on this list an outstanding text book > that should be core reading for Synergia students and the entire commons > movement. It is by Mark Lutz and called Economics for the Common Good. > > John uses the term political economy and the need for a new political > economy in relation to the partner state. I understand the reason why but I > do think this is problematic historically as key words are important to be > clear about. In the late 19th century, political economy and capitalism > were one and the same thing. > > While the resisters to industrial capitalism coined the term socialism in > the 1820s as the humane alternative, until the 1870s, capitalism was not a > word really used. The term for it was political economy and this is why > Marx wrote his Capital as a critique of political economy. It was with the > publication of Capital that capitalism began to be used more widely. > > During the 19th century the movement against capitalism was indeed known > as social economy and included the co-ops and the trade unions. Sadly the > EU definition of social economy by Jacques Delor from the 1990s leaves out > trade unions and only talks about Co-ops, Mutuals, Associations and > Foundations (CMAF). > > The Lutz book traces a continuous strand of social economics from the late > 18th century to today (sometimes also called co-operative economics) that > is a radical strand of socialist thinking that avoids the blindspots of > Marx. > > Also in Daly's book. For the Common Good, he talks about the work of > Schumacher on innovative thinking viz. an ownership form for co-ops that > could become intergenerational for securing the common good. Schumacher saw > the solution as to ensure a structure of ownership in co-ops that required > a strong common ownership foundation. This is very relevant to your work > and to developing Social Solidarity Economy thinking. The Lutz book is > vital guidance here and for how we best frame Synergia's pedagogy on these > question and what this idea of Eco-socialism would look like. It would be a > vitally needed synergia of social economics and ecological economics. > Co-operative economics also ploughs in this direction if you look at the > adherents. > > But there is no teaching of Co-op Economics within the international Co-op > movement, though I think St. Mary's University in Halifax has run a course > like this prior to an ICA meeting in Montreal not that long ago. I just > heard this this week. > > Hope this is helpful. > > Pat > > > > On 08 October 2017 at 08:37 Michel Bauwens <michel(a)p2pfoundation.net> > wrote: > > I did read several pieces from Daly but it seems to me he is not > challenging capitalism per se, > > > > anyone read him differently ? > > > > On Sat, Oct 7, 2017 at 10:43 PM, pat commonfutures < > pat.commonfutures(a)phonecoop.coop> wrote: > > Hi Mike and Michel > > Thanks Michel for the Commons Transition reports. Very good to see these. > Your reply to Mike is also helpful. > > Thanks also Mike for sharing the Stan Cox critique about renewable energy > wishful thinking. I found the comments by David Schwartzman very persuasive > about the Military Industrial Complex power elite and their focused role > viz. fossil fuel geopolitics and nuclear energy. This is a very little > discussed structural impediment. > > Also this confirms the need for Greens to focus on eco-soclalist ways > forward. As Streeck argues, Growth is bound in its hands and feet with the > Accumulation demands of capitalism and the money machine. Steady-state > economics based on thermodynamics as Herman Daly so well articulates this > necessitates a post capitalism system. Schwartzman underscores this. > > Pat > > On 05 October 2017 at 06:09 Michel Bauwens <michel(a)p2pfoundation.net> > wrote: > > dear Michael, > > > > I will add some responses in-line > > > > On Wed, Oct 4, 2017 at 11:51 PM, Michael Lewis <Lewiscccr(a)shaw.ca> wrote: > > Pat I really like the memo you sent. But I have several questions. > (Michel - I wrote this and then see you have replied to Pat) I will think > about and perhaps comment later. I the meantime here is my response to Pat) > > > > I am a poor student of history, but as I have come to understand Cole his > guild strategy was rooted in the work place, although relevant to other > kinds of association. The role of the state was radially reduced. What > emerged was a decentralized, democratic approach to provisioning, where > workers were the central (but not only) actors. Advise me here what I am > missing. > > > > If this is the case there a large difference in what Michel is proposing? > The foundation of his proposition is public-commons partnerships. Is this > not very different? Given the radical difference in reference points - > Cole with workers a the base and this 21st idea where globally mediated > knowledge that enables localize production on an > open-mutualized-cooperative basis; I wonder where the context renders some > of Cole’s propositions less relevant. > > > > in my interpretation, the commons are themselves multi-stakeholders, so > this include the workers and the user communities ; you may be familiar > with the idea of some that today the workplace has exploded and is no > longer confined to the factory; but there is an obvious linkage between the > commons seen as the locus of co-production, and thus a sphere of production > including workers, and industrial and craft workers as they used to exist > > > > > > > > Second, as I understand it Michel, your proposition is critically > dependent of an member cities to be active at the city and global level, > the latter through associations. In short, cities are organized into a body > the coordinates and governs the terms under which sourcing technical > solutions is build and maintained on an open source base. Question here > Michel is whether access to the knowledge repository requires cities to be > active members of the global mutual…?? > > > > the code is open source, and would be accessible to everybody, but the > right to commercialization of that code may be subjected to some > reciprocity limitatations, in my opinion (reciprocity-based licensing) > > > > Third, the territorial platform co-operatives become critical > infrastructure for production, distribution and governing. Michel…a > question about the platform co-ops; are they conceived of as being > multi-stakeholder and, if so, what is the role of local state actors, if > any? > > > > yes, they are conceived as multi-stakeholder and I'm open to co-governance > by local public actors > > > > > > Lastly, I am wondering about the thinking to date on whether there will > be limits to what is gathered into the global digital open source > repository? Is the focus on all the critical elements to aid and > accelerate transition? Given the absolute urgencies emerging from climate > breakdown, this might make senses. Or is it broader? I think these are > important questions as they will shape the counters of the politics that > such a proposition would provoke. Even if it is restricted to urgent > transition related production, I can imagine that a global manufacturers of > say, public transit vehicles, and their employees, would be none to > pleased with a strategy that could has the potential for sidelining their > businesses and jobs.. But, then again, I may not be capturing the > fullness of the vision. > > > > for me, this would work for all provisioning systems, and is connected to > the climate/ecological/resource emergency of our time, i.e. this proposal > is one of the crucial ways to radicallly reduce our material footprint > > > > One interesting and attractive feature of what Michel is proposing is the > bypassing of national governments. Given the growing network of cities > collaborating on climate breakdown and transition strategies, and for those > involved, their leadership in advancing more progressive transition > politics, the proposal being put forward has a strategic context where it > can be tested. > > > > national partner-state governments could decide at a later stage to join > and support these global depositories > > > > by the way, this was written in the context of urban transitions, but I > realize it could be stronger in stressing the role of the cooperative > sector in supporting the deployment of such infrastructure > > > > Michel > > > > > > > > Anyways, a bit more grist for the proverbial mill. > > > > Michael L > > On Oct 4, 2017, at 9:04 AM, Michel Bauwens <michel(a)p2pfoundation.net> > wrote: > > > > Dear Pat, > > > > as I was schooled in marxism in my youth, and subsequently abandoned it, > this means that much of the tradition you speak of is completely unknown to > me, I had simply no idea that georgism and guild socialism even existed and > where so big back then ... for me there were revolutionaries, reformists > and anarchists (and stalinists <g>) ... > > > > when I decided to embark on p2p work, I decided to make a clear break with > my dogmatic past, and start constructing a 'low theory' that would be a > more direct expression of what is happening and possible today. Hence in my > wiki, I only include things that exist (no projects or plans) and use > concepts that are born from the very movement I am observing. > > > > as much as I think it is necessary, I don't see it as a very realistic > possibility for me to dig into that history, so I am very much counting on > you for this historical context and genealogy!! > > > > one note, you will have seen in my approach a combination of the local and > the global, bypassing the nation-state level. > > > > There is both a opportunistic and strategic reason for this > > > > Opportunistic as it appears in a report on urban transitions, > > > > but strategic as I see coalesced cities (and bioregions/territorities) as > a crucial new part of transnational governance, which can't be a > inter-statist world government, but must be based on global public-commons > alliances > > > > quid with the nation-state, > > > > I am not dissing it, but I think nation-states should now support > transnational commons infrastructures > > > > the double movement has become inoperative because of the > trans-nationalization of capital; national revolutions carry great risks > and dangers (syriza, venezuela), and keynesianism can only be a small part > of the solution in the context of overshoot > > > > so what is a progressive majority in a nation-state to do, for sure, let > it do green new deals at the national level, but crucially, it must also > understand that change today is not going to come from a frontal assault > against a stronger enemy, but from a global coalition of change efforts > everywhere, which are the only ones that can overwhelm the repressive > capacity of the transnational empire > > > > in other words, progressive national governments must absolute support the > kind of global commoning policies we are proposing and cannot limit their > vision on their own citizens > > > > Michel > > > > On Wed, Oct 4, 2017 at 10:21 PM, pat commonfutures < > pat.commonfutures(a)phonecoop.coop> wrote: > > Hi Michel > > Some feedback for consideration..... > > This is a really good summary and illustration. So much makes complete > sense to me. Thanks so much for this articulation. I think it is rich and > very helpful indeed. When will the report be coming out and who are the > authors? > > I have a sense of deja vu however? So my comments are about the practical > articulation and the dynamics as other forces are in play. For the past > two hundred plus years, the tension and indeed struggle between authority > at the political level and the striving for democratic authority from the > grassroots has been continuous and constant. Polanyi's Double movement > therefore has many dynamic aspects to consider. How is it best to do this > to be clear about the dialectical complexity? > > Stephen Yeo, a very close colleague of Robin Murray's over decades, is > writing a book on the Three Socialisms. These are Statism (from social > democracy to communism), Collectivism and Associationism. The last form is > the most forms that are participatively democratic and includes working > class self-help associations for mutual aid and including of course trade > unions that we should try to include in your illustration of the layers. > > The ideas you are advancing are a rekindling of the debates and thinking > from say 1900 right up to 1947 when the Cold War kicked off and when > Statism thereafter effectively crushed and suppressed associative democracy > thinking and ideas. Statists East and West told co-ops and unions thank, > but no thanks. We are taking over to make your bits and pieces integrated > and comprehensive. > > But to guide this earlier struggle by commoners, In 1919 GDH Cole produced > his book Guild Socialism Restated when he set out a very clear blueprint > with a remarkable coincidence with what you, David B, Janelle Orsi and > others are working up here. > > What is very creative about the Cole proposals that Bertrand Russell fully > supported in his book Roads to Freedom a century ago was to recognise > clearly that political socialism (social democracy shall we say) and > associative socialism need to be established at the territorial level and > at the national level in a system of checks and balances with a clear and > agreed division of labour between the politicos and the economic democrats. > > Essentially the proposal of Cole set out a blue print for how economic > democracy though a Guild Congress at local, regional and national levels > would relate and complement Parliamentary democracy. But what was wonderful > about the Cole proposals is that it considered co-operative commonwealth > building in all industries, services, arts and sciences and worked out > sector solutions for them. Plus Cole also proposed that cities should be > based on land held in commons to capture economic rent and to stop > speculation. Thus he argued for co-operative garden cities. > > 20 years earlier in Fields Factories and Workshops had attempted a very > creative blueprint as well for economic democracy and what in practice this > would look like. > > Okay Polanyi did not arrive in the UK until about 1933 and his way to > escape fascism was paid for by crowd funding by Guild Socialist, but given > that in Vienna in the 1920s Polanyi was at the forefront of associative > democracy solutions and thinking, you can see the resonance. > > Given that democratic socialism is being rekindled in parts of Europe > (Spain, Portugal, the UK and elsewhere), I think it would helpful to > connect the sound thinking from the 1920s before the lights began being > turned out with what you are proposing. > > I would suggest we are rediscovering co-operative commonwealth thinking > and practice which you are doing such a brilliant job of updating to the > digital age. > > I hope this helps. Drawing on the best practices from the past will > enable us to contextualise the arguments and link these to this vernacular > part of the Double Movement we should not overlook. > > All the best > > Pat > > On 04 October 2017 at 06:35 Michel Bauwens <michel(a)p2pfoundation.net> > wrote: > > this is the very last section of our report which will come out soon with > the Boll foundation: > > > 3.6. Towards a global infrastructure for commons-based provisioning > > We have argued in this overview that we are in a conjuncture in which > commons-based mutualizing is one of the keys for sustainability, fairness > and global-local well-being. In this conclusion, we suggest a global > infrastructure, in which cities can play a crucial role. > > See the graphic below for the stacked layer that we propose, which is > described as follows: > > - The first layer is the cosmo-local institutional layer. Imagine > global for-benefit associations which support the provisioning of > infrastructures for urban and territorial commoning. These are structured > as global public-commons partnerships, sustained by leagues of cities which > are co-dependent and co-motivated to support these new infrastructures and > overcome the fragmentation of effort that benefits the most extractive and > centralized ‘netarchical’ firms. Instead, these infrastructural commons > organizations co-support MuniRide, MuniBnB, and other applications > necessary to commonify urban provisioning systems. These are the global > “protocol cooperative” governance organizations. > - The second layer consists of the actual global depositories of the > commons applications themselves, a global technical infrastructure for open > sourcing provisioning systems. They consists of what is globally common, > but allow contextualized local adaptations, which in turn can serve as > innovations and examples for other locales. These are the actual ‘protocol > cooperatives’, in their concrete manifestation as usable infrastructure. > - The third layer are the actual local (urban, territorial, > bioregional) platform cooperatives, i.e. the local commons-based mechanisms > that deliver access to services and exchange platforms, for the mutualized > used of these provisioning systems. This is the layer where the Amsterdam > FairBnb and the MuniRide application of the city of Ghent, organize the > services for the local population and their visitors. It is where houses > and cars are effectively shared. > - The potential fourth layer is the actual production-based open > cooperatives, where distributed manufacturing of goods and services > produces the actual material services that can be shared and mutualized on > the platform cooperatives. > > ... > > [image: igure 8.png] > > *Figure 8: City-supported cosmo-local production infrastructure* > > > > -- > > Check out the Commons Transition Plan here at: > http://commonstransition.org > > > > P2P Foundation: http://p2pfoundation.net - http://blog.p2pfoundation.net > > 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 > > 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 > > 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 > > 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: European Freelancers Week Starts Today
by Michel Bauwens 08 Oct '17

08 Oct '17

---------- Forwarded message ---------- From: European Freelancers Week <hello(a)freelancersweek.org> Date: Sat, Oct 7, 2017 at 3:20 PM Subject: European Freelancers Week Starts Today To: michelsub2004(a)gmail.com European Freelancers Week is On. Over 92 (and counting) registered events in 26 countries. Be part of it! View this email in your browser <http://mailchi.mp/4fc93e0b85d7/european-freelancers-week-get-involved-today…> [image: www.freelancersweek.org] <http://efip.us5.list-manage.com/track/click?u=caf3d76509e3618eaf75ce143&id=…> *European Freelancers Week is On* Over 92 (and counting) registered events in 26 countries Dear European Freelancers, The day we've been waiting for has arrived. The second edition of *European Freelancers Week <http://efip.us5.list-manage.com/track/click?u=caf3d76509e3618eaf75ce143&id=…> *(#EFWeek) starts today and runs until October 15. It's the world's largest campaign celebrating independent work - and you're part of it! Some great events you can join: <http://efip.us5.list-manage.com/track/click?u=caf3d76509e3618eaf75ce143&id=…> See all #EFWeek Events <http://efip.us5.list-manage.com/track/click?u=caf3d76509e3618eaf75ce143&id=…> Here's a few highlights... *European Freelancers Week Online Launch Event* <http://efip.us5.list-manage.com/track/click?u=caf3d76509e3618eaf75ce143&id=…> October 9, 2:00 pm, Webinar in Helsinki, Finland Join us for the online launch event of #EFWeek. We will host an online panel discussion about freelancing in Europe, and how different organizations are working to improve independent work. *I freelance e l’informatica: amici o nemici* <http://efip.us5.list-manage.com/track/click?u=caf3d76509e3618eaf75ce143&id=…> October 7, 10:30 am, Workshop in Rome, Italy Two workshops organised by and for freelancers: Excel For Freelancers & The Art of Presenting. Networking lunch free for ACTA members. *Selbständigkeit – neue Perspektiven nach der Bundestagswahl? <http://efip.us5.list-manage.com/track/click?u=caf3d76509e3618eaf75ce143&id=…>* October 9, 6:00 pm, Discussion panel in Berlin, Germany Was ändert sich durch die Ergebnisse der Bundestagswahl für uns Selbstständige? Was ändert sich bei der Krankenversicherung und was sollte man dieses Jahr noch tun? *How to keep motivation if you are a freelancer <http://efip.us5.list-manage.com/track/click?u=caf3d76509e3618eaf75ce143&id=…>* October 10, 6:00 pm, Workshop in Seville, Spain Independent work is very individual and this workshop's aim is to define and redirect our strategies when motivation is deflated. *Arbeit neu denken – Visionen, die schon Praxis sind* <http://efip.us5.list-manage.com/track/click?u=caf3d76509e3618eaf75ce143&id=…> October 10, 6:30 pm, Discussion panel in Vienna, Austria Der Arbeitsmarkt hat sich in den letzten Jahren grundlegend verändert. Immer mehr Unternehmen wälzen das unternehmerische Risiko auf die einzelnen, nunmehr Selbständigen ab. *Freelancers Lab 2: A márkám* <http://efip.us5.list-manage.com/track/click?u=caf3d76509e3618eaf75ce143&id=…> October 11, 6:00 pm, Workshop in Budapest, Hungary Szeretnéd jobban megismerni a saját márkád és terméked? Most alkalmad lesz rá a Freelancers Lab két alkalmas workshopjának második képzésén. *How can freelancers be best represented in social dialogue?* <http://efip.us5.list-manage.com/track/click?u=caf3d76509e3618eaf75ce143&id=…> October 12, 9:00 am, Workshop in Brussels, Belgium This interactive workshop will present the results of a research project called i-wire funded by the European Commission, which analyses how freelancers are represented. *ProjektLabb* <http://efip.us5.list-manage.com/track/click?u=caf3d76509e3618eaf75ce143&id=…> October 12, 2:00 pm, Workshop in Stockholm, Sweden Den 12/10 bjuder Intercult och Smart Produktionshus in till ProjektLabb. Där kan man få svar på de flesta frågor som gäller kulturprojekt, vare sig det gäller internationella samarbeten, en lokal kulturstödsansökan eller praktisk hjälp med t.ex kontrakt, fakturering, lön till projektdeltagare! *E-Residency in Estonia for European Freelancers* <http://efip.us5.list-manage.com/track/click?u=caf3d76509e3618eaf75ce143&id=…> October 12, 3:00 pm, Webinar in Tallinn, Estonia A webinar about how freelancers can become Estonian E-Residents to establish and manage an EU company fully online, access business banking and payment service providers and digitally sign contracts and other documents. Freelance Fair <http://efip.us5.list-manage.com/track/click?u=caf3d76509e3618eaf75ce143&id=…> October 10, 12:00pm, Workshop in Paris, France This event is built by and for any freelances, 3 sessions of co-creation are opened and the first one will happen during the Freelancer Week. Lausanne Coworking Night <http://efip.us5.list-manage.com/track/click?u=caf3d76509e3618eaf75ce143&id=…> October 10, 6:00 pm, Meetup in Lausanne, Switzerland Apéro for coworking operators/members/curious people, and great opportunity for operators to iterate on collaboration opportunities. *Take photos, tag #EFWeek* We want to show the world how great #EFWeek is. Please take lots of photos and share them online. Make sure you use the hashtag #EFWeek <http://efip.us5.list-manage.com/track/click?u=caf3d76509e3618eaf75ce143&id=…>, and tag us @FreelancersEU <http://efip.us5.list-manage.com/track/click?u=caf3d76509e3618eaf75ce143&id=…>. 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[image: #EFW16 is open to all organizations and individuals who want to impact the local freelance community. – Joel Dullroy, VGSD] <http://efip.us5.list-manage.com/track/click?u=caf3d76509e3618eaf75ce143&id=…> *#EFWeek is an inspiring example of a bottom-up initiative in cities and regions across Europe that supports freelancers as vital contributors to innovation and growth* – Markku Markkula, President of the European Committee of the Regions [image: Marco Torregrossa, EFIP] <http://efip.us5.list-manage.com/track/click?u=caf3d76509e3618eaf75ce143&id=…> *#EFWeek is your chance to make a difference for your community. The tremendous variation of backgrounds, skills and affiliations among freelancers has made it difficult to forge a unified voice that compels attention. The time has come to right that wrong. * – Marco Torregrossa, Secretary General of European Forum of Independent Professionals <http://efip.us5.list-manage.com/track/click?u=caf3d76509e3618eaf75ce143&id=…> #EFWeek is an annual series of events held under a common branding in different European countries, using a crowdsourced and distributed format. It is coordinated by a coalition of national freelancers’ associations in 11 European countries. 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Re: [P2P-F] A globa-local synthesis of a possible city-supported public-commons partnership for climate- friendly and ecologically balanced provisioning systems
by Michel Bauwens 08 Oct '17

08 Oct '17

I did read several pieces from Daly but it seems to me he is not challenging capitalism per se, anyone read him differently ? On Sat, Oct 7, 2017 at 10:43 PM, pat commonfutures < pat.commonfutures(a)phonecoop.coop> wrote: > Hi Mike and Michel > > Thanks Michel for the Commons Transition reports. Very good to see these. > Your reply to Mike is also helpful. > > Thanks also Mike for sharing the Stan Cox critique about renewable energy > wishful thinking. I found the comments by David Schwartzman very persuasive > about the Military Industrial Complex power elite and their focused role > viz. fossil fuel geopolitics and nuclear energy. This is a very little > discussed structural impediment. > > Also this confirms the need for Greens to focus on eco-soclalist ways > forward. As Streeck argues, Growth is bound in its hands and feet with the > Accumulation demands of capitalism and the money machine. Steady-state > economics based on thermodynamics as Herman Daly so well articulates this > necessitates a post capitalism system. Schwartzman underscores this. > > Pat > > On 05 October 2017 at 06:09 Michel Bauwens <michel(a)p2pfoundation.net> > wrote: > > dear Michael, > > I will add some responses in-line > > On Wed, Oct 4, 2017 at 11:51 PM, Michael Lewis <Lewiscccr(a)shaw.ca> wrote: > > Pat I really like the memo you sent. But I have several questions. > (Michel - I wrote this and then see you have replied to Pat) I will think > about and perhaps comment later. I the meantime here is my response to Pat) > > I am a poor student of history, but as I have come to understand Cole his > guild strategy was rooted in the work place, although relevant to other > kinds of association. The role of the state was radially reduced. What > emerged was a decentralized, democratic approach to provisioning, where > workers were the central (but not only) actors. Advise me here what I am > missing. > > If this is the case there a large difference in what Michel is proposing? > The foundation of his proposition is public-commons partnerships. Is this > not very different? Given the radical difference in reference points - > Cole with workers a the base and this 21st idea where globally mediated > knowledge that enables localize production on an > open-mutualized-cooperative basis; I wonder where the context renders some > of Cole’s propositions less relevant. > > > in my interpretation, the commons are themselves multi-stakeholders, so > this include the workers and the user communities ; you may be familiar > with the idea of some that today the workplace has exploded and is no > longer confined to the factory; but there is an obvious linkage between the > commons seen as the locus of co-production, and thus a sphere of production > including workers, and industrial and craft workers as they used to exist > > > > Second, as I understand it Michel, your proposition is critically > dependent of an member cities to be active at the city and global level, > the latter through associations. In short, cities are organized into a body > the coordinates and governs the terms under which sourcing technical > solutions is build and maintained on an open source base. Question here > Michel is whether access to the knowledge repository requires cities to be > active members of the global mutual…?? > > > the code is open source, and would be accessible to everybody, but the > right to commercialization of that code may be subjected to some > reciprocity limitatations, in my opinion (reciprocity-based licensing) > > > Third, the territorial platform co-operatives become critical > infrastructure for production, distribution and governing. Michel…a > question about the platform co-ops; are they conceived of as being > multi-stakeholder and, if so, what is the role of local state actors, if > any? > > > yes, they are conceived as multi-stakeholder and I'm open to co-governance > by local public actors > > > > Lastly, I am wondering about the thinking to date on whether there will > be limits to what is gathered into the global digital open source > repository? Is the focus on all the critical elements to aid and > accelerate transition? Given the absolute urgencies emerging from climate > breakdown, this might make senses. Or is it broader? I think these are > important questions as they will shape the counters of the politics that > such a proposition would provoke. Even if it is restricted to urgent > transition related production, I can imagine that a global manufacturers of > say, public transit vehicles, and their employees, would be none to > pleased with a strategy that could has the potential for sidelining their > businesses and jobs.. But, then again, I may not be capturing the > fullness of the vision. > > > for me, this would work for all provisioning systems, and is connected to > the climate/ecological/resource emergency of our time, i.e. this proposal > is one of the crucial ways to radicallly reduce our material footprint > > > One interesting and attractive feature of what Michel is proposing is the > bypassing of national governments. Given the growing network of cities > collaborating on climate breakdown and transition strategies, and for those > involved, their leadership in advancing more progressive transition > politics, the proposal being put forward has a strategic context where it > can be tested. > > > national partner-state governments could decide at a later stage to join > and support these global depositories > > by the way, this was written in the context of urban transitions, but I > realize it could be stronger in stressing the role of the cooperative > sector in supporting the deployment of such infrastructure > > Michel > > > > > Anyways, a bit more grist for the proverbial mill. > > Michael L > > On Oct 4, 2017, at 9:04 AM, Michel Bauwens <michel(a)p2pfoundation.net> > wrote: > > Dear Pat, > > as I was schooled in marxism in my youth, and subsequently abandoned it, > this means that much of the tradition you speak of is completely unknown to > me, I had simply no idea that georgism and guild socialism even existed and > where so big back then ... for me there were revolutionaries, reformists > and anarchists (and stalinists <g>) ... > > when I decided to embark on p2p work, I decided to make a clear break with > my dogmatic past, and start constructing a 'low theory' that would be a > more direct expression of what is happening and possible today. Hence in my > wiki, I only include things that exist (no projects or plans) and use > concepts that are born from the very movement I am observing. > > as much as I think it is necessary, I don't see it as a very realistic > possibility for me to dig into that history, so I am very much counting on > you for this historical context and genealogy!! > > one note, you will have seen in my approach a combination of the local and > the global, bypassing the nation-state level. > > There is both a opportunistic and strategic reason for this > > Opportunistic as it appears in a report on urban transitions, > > but strategic as I see coalesced cities (and bioregions/territorities) as > a crucial new part of transnational governance, which can't be a > inter-statist world government, but must be based on global public-commons > alliances > > quid with the nation-state, > > I am not dissing it, but I think nation-states should now support > transnational commons infrastructures > > the double movement has become inoperative because of the > trans-nationalization of capital; national revolutions carry great risks > and dangers (syriza, venezuela), and keynesianism can only be a small part > of the solution in the context of overshoot > > so what is a progressive majority in a nation-state to do, for sure, let > it do green new deals at the national level, but crucially, it must also > understand that change today is not going to come from a frontal assault > against a stronger enemy, but from a global coalition of change efforts > everywhere, which are the only ones that can overwhelm the repressive > capacity of the transnational empire > > in other words, progressive national governments must absolute support the > kind of global commoning policies we are proposing and cannot limit their > vision on their own citizens > > Michel > > On Wed, Oct 4, 2017 at 10:21 PM, pat commonfutures < > pat.commonfutures(a)phonecoop.coop> wrote: > > Hi Michel > > Some feedback for consideration..... > > This is a really good summary and illustration. So much makes complete > sense to me. Thanks so much for this articulation. I think it is rich and > very helpful indeed. When will the report be coming out and who are the > authors? > > I have a sense of deja vu however? So my comments are about the practical > articulation and the dynamics as other forces are in play. For the past > two hundred plus years, the tension and indeed struggle between authority > at the political level and the striving for democratic authority from the > grassroots has been continuous and constant. Polanyi's Double movement > therefore has many dynamic aspects to consider. How is it best to do this > to be clear about the dialectical complexity? > > Stephen Yeo, a very close colleague of Robin Murray's over decades, is > writing a book on the Three Socialisms. These are Statism (from social > democracy to communism), Collectivism and Associationism. The last form is > the most forms that are participatively democratic and includes working > class self-help associations for mutual aid and including of course trade > unions that we should try to include in your illustration of the layers. > > The ideas you are advancing are a rekindling of the debates and thinking > from say 1900 right up to 1947 when the Cold War kicked off and when > Statism thereafter effectively crushed and suppressed associative democracy > thinking and ideas. Statists East and West told co-ops and unions thank, > but no thanks. We are taking over to make your bits and pieces integrated > and comprehensive. > > But to guide this earlier struggle by commoners, In 1919 GDH Cole produced > his book Guild Socialism Restated when he set out a very clear blueprint > with a remarkable coincidence with what you, David B, Janelle Orsi and > others are working up here. > > What is very creative about the Cole proposals that Bertrand Russell fully > supported in his book Roads to Freedom a century ago was to recognise > clearly that political socialism (social democracy shall we say) and > associative socialism need to be established at the territorial level and > at the national level in a system of checks and balances with a clear and > agreed division of labour between the politicos and the economic democrats. > > Essentially the proposal of Cole set out a blue print for how economic > democracy though a Guild Congress at local, regional and national levels > would relate and complement Parliamentary democracy. But what was wonderful > about the Cole proposals is that it considered co-operative commonwealth > building in all industries, services, arts and sciences and worked out > sector solutions for them. Plus Cole also proposed that cities should be > based on land held in commons to capture economic rent and to stop > speculation. Thus he argued for co-operative garden cities. > > 20 years earlier in Fields Factories and Workshops had attempted a very > creative blueprint as well for economic democracy and what in practice this > would look like. > > Okay Polanyi did not arrive in the UK until about 1933 and his way to > escape fascism was paid for by crowd funding by Guild Socialist, but given > that in Vienna in the 1920s Polanyi was at the forefront of associative > democracy solutions and thinking, you can see the resonance. > > Given that democratic socialism is being rekindled in parts of Europe > (Spain, Portugal, the UK and elsewhere), I think it would helpful to > connect the sound thinking from the 1920s before the lights began being > turned out with what you are proposing. > > I would suggest we are rediscovering co-operative commonwealth thinking > and practice which you are doing such a brilliant job of updating to the > digital age. > > I hope this helps. Drawing on the best practices from the past will > enable us to contextualise the arguments and link these to this vernacular > part of the Double Movement we should not overlook. > > All the best > > Pat > > On 04 October 2017 at 06:35 Michel Bauwens <michel(a)p2pfoundation.net> > wrote: > > this is the very last section of our report which will come out soon with > the Boll foundation: > > 3.6. Towards a global infrastructure for commons-based provisioning > > We have argued in this overview that we are in a conjuncture in which > commons-based mutualizing is one of the keys for sustainability, fairness > and global-local well-being. In this conclusion, we suggest a global > infrastructure, in which cities can play a crucial role. > > See the graphic below for the stacked layer that we propose, which is > described as follows: > > - > > The first layer is the cosmo-local institutional layer. Imagine global > for-benefit associations which support the provisioning of infrastructures > for urban and territorial commoning. These are structured as global > public-commons partnerships, sustained by leagues of cities which are > co-dependent and co-motivated to support these new infrastructures and > overcome the fragmentation of effort that benefits the most extractive and > centralized ‘netarchical’ firms. Instead, these infrastructural commons > organizations co-support MuniRide, MuniBnB, and other applications > necessary to commonify urban provisioning systems. These are the global > “protocol cooperative” governance organizations. > - > > The second layer consists of the actual global depositories of the > commons applications themselves, a global technical infrastructure for open > sourcing provisioning systems. They consists of what is globally common, > but allow contextualized local adaptations, which in turn can serve as > innovations and examples for other locales. These are the actual ‘protocol > cooperatives’, in their concrete manifestation as usable infrastructure. > - > > The third layer are the actual local (urban, territorial, bioregional) > platform cooperatives, i.e. the local commons-based mechanisms that deliver > access to services and exchange platforms, for the mutualized used of these > provisioning systems. This is the layer where the Amsterdam FairBnb and the > MuniRide application of the city of Ghent, organize the services for the > local population and their visitors. It is where houses and cars are > effectively shared. > - > > The potential fourth layer is the actual production-based open > cooperatives, where distributed manufacturing of goods and services > produces the actual material services that can be shared and mutualized on > the platform cooperatives. > > ... > > [image: Figure 8.png] > > Figure 8: City-supported cosmo-local production infrastructure > > -- > Check out the Commons Transition Plan here at: > http://commonstransition.org > > P2P Foundation: http://p2pfoundation.net - http://blog.p2pfoundation.net > > 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 > > 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 > > 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: [xnet-news] About the manipulated information regarding the data protection of the census during the #CatalanReferendum
by Michel Bauwens 08 Oct '17

08 Oct '17

---------- Forwarded message ---------- From: Contact Xnet <contact(a)xnet-x.net> Date: Sun, Oct 8, 2017 at 1:18 AM Subject: [xnet-news] About the manipulated information regarding the data protection of the census during the #CatalanReferendum To: xnet-news(a)listas.xnet-x.net [sorry, english must be improved] https://xnet-x.net/en/en-about-manipulated-information- data-protection-census-catalanreferendum/ Recently, articles have been published by Xataca <https://www.xataka.com/seguridad/los-datos-de-los-votantes-en-el-referendum…> and El Pais <https://elpais.com/tecnologia/2017/10/05/actualidad/1507196018_140173.html> on an alleged security vulnerability that exposes Catalan census data to anyone with a little free time and bad intentions. A week earlier, a few days before the referendum vote, the Catalan Government surprised by using a encrypted and distributed technology <https://medium.com/@josepot/is-sensitive-voter-data-being-exposed-by-the-ca…> approach to overcome digital repression <https://xnet-x.net/en/digital-repression-and-resistance-catalan-referendum/> from the central government, allowing citizens to consult the polling stations where they should vote. The articles quoted question the safety of this system and alarmed that the data of citizens is already exposed because of this system. Xnet has studied the question and in we have to say: – To begin with, like any computer expert knows, one hundred percent security does not exist, anything could be hacked with sufficient resources. With the data we have now, we can say that the security of the census is very good especially in comparison with the censuses of the central government that, for example, in electoral period is often given to the political parties. – In the case of the Catalan census, the security measures applied have been optimal regarding the value of the data at risk: DNI (truncated, only the last 5 figures), postal code and date of birth. Data that could be collected much more easily with brute-force attacks or other attacks on other registers. Thus, the strategy of the Generalitat has been a risky but a functional and sufficiently secure emergency solution <https://blogs.elconfidencial.com/tecnologia/homepage/2017-10-06/mitos-verda…> . – Xnet has contacted other experts in cryptography to investigate the matter. Here is the feedback received: *“The cryptographic algorithm used is secure and in line with the ISO/IEC 18033-1:2015 and 18033-3:2010 standards. It uses a CBC encryption block that is also used in military environments and 256-bit AAS Hashing compatible. In this case, it is normal not to using “SALT” because the database had to be distributed and the decryption had to be carried out in each client. This would have required to expose the “SALT”. The criticism of not using SALT evidences a lack of knowledge in the matter and/or not having taken into account all the elements of the case. Thus, according to our professional opinion, the authors have not endangered the personal data of the Catalan census since the encryption procedure followed is in line with the standard in this matters. Although the brute-force attack scenario may be plausible, the relationship between the data obtained with respect to the investment in economic technology required is not profitable.”* – The alleged leak of data El País speaks about in its alarmist headline boils down to: with enough free time and knowing the last 5 digits of someone’s ID, some bad data thief could guess… his age and his neighborhood. Something quite inefficient for that data thief taking into account that the Public Administration and its poor management of our private data has left for years other better ways for massively obtaining more detailed citizen data. – We want to ask Xataka, a technology medium that we follow and respect, not to fall into the temptation to publish information not sufficiently corroborated in the form of “doubts for debate” as they contribute to a false debate that wants to reconstruct a symmetry in the a conflict that is not such and in reality a situation in which one of the only objective and over the parts data that we have is a constant violation of the rights on the Internet and civil liberties by the Spanish State. Doing this without enough precautions allows a technical issue to be used politically by propaganda and the creation of fake news. Regarding EL País, which in fact includes it in his serial fiction on “the network of Russian interference” that is behind everything that happens in Catalonia, as if it were not a historical political conflict with a broad social base; we simply ask them to stop publishing fakenewsand hysterical news stories about what is happening in Catalonia. We especially condemn its deliberate intention to criminalize distribution strategies and encryption technologies since they are opening the future doors to an improvement of the democratic quality and its criminalization entails a permanent state of authoritarian exception in our life in the digital space. ----- XNET https://xnet-x.net/en/ https://twitter.com/X_net_ https://www.facebook.com/RedX.Net ----- If you do not want to receive more email from this list please click the next link and send the email letting the subject or body untouched. UNSUBSCRIBE: mailto:[email protected]?subject=SIGNOFF%[email protected] &body=SIGNOFF%20xnet-news(a)listas.xnet-x.net Sorry for any inconvenience. -- Check out the Commons Transition Plan here at: http://commonstransition.org P2P Foundation: http://p2pfoundation.net - http://blog.p2pfoundation.net <http://lists.ourproject.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/p2p-foundation>Updates: http://twitter.com/mbauwens; http://www.facebook.com/mbauwens #82 on the (En)Rich list: http://enrichlist.org/the-complete-list/

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Fwd: Permaculture startup and unrepentant spam
by Michel Bauwens 08 Oct '17

08 Oct '17

---------- Forwarded message ---------- From: Benjamin Spock de Vries <bendevries1968(a)gmail.com> Date: Sun, Oct 8, 2017 at 6:16 AM Subject: Permaculture startup and unrepentant spam To: Hello everyone! Well, I've been working on this project for a year and a half and now we have grown out two year seedlings from one year old. We have Saskatoon, amelanchier alnifolia, WHICH ALREADY FLOWERED AND SET FRUIT THIS SPRING, like a wild blueberry tree and aronia melanocarpa, superfood berry. So now we will be ready to ship, nov. 1 to mar 15, of our first crop of fruit bushes to US states not incl. AK, HI, CA, FL Please forward this email to anyone you know who is engaged in or planning a food forest. Here is our product page http://huntergatherersfoodforests.com/shop/ THANKS! -- -- Ben de Vries Chief Biologist, Process Development Hunter Gatherer Food Forests http://huntergatherersfoodforests.com/ SKYPE: permaculture.designer YOUTUBE: permaculturedesigner NOTICE This email and any attachments may contain confidential or legally privileged information or copyright material. You should not read, copy, use or disclose them without authorization. If you are not an intended recipient, please notify the sender immediately by return email and then delete both messages. We do not accept liability in connection with computer virus, data corruption, delay, interruption, unauthorized access or unauthorized amendment. Please do not remove this notice. I find it rather easy to portray a businessman. Being bland, rather cruel and incompetent comes naturally to me. - John Cleese Margaret Atwood's Oryx and Crake: One of her characters asks, "As a species we're doomed by hope, then?" By hope? Well, yes. Hope drives us to invent new fixes for old messes, which in turn create ever more dangerous messes. Hope elects the politician with the biggest empty promise; and as any stockbroker or lottery seller knows, most of us will take a slim hope over prudent and predictable frugality. Hope, like greed, fuels the engine of capitalism. -- 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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Re: [P2P-F] 3D printing: a threat to global trade
by Michel Bauwens 07 Oct '17

07 Oct '17

i agree, it's going to be more than just 3d printing, nevertheless, this report is really grist to our mill in terms of the legitimacy and realism of cosmo-local production, Michel On Fri, Oct 6, 2017 at 8:13 PM, Bob Haugen <bob.haugen(a)gmail.com> wrote: > I don't doubt that more-automated local production is coming, but I wonder > if 3d printing is too narrow a focus. For example, > > Quality of 3D printed products falls short in some cases (Reeves and > Mendis, 2015). > For example, printed metal products sometimes contain holes and some > products > require an accuracy that 3D printers cannot deliver yet. According to > Kannekens it > will take quite some time to close this accuracy gap. “It took 3D printers > ten years to > raise the accuracy by a factor five, so you can imagine that increasing > the accuracy > by a factor ten, as needed to serve companies like ASML, will also take > many years.” > > Automated milling machines and automated manufacturing systems have been > around for awhile and I think can fill in the gaps of 3d printing. > https://madisoncollege.edu/program/automated-manufacturing-systems- > technology > > http://wiki.p2pfoundation.net/Cube_Spawn is a potential P2P-appropriate > example. > > On Fri, Oct 6, 2017 at 7:52 AM, Sharon Ede <sharonede.au(a)gmail.com> wrote: > >> Yes. And governments are merrily planning for export-led economic >> development in a world that will no longer exist... >> >> On 6 October 2017 at 23:08, Michel Bauwens <michelsub2004(a)gmail.com> >> wrote: >> >>> this is quite an explosive report in my view: >>> >>> >>> 3D printing a threat to global trade.pdf >>> <https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B8ojYwSnwORKUzhZZ3piT2M1ZlE/view?usp=drive…> >>> >>> >>> Executive summary  3D printing is still in its infancy. For now it has >>> very little effect on cross-border trade.  This will change once high >>> speed 3D printing makes mass production with 3D printers economically >>> viable. The first technical steps have already been taken.  3D printing >>> will lead to less trade growth because 3D printers use far less labour, >>> reducing the need to import intermediate and final goods from low wage >>> countries.  It is tricky to define the exact potential of 3D printing, but >>> some experts expect a share of 50% in manufacturing over the next two >>> decades. Tentative calculations show that, if the current growth of >>> investment in 3D printers continues, 50% of manufactured goods will be >>> printed in 2060 in scenario I, with this figure possibly being achieved as >>> early as 2040 in scenario II in which investment doubles every five years. >>>  This is estimated to wipe out almost one quarter of world trade by 2060 >>> under scenario I (or two-fifths by 2040 under scenario II).  Automotive, >>> industrial machinery and consumer products are the industries that, as a >>> result of 3D printing, will take the lead in suppressing cross border trade >>> These industries are top investors in 3D printers and are large players in >>> world trade.  In automotive, the dominant bilateral trade flows are >>> exports from Mexico, Japan, Germany and Canada to the US. So these flows >>> will be most affected by 3D printing.  Locally printed car parts will >>> increase jobs at US-based automotive factories.  In industrial machinery >>> and consumer products, the largest bilateral export flows also have the US >>> as their main destination. China is the main origin country.  The >>> direction of flows in the most important 3D printing industries will lower >>> US trade deficits with Mexico and Germany (automotive) and China (machines, >>> consumer products), all large contributors to the US trade deficit.  Less >>> trade means that countries with trade deficits in manufacturing will see >>> deficits decline. This will be more pronounced for countries that import >>> relatively many products from leading industries in 3D printing. Countries >>> with a surplus in manufacturing trade will see their surpluses shrink, >>> especially if they currently export many products that will be 3D printed >>> in the near future >>> >>> >>> >>> . >>> >>> >>> >>> -- >>> P2P Foundation: http://p2pfoundation.net - >>> http://blog.p2pfoundation.net >>> >>> Connect: http://p2pfoundation.ning.com; Discuss: >>> http://lists.ourproject.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/p2p-foundation >>> >>> Updates: http://del.icio.us/mbauwens; http://friendfeed.com/mbauwens; >>> http://twitter.com/mbauwens; http://www.facebook.com/mbauwens >>> >>> >>> >>> >>> >> > -- P2P Foundation: http://p2pfoundation.net - http://blog.p2pfoundation.net Connect: http://p2pfoundation.ning.com; Discuss: http://lists.ourproject.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/p2p-foundation Updates: http://del.icio.us/mbauwens; http://friendfeed.com/mbauwens; http://twitter.com/mbauwens; http://www.facebook.com/mbauwens

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Fwd: Hussman Report
by Michel Bauwens 06 Oct '17

06 Oct '17

Michel, For your files. The next recession is near and will be ferocious, just so it's on your radar.Those prepared, of course, will make a ton of money Kind regards, Christopher ------------------------------------------------------------ ------------------------------------------------------------ ------------------------------------------------------------ ---------------------------------------- *October 2, 2017* *Blissful Delusion * *John P. Hussman, Ph.D. All rights reserved and actively enforced.* Reprint Policy <http://www.hussmanfunds.com/html/reprints.htm> The present moment of blissful delusion is remarkable to witness. Take it in. A few words and updated charts will do. The first chart below updates our variant of Robert Shiller’s cyclically-adjusted P/E (CAPE), where we’ve adjusted the measure to account for variation in the embedded profit margin; an adjustment that substantially improves the correlation of the resulting measure with actual subsequent market returns across history. Few investors recognize that one of the reasons why valuation multiples were so rich in 2000 is that profit margins were actually *below* historical norms at the time. It's also worth noting that the benefit of normalizing the embedded profit margin comes not just from muting margins that are *above* historical norms, but also from normalizing margins in periods where they are *below* historical norms. The next chart shows the margin-adjusted CAPE on an inverted log scale (left, blue line), along with the actual subsequent S&P 500 nominal average annual total return over the *subsequent* 12-year period (right, red line). The next chart updates our best estimate of the likely 12-year prospective total return on a conventional portfolio mix invested 60% in the S&P 500 Index, 30% in Treasury bonds, and 10% in Treasury bills. The current projection is the lowest in history, and I expect these weak passive investment returns, as they unfold, to trigger a rather broad crisis of pension underfunding in the years ahead. To estimate the S&P 500 component here, we’re using another measure I’ve introduced over time: the ratio of nonfinancial market capitalization to corporate gross value-added (including estimated foreign revenues). While we’re on the subject of corporate gross value-added (which essentially measures corporate revenues without double-counting intermediate inputs), I’ll add that another feature of Wall Street’s blissful delusion is the notion that “U.S. corporate taxes are the highest in the world.” It’s striking how disingenuous this claim is. The fact is that among all OECD countries, *the U.S. is also the only country that does not levy any tax at all on corporate value-added in the production of goods and services*. Without getting deep into the relative merits and challenges of a value-added tax, suffice it to say that 1) the “incidence” of a value-added tax (whether it’s paid by consumers in the form of higher prices, or corporations in the form of lower profits) varies depending on the demand and supply characteristics of each sector, and 2) because a value-added tax tends to be “regressive” all by itself (hitting lower income individuals proportionally more since it functions much like a tax on sales), the appropriate way to introduce a value-added tax is to require additional features of the tax code such as low-income exclusions. Countries can also use policies such as tax credits for investment, R&D, job training, and other arrangements to strengthen incentives for productive investment and job creation. The main point is this. The argument that U.S. taxes on corporate profits are somehow oppressive relative to other countries is an apples-to-oranges comparison. It wholly ignores that the U.S. levies no value-added tax on corporations *at all*, whereas the value-added tax is the principal revenue source for most other countries. The rhetoric on corporate taxes here is unfiltered effluvium. The chart below presents a clearer picture of U.S. corporate profits taxation. Actual taxes paid by U.S. companies, as a share of pre-tax profits, have never been lower, outside of the depths of the global financial crisis. As for the stock market, understand that total annual U.S. corporate taxes presently amount to only about 1.2% of current U.S. equity market capitalization, and even if a cut was to pass, it would be unlikely to endure for more than a few administrations. The potential effect of even a substantial percentage reduction in statutory rates for several years is quite small when the present value of the tax reduction is compared with existing equity market capitalization. The likely cumulative impact comes to just a few percent of stock market value. Against that, consider that the most reliable market valuation measures we identify (as measured by their correlation with actual subsequent S&P 500 total returns in market cycles across history) are currently between 2.5 and 2.7 times their historical norms (that is, 150% to 170% above those norms). Put simply, it seems misguided to imagine that “tax reform” will somehow make the most obscene speculative bubble in U.S. history something other than the most obscene speculative bubble in U.S. history. Corporations are *already* enjoying strikingly light tax burdens from a historical perspective, and investors are *already* paying extreme valuation multiples on elevated earnings. We are observing an episode that will make future investors wince. Just like the two closest analogs, the 1929 high and the tech bubble, I expect that future investors will shake their heads in wonder at the stark raving madness of it all, and ask what Wall Street could possibly have been thinking. In any event, I've shared what I see as my truth, and I experience no need to change anyone's mind. I remain content to abide our value-conscious, historically-informed, full-cycle discipline, and to follow our path. Others are free to continue along their own. *The foregoing comments represent the general investment analysis and economic views of the Advisor, and are provided solely for the purpose of information, instruction and discourse. Please see periodic remarks on the Fund Notes and Commentary <https://www.hussmanfunds.com/wmc/wmpfn_recent.htm> page for discussion relating specifically to the Hussman Funds and the investment positions of the Funds. * --- Prospectuses for the Hussman Strategic Growth Fund, the Hussman Strategic Total Return Fund, the Hussman Strategic International Fund, and the Hussman Strategic Dividend Value Fund, as well as Fund reports and other information, are available by clicking "The Funds" menu button from any page of this website. Estimates of prospective return and risk for equities, bonds, and other financial markets are forward-looking statements based the analysis and reasonable beliefs of Hussman Strategic Advisors. They are not a guarantee of future performance, and are not indicative of the prospective returns of any of the Hussman Funds. Actual returns may differ substantially from the estimates provided. Estimates of prospective long-term returns for the S&P 500 reflect our standard valuation methodology, focusing on the relationship between current market prices and earnings, dividends and other fundamentals, adjusted for variability over the economic cycle (see for example Investment, Speculation, Valuation, and Tinker Bell <http://www.hussmanfunds.com/wmc/wmc130318.htm>, The Likely Range of Market Returns in the Coming Decade <http://www.hussmanfunds.com/wmc/wmc050222.htm> and Valuing the S&P 500 Using Forward Operating Earnings <http://www.hussmanfunds.com/wmc/wmc100802.htm>). -- 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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