January 2018 - P2P-Foundation - lists.ourproject.org

Fwd: CIRIEC-CESE: "Recent Evolutions of the Social Economy in the European Union" J.L. Monzon & R. Chaves: study & summary available in SEVERAL LANGUAGES
by Michel Bauwens 16 Jan '18

16 Jan '18

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Re: [P2P-F] P2P-Foundation Digest, Vol 85, Issue 10
by Eric Hunting 15 Jan '18

15 Jan '18

An experience I'm all too familiar with myself. Spent most of my childhood and young adulthood going through the same scenario. People--including physicians who should know better--assume illness is just temporary. You either get cured--fixed like a machine--or you die, but either way there's supposed to be a simple finality to it. When there is no such finality, then they start blaming the patient. For physicians, a chronic illness is a challenge to their competence, and they resent that. It often breaks up families. People often can't deal with the lifestyle changes being around a chronically ill person can impose on them, especially when the physicians aren't validating the reality of that illness. The rationalization of 'tough love' is popular in these situations... This subtle able-ism among physicians, teachers, and indeed 'professionals' of every sort, is rife in the contemporary culture, paralleling aspects of racism. Just recently, as I was facing that lawsuit from the publishers, both their attorneys and the judge accused me of not really being disabled because--I kid you not--I wrote too well for a disabled person. The attorneys actually submitted transcripts of things I wrote online as 'evidence'. This would seem outrageous except that, long ago, when I first applied for SSI disability income, the judge overseeing that case denied my application for exactly the same reason! Have you ever noticed how many people compulsively speak to those with obvious disabilities with the sort of tone they use when they speak to children? They do this to the elderly too. There's a common--almost instinctual--assumption that the disabled must be mentally disabled as well. If you don't fit these preconceptions, well, how can you really be disabled? Our culture remains rather primitive in many ways. On 1/15/18 1:29 AM, p2p-foundation-request(a)lists.ourproject.org wrote: > Subject: > [P2P-F] Fwd: Learning to Be Sick by Rabbi Elliot Kukla > From: > Michel Bauwens <michelsub2004(a)gmail.com> > Date: > 1/15/18, 1:28 AM > > To: > p2p-foundation <p2p-foundation(a)lists.ourproject.org> > > > a beautiful text, well worth reading, > > Michel > > ---------- Forwarded message ---------- > From: *Tikkun* <magazine(a)tikkun.org <mailto:[email protected]>> > Date: Sun, Jan 14, 2018 at 10:49 PM > Subject: Learning to Be Sick by Rabbi Elliot Kukla > To: Michelsub2004(a)gmail.com <mailto:[email protected]> > -- -- Eric Hunting erichunting(a)gmail.com

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Fwd: Learning to Be Sick by Rabbi Elliot Kukla
by Michel Bauwens 15 Jan '18

15 Jan '18

a beautiful text, well worth reading, Michel ---------- Forwarded message ---------- From: Tikkun <magazine(a)tikkun.org> Date: Sun, Jan 14, 2018 at 10:49 PM Subject: Learning to Be Sick by Rabbi Elliot Kukla To: Michelsub2004(a)gmail.com <http://org.salsalabs.com/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=DzvPMb4cFGV8kwxsW%2B8GNiq%2FNZ…> [Note from Tikkun: if you like this kind of content, please subscribe to Tikkun at www.tikkun.org/subscribe <http://org.salsalabs.com/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=RwIkZ%2FNeY8SVBAbBaK8oTCq%2FNZ…>or make a tax-deductible contribution to help keep our voice alive in the public sphere www.tikkun.org/donate <http://org.salsalabs.com/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=e179xY4uYdxbM3jYW%2FubSyq%2FNZ…> ] Learning to Be Sick {plus a prayer about able-ism} by Rabbi Elliot Kukla I became disabled overnight in a car accident. The car accident was a dream, but the disability was real. I dreamed I was driving through the ravaged streets of Oakland at the end of the world. I turned the corner and careened inescapably into a white chemical blaze. I woke with a start, the white flash still burning behind my eyes, the worst headache of my life piercing my left temporal lobe. I remembered my mother having a brain aneurysm years before, and knew the “worst headache of my life” was not to be ignored. My wife and I hurried to the hospital, expecting life to change forever. Once at the ER, things moved quickly: CT scans were ordered, crystal clear spinal fluid was drawn from my back. Eight hours later, I was told I was perfectly healthy. What they meant, but wouldn’t say, was that they didn’t know what was wrong. Over the next weeks and months, it became obvious that I was far from well. The terrible headaches continued, I developed burning nerve pain all over my torso, I was wrapped in a thick brain fog, I sprouted constant mouth ulcers, I was crushed with exhaustion. I would open my mouth and be unable to speak. I could get lost in my own house between bedroom and bathroom, and forget my wife’s name. I started having seizures. By then, I had discovered that I was no longer trusted by my doctors about my own body or experiences. I reported odd, terrifying, and sudden physical changes; they recommended Cognitive Behavioral Therapy and Weight Watchers. I felt exiled from the world of the well, isolated by thick walls of suspicion. I’m used to feeling like an outsider; I’m the first openly transgender rabbi ordained by a mainstream movement (Reform Judaism). I am used to being rejected and told I should not exist. But nothing prepared me for the outsider status of being chronically ill. Think about that for a moment: approximately 0.6% of US adults identify as transgender, just under 0.2% of the world population is Jewish, and 100% of us will get sick, but it is being chronically sick that makes me feel like an outsider. That’s how much our society fears and rejects the core human experience of being ill, of having a body that gets sick, that ages, that is not controllable. I went from doctor to doctor looking for answers, but overnight, I had gone from being a trusted rabbi and chaplain (who myself works with seriously ill and dying people on hospital medical teams) to a “hysterical” chronically ill person. Though I had seen it happen to my clients, I now understood firsthand that being disbelieved is nearly universal for people with chronic illnesses, especially ones that are largely invisible and/or hard to diagnose. I had believed that as a healthcare professional, equipped with skills and advocates to navigate the system, I would be treated differently. I soon learned how hubristic that was. Eventually, due to the tireless advocacy of my wife, I was diagnosed with Central Nervous System Lupus (an autoimmune disease which attacks the brain and central nervous system), as well as fibromyalgia, Chronic Fatigue Syndrome and complex migraines. My Lupus diagnosis would later be taken away and then given back countless times as suited the needs of health insurance and disability insurance companies in order to sort and manage me and decide how much care I was entitled to. The needs of my body were virtually irrelevant in this process as my diagnosis become a monetized affair where I had to jump through increasingly difficult hoops to “prove” it. Like most of us, I had been raised to see Illness as something temporary: a stopover on the way to recovery or to death, not a place to live. But weeks, months, and then years passed, and I did not get better. My doctors, and even some friends and family, suggested that I could get better if only I tried harder, relaxed more deeply, thought more positively. I became a lightning rod for others’ fears of disability, dependence, and fragility. In a political moment where healthcare is treated as a luxury, and hurricane victims are blamed for their own disasters, an ethic of personal responsibility reigns. But sometimes, sick people just stay sick. And there’s no meditation, medication, positive outlook, exercise, or smoothie that can magically fix it. Eventually, I stopped hoping to be well, or even pretending that I lived in that future-heavy land of hope anymore. I stopped trying to “overcome” my body, and started living a present tense life in chronic illness. As the pace of my life slowed, I could appreciate sensual pleasures in a new and heightened way: sunlight out my bedroom window, my dog’s velvety fur, a cool breeze in my garden, richly colored flowers. On days when my brain was too fogged to do anything, I let myself float in and out of a rich, infinitely layered dream world. With great difficulty, I learned how to accept care. A child of neglectful and absent parents, I had been fiercely independent for most of my life; now, as fatigue gripped my body, I needed help preparing food, showering, doing laundry, managing my medications. This demanded a difficult, profoundly spiritual vulnerability. I realized that if I were truly to see myself as equal to my seriously ill clients, and not performing a kind of “charity” in my work, I had to come to terms with the necessity of interdependence. We are born needing care and die needing care, and I am no exception. At brief moments in the middle of life, we hold the illusion of independence, but we are always driving on roads we did not build, eating foods we did not pick or raise. Allowing the illusion of my own independence to drop away unmasked a fundamental truth of being human. Like many people, I had once measured my worth by my capacity to produce things and experiences: to be productive at work, share responsibilities at home, “show up” equally in my friendships, and rack up achievements. Being sick has been a long, slow detox from capitalist culture and its mandate that we never rest. Slowly, I found a deeper value in relationship beyond reciprocity: an unconditional love and care based in justice, and a belief that all humans deserve relationship, regardless of whether we can offer anything measurable back. In these discoveries, I’ve been led by other sick and disabled people, whose value had always been apparent to me. Amidst the brilliant diversity of power wheelchairs, service dogs, canes, and ice packs it’s easy to see that we matter just as we are. Eventually, my body did change. I am now able to stay awake longer, and my pain has receded to a dull throb. I can leave the house more; I can visit my clients and mentor my hospice volunteers, for which I am grateful. But I don’t see myself as cured, nor do I imagine a cure will come. This is merely another chapter in the life of my body. If I’m lucky enough to get old, my body will change again. Due to my illnesses and family history, I’m more likely to develop dementia. As I age, my body and mind will surely become more disabled. I will lose cognitive and sensory capacities. My skin and muscles will sag and disintegrate. I will depend more and more on other people. I will not be able to control my bowels or my surroundings as tightly. I will lose teeth, hair, and precious memories. This is not a tragedy. This is what it means to be human. Eventually, my body did change. I am now able to stay awake longer, ad my pain has receded to a dull throb. I can leave the house more; I can visit my clients and mentor my hospice volunteers, for which I am grateful. But I don’t see myself as cured, nor do I imagine a cure will come. This is merely another chapter in the life of my body. If I’m lucky enough to get old, my body will change again. Due to my illnesses and family history, I’m more likely to develop dementia. As I age, my body and mind will surely become more disabled. I will lose cognitive and sensory capacities. My skin and muscles will sag and disintegrate. I will depend more and more on other people. I will not be able to control my bowels or my surroundings as tightly. I will lose teeth, hair, and precious memories. This is not a tragedy. This is what it means to be human. *Mi Sh’berach for Ableism* Rabbi Elliot Kukla May the one who blessed our ancestors, heal all the parts of our society that stigmatize, oppress, exclude, and deny us life-sustaining care, as sick and disabled people. May the day speedily come when each body’s unique strengths and capacities to give and receive care are celebrated and sanctified. Moses had a speech impediment and was appointed by God as the spokesperson for the enslaved Hebrew people with the help of his brother Aaron. So too, may each of us be granted the help, tools, aids, and access we need to be leaders and community builders. When Miriam was sick the whole camp of 600,000 people waited for her and stopped traveling for a week until she was able to leave her tent. May the day come soon, when our own communities surround us in our tents when we are too ill to leave our homes. Hannah cried out her pain out loud in the Temple when she was infertile and the Priestly authorities called her “mad”, but God and our tradition remembers this moment as the birth of personal prayer. We pray that soon the day will come when all of our cries, moans, and sighs of pain are recognized as the holiest of prayers. And when our mental or physical anguish is labelled as “crazy” by the powers that be, may we be surrounded by loving community and the presence of God to remind us of the holiness of our truth. And may tomorrow be a moment when these stories from our bible, are not the exception but the way the world is. May the God of our ancestors, heal this society of ableism, and bring us to a time where all of our unique strengths are celebrated, all of our diverse needs are met, and we can move together towards liberation for all. *Elliot Kukla* is a rabbi at the Bay Area Jewish Healing Center in San Francisco where he provides spiritual care to those who are dying, ill or bereaved, as well as co-directing the center’s end of life spiritual care volunteer program, *Kol Haneshama*. [Note from Tikkun: if you like this kind of content, please subscribe to Tikkun at www.tikkun.org/subscribe <http://org.salsalabs.com/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=kWFUuItXAjp%2FcjaSszBjGyq%2FNZ…>or make a tax-deductible contribution to help keep our voice alive in the public sphere www.tikkun.org/donate <http://org.salsalabs.com/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=j30GabTThGSeIx6w%2BAfHDiq%2FNZ…> ] Share on Facebook <http://org.salsalabs.com/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=x4PTvSl31Zt8Lapt0iUUlCq%2FNZ3a…> Share on Twitter <http://org.salsalabs.com/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=R2DBD0LtG45iq4lUnyncWiq%2FNZ3a…> ------------------------------ Click here to unsubscribe <http://org.salsalabs.com/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=u6gjEHdvMeKmE55YIcN4375yVePUnP…> if you are having trouble unsubscribing Click here <kay(a)tikkun.org> Copyright 2015 Tikkun Magazine. Tikkun is a registered trademark. 2342 Shattuck Avenue, #1200 <https://maps.google.com/?q=2342+Shattuck+Avenue,+%231200+%0D+Berkeley,+CA+9…> Berkeley, CA 94704 510-644-1200 Fax 510-644-1255 [image: empowered by Salsa] <http://www.salsalabs.com/?email> -- 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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what the p2p foundation is about: shifting from Generative Adversarial Networks to Generative Cooperative Networks
by Michel Bauwens 14 Jan '18

14 Jan '18

I think this author, John Ringland, really nailed what we are about , what we are trying to achieve and how to do this, see https://wiki.p2pfoundation.net/Generative_Adversarial_Network_vs_Generative… Generative Adversarial Network vs Generative Cooperative Network <https://wiki.p2pfoundation.net/Generative_Adversarial_Network_vs_Generative…> <https://wiki.p2pfoundation.net/Generative_Adversarial_Network_vs_Generative…> Discussion[edit <https://wiki.p2pfoundation.net/index.php?title=Generative_Adversarial_Netwo…> ]From GAN's, via GHN's, to GCN's ?[edit <https://wiki.p2pfoundation.net/index.php?title=Generative_Adversarial_Netwo…> ] John Ringland: "It is no accident that as a civilisation the sophistication of our adversarial capacities far exceeds the sophistication of our cooperative capacities. Our historical path and current situation have made it this way, but the balance is changing. There are two main generative processes underlying biological and cultural evolution and more broadly the evolution of any population of interacting adaptive agents. A GAN (generative adversarial network) generates more sophisticated means of coercing and exploiting each other; based on the capacity to control. E.g. a nationalist arms race generating advanced military-industrial-media complexes, and all that comes with these. A GCN (generative cooperative network) generates more sophisticated means of understanding and supporting each other; based on the capacity to nurture. E.g. a peaceful society generating harmonious networks of unified groups aligned around common needs and goals, and all that comes with these. GAN → power over, held together by competitive interactions. GCN → power with, held together by common needs and goals. Real world systems are a complex mixture of these two principles. For instance, in a forest each multi-cellular organism is a highly refined GCN comprised of trillions of cells. Advanced organisms also live in complex family or social groups which are also GCNs but less tightly integrated. There may also be weak inter-species cooperative networks. Aside from these, all organisms and species are engaged in a competition to satisfy their basic needs; resulting in a wider context GAN within which the many GCNs are embedded. Throughout biological evolution the primary integrating principle was GCNs. It was cooperative networks that gave rise to higher levels of organisation, eventually resulting in tightly integrated collectives such as multi-cellular organisms. However *in a human cultural context a new integrative principle has emerged, which is primarily GAN with a veneer of GCN. I will call these GHNs (generative hierarchical networks). These were famously described by Machiavelli but had been evolving for aeons before him. This principle creates organisations based on internal competition rather than cooperation.* It is a structure formed from interlocking fear and distrust, leading to coerced conformity to ‘authority’. There need be no shared goal, in fact the collective may act against the interests of most of its members because lower levels of the hierarchy are controlled by the upper levels. Much of the human world is a complex tapestry of GHNs, such as empires, monarchies, governments, armies, bureaucracies, corporations, etc. A GHN is a GAN based organising principle, through which we have organised into a GAN dominated world, wracked with conflict and strife. A GHN can induce conformity but it has side effects, such as breaking social solidarity, weakening the ability to align around common goals and thereby destroying our capacity to engage cooperatively. The phenomenon we call ‘capitalism’ is a decentralised GHN, pitting everyone against everyone in a competitive struggle for survival. Most people spend most of their lives engaged in adversarial interactions and this has become the norm, thus GCNs such as local communities and families steadily weaken and decay in such a climate. Most of our language (and culture as a whole) is a product of adversarial competition. The field of NVC (Non violent communication) sheds light on just how adversarial our language and communication styles are. In NVC this is referred to as speaking ‘jackal’. This is the language of a culture that has evolved via primarily GAN processes. It is a language of judgement, projection, denial of the other’s perspective, imposing one’s own perspective, coercion, deception, manipulation, etc. It is a language born from power struggle. In a GAN any predictable behaviour will be used against you. Your virtues if you are known to be virtuousness. Your deviousness if you are known to be devious. Your lust if you are known to be lustful. Your trauma coping strategies if you are known to be traumatised. In particular, what is most predicable is basic needs and the various strategies we use to meet these needs. These get ‘gamed’ the most. In a GAN based society, one generation's model citizen is the next generation's tool. If a society encourages patriotism, this becomes a point of leverage to drive populations into war. If a society encourages hard work, these hard workers become more and more enslaved. If a society encourages trust and faith, these become gullible fools for all kinds of deceptions. Etc. With each experience of exploitation we adapt our behaviour to protect ourselves, but soon this too becomes predictable and is used as a point of leverage to control us. Due to this arms-race-effect within GAN’s, our interactions have become far removed from the level of basic needs and what it takes to meet these. Hence most people in this world strive endlessly and yet remain deeply unsatisfied. Satisfying basic needs becomes the hardest of all for many: on the physical level this results in mass starvation amidst plenty of food, on the social level in mass alienation in a crowded world, and on the psychological level in mass despair amidst so much potential hope. A GAN based culture arises from an arms race of tactics for exploitation and control. The more sophisticated such a culture becomes the more exploitative and controlling it becomes, and the more casualties there are. Thus a GAN culture sows the seeds of its own demise. The oppressive situation breaks the solidarity that legitimises the power structure, leading to fracturing and polarisation of the collective. A GCN based culture arises from a cooperative sharing of tactics for understanding and supporting each other. The more sophisticated such a culture becomes the more understanding and supportive it becomes, and the more beneficiaries there are. Thus a GCN culture sows the seeds of its own thriving. The nurturing situation strengthens the solidarity that legitimises the relational structure, leading to unification and alignment within the collective. *An extremely overbalanced GCN can also sow the seeds of its own demise, by losing the capacity to engage effectively in adversarial situations (which will inevitably arise). For example, a tribe becoming so peaceful they forget how to fight, and are soon attacked and destroyed by another tribe.* A dynamic balance of GCN and GAN is required. For instance, in a rational discussion, i.e. a collaborative working towards ‘truth’ (and many other situations): GANs put things to the test. GCNs give things what they need to exist. Too much GAN and we end up with a rigid dogmatic structure, where alternatives are stamped out. Too much GCN and we end up with a profusion of incoherent structures, where energy is wasted exploring every conceivable alternative no matter how improbable. Shifting from GAN to GCN turns conflict into creative tension, and power-over into power-with. The old world has been primarily a GAN, but there is the potential that the new world may be primarily a GCN. This shift from GAN to GCN may be a useful way of understanding the approaching transition. The process of navigating and traversing the transition phase is Uplift. Uplift raises us out of the GAN we are in and into a higher order GCN. The central question is: how can we enable and encourage the formation of GCNs within the existing GAN? How could these bubbles form, grow, merge and eventually shift the whole civilisation towards a more cooperative generative process. Another important question is: what is it that GANs create in abundance, which can be used as a resource to enable future GCNs? They create disillusioned, alienated, frustrated individuals who know there is something wrong with the world but feel powerless to do anything about it; creating a dire lack of meaning, belonging, trust, hope, etc. This is a growing motivation for change." (email, January 2018) -- 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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George Pór invited you to Refind
by George Pór (via Refind) 13 Jan '18

13 Jan '18

George uses Refind and thinks you should too. Join Refind to discover, save, and read the most relevant stories on the web. Accept invite: https://refind.com/technoshaman?invite=16977e34a7 -- This email was initiated by George, not Refind. We may send reminders about this invitation if we don't hear from you. Unsubscribe: https://refind.com/i/email/unsubscribe/506/invite?address=p2p-foundation@li…

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Fwd: Paperback Edition of Participation and the Mystery
by Michel Bauwens 13 Jan '18

13 Jan '18

---------- Forwarded message ---------- From: Jorge Ferrer <jorgeferrer2012(a)gmail.com> Date: Fri, Jan 12, 2018 at 8:08 PM Subject: Paperback Edition of Participation and the Mystery To: Jorge Ferrer <jferrer(a)ciis.edu> Dear friends and colleagues: I am very pleased to inform you that the *paperback edition* of my new book, *Participation and the Mystery: Transpersonal Essays in Psychology, Education, and Religion* (SUNY Press, 2017), is finally out! Amazon lists the book as *#1 Release in Transpersonal Psychology*. In addition to being substantially cheaper, this edition corrects typos included in the hardcover version. Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Participation-Mystery- Transpersonal-Psychology-Education/dp/143846486X/ref= tmm_pap_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=&sr= SUNY Press: http://www.sunypress.edu/p-6388-participation-and-the- mystery.aspx Needless to say, I would appreciate it if you kindly circulate this news through your networks, but please feel no pressure to do so. Warmest regards, Jorge *Summary* [image: ead First Chapter image missing] <http://www.sunypress.edu/pdf/63513.pdf> *A groundbreaking and hopeful new look at contemporary spirituality, transpersonal psychology, integral education, and religious diversity and pluralism.* *Participation and the Mystery* is both an introduction to and expansion of Jorge N. Ferrer’s groundbreaking work on participatory spirituality, which holds that human beings are active cocreators of spiritual phenomena, worlds, and even ultimates. After examining the impact of his work since the publication of *Revisioning Transpersonal Theory*, Ferrer discusses the relationship between science and transpersonal psychology, the nature of a fully embodied spirituality, and the features of integral spiritual practice. The book also introduces a participatory philosophy of education and applies it to the academic teaching of mysticism and a novel approach to embodied spiritual inquiry. Critically engaging the influential work of Stanislav Grof, Ken Wilber, and A. H. Almaas, Ferrer concludes with an original solution to the problem of religious pluralism that affirms the ontological richness of religious worlds while avoiding the extremes of perennialism and contextualism, offering a hopeful vision for the future of world religion. *Participation and the Mystery* is an invaluable resource to anyone seeking to deepen their understanding of participatory approaches to transpersonal psychology, integral and contemplative education, contemporary spirituality, and religious studies. “…these brilliant new essays are required reading for anyone seriously interested in spirituality, psychology, religion, mysticism, philosophy of science and education … the volume is highly stimulating and thought-provoking in articulating a participatory perspective across a number of disciplines and challenging us to become more integral, embodied and responsible.” — *Paradigm Explorer* “…a fine book, serving as a compelling addition to Jorge Ferrer’s distinctive approach to transpersonal psychology. For those who are unfamiliar with the field, this volume might well serve as an initiation to further reading. For those conversant with transpersonalism, there is a rich and wide-ranging engagement here with relevant fields of research, and Ferrer advances and elucidates his previous work in a number of new and valuable ways.” — *Reading Religion* “The range of ideas expressed in this compelling series of papers is extensive.” — *Journal of Analytical Psychology* “In *Participation and the Mystery*, we are given the opportunity to dive into the engaging, provocative, and stunningly erudite thought of Jorge N. Ferrer, arguably one of the premier transpersonal theorists of our time. Building on the key essays written after the publication of his seminal work, *Revisioning Transpersonal Theory*, Ferrer shows us how his compelling and extremely fertile participatory model can be applied, with intriguing and rewarding results, to multiple, highly distinct fields of discourse. Read this book if you want your worldview to be both challenged and enriched.” — G. William Barnard, author of *Living Consciousness: The Metaphysical Vision of Henri Bergson* “Ferrer is a leading figure in transpersonal psychology. His participatory perspective explains both the deep commonalities and the creative diversity of spiritual traditions. It provides a way to understand the general phenomenon of spirituality without falling prey to ideological dogmatism or the tendency to privilege one’s own spiritual tradition or practice over others. Ferrer’s work deserves to be widely read.” — Michael Washburn, author of *Transpersonal Psychology in Psychoanalytic Perspective* “This is an important collection of essays from one of the leading contemporary thinkers in transpersonal studies. Ferrer’s participatory approach represents the most significant development in transpersonal theory and practice to have emerged this century, and this book is the ideal introduction to Ferrer’s work. It will become required reading for all students of transpersonal psychology, as well as for anyone seeking to deepen their understanding of transformational practice, transpersonal education, spirituality, and religion.” — Michael Daniels, author of *Shadow, Self, Spirit: Essays in Transpersonal Psychology* “Rich and thought-provoking, this book ranges widely through Ferrer’s reflections on the participatory worldview in relation to psychology, education, and religion.” — Andrew O. Fort, Texas Christian University *Jorge N. Ferrer* is Professor of East-West Psychology at the California Institute of Integral Studies. He is the author of *Revisioning Transpersonal Theory: A Participatory Vision of Human Spirituality* and the coeditor, with Jacob H. Sherman, of *The Participatory Turn: Spirituality, Mysticism, Religious Studies*, both also published by SUNY Press. -- Jorge N. Ferrer, PhD Core faculty Department of East-West Psychology California Institute of Integral Studies San Francisco, California http://www.ciis.edu/faculty-and-staff-directory/jorge-n-ferrer-bio -- 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] class analysis of the token economy, part 2
by Michel Bauwens 12 Jan '18

12 Jan '18

thanks james, I see a parallel of what is happening with this labor aristocracy with what happened to the engineering class in the late 19th cy ... part of these post-artisans where coopted by capital .. ; the difference today is as you say that the ecological crisis makes it a tragedy ... the good news is here, i.e. how close the new generative social movements are to our own analysis and recommendations, see: ( http://www.interfacejournal.net/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/Interf… ) Excerpts[edit <https://wiki.p2pfoundation.net/index.php?title=Local_Food_Movement_in_Belgi…> ]On the political origins of the movement[edit <https://wiki.p2pfoundation.net/index.php?title=Local_Food_Movement_in_Belgi…> ] "The current renewal of local food networks in Western Europe, and notably in France (Zimmer, 2011), Italy (Toscano, 2011) and French-speaking Belgium finds its roots in the alter-globalization movement in the early 2000. In France, the new local food network setting, AMAP2, was launched in 2001 by small peasants and a local section of the alter-globalization network ATTAC and was directly inspired by the US groups for “Community Supported Agriculture”. In Liège, two social and cultural centres particularly active in the local alterglobalization movement were also among the first ones to start direct purchase groups for local food. The “Beau Mur” hosts both the local section of ATTAC and one of the larger group of local food consumers in town. It gathers over 80 families every Tuesday. A frontrunner of the local alter-globalization movement and the heart of the "Social Forum in Liège" in mid-2000s, the autonomous social and cultural centre "Barricade3" launched its “GAC” as early as 1999. It organizes a dozen talks a year about food, denouncing the hold of transnational corporation over food and pointing to concrete alternatives. In 2013, Barricade was again the main initiator of a new model of local food network: the “Liège Food-Earth Belt” (“Ceinture Aliment-Terre Liégeoise”, see below). It involves dozens of actors from different sectors and promotes the production and local food consumption. As I have showed elsewhere (Pleyers, 2010: 35-105) Barricade and most of the local food initiatives emerged in a specific part of the alter-globalization movement, bathed in a culture of activism4 that focuses on prefigurative activism, personal subjectivity and a concept of change rooted in everyday life." Scaling through swarming[edit <https://wiki.p2pfoundation.net/index.php?title=Local_Food_Movement_in_Belgi…> ] "Rather than enlarging its various groups, many groups thus opt for “emulation” (Tarde, 2001) and “swarming” rather than a growing organization (Pleyers, 2010: 93): “We don’t seek to build a big organization but many, many small organizations, each maintaining its specificities.” By doing so, they hope to maintain convivial and participatory group dynamics and to counter the trend towards institutionalization that usually characterizes civil society organizations and solidarity economy projects. When a group grows, the interpersonal dimension progressively gets lost and the separation between the project entrepreneurs and the more passive “consumers” widens. These actors lead us to reconsider the importance of local level in a globalized world." On Fri, Jan 12, 2018 at 4:06 PM, <jbquilligan3(a)charter.net> wrote: > Ironic how an ICO token economy is actually a classic *token economy, *a > faux system of symbolic exchange. Yet it is difficult to understand why yet > another version of supply-side production, investment and finance -- which > has led to most of the present crises in global society, including the > widening inequality and poverty of the precariat and the increasing > deterioration of Earth's vulnerable natural cycles -- is continuing to be > marketed as an invisible hand of God which will regenerate civilisation and > create a Techno/Hayekian/Randian Utopia. We know from history that social > illusion and economic bubbles go hand in hand, but it is past time to > recognise that we are in a major planetary crisis because Nature will not > wait for us to reconfigure our economic systems. So it is simply not enough > to critique this civilisational problem as a failure of democratic > capitalism or neo-liberalism. A new generation is being drawn into this > myth of token economies as its overarching hope, and more human energy, > creativity and productive labor are being diverted from the real social and > ecological problems, distracting everyone and creating greater confusion. > Much of the dialogue I've seen in this space during recent weeks has > renewed my faith that the P2P group is truly on the track of systemic > change and the development of a new narrative. Thank you, friends, your > efforts are much needed and greatly appreciated. > > ----------------------------------------- > From: "Michel Bauwens" > To: "p2p-foundation" > Cc: > Sent: 12-Jan-2018 11:40:47 +0000 > Subject: class analysis of the token economy, part 2 > > > Tokens as a Model for Community Acquisition > <https://wiki.p2pfoundation.net/index.php?title=Tokens_as_a_Model_for_Commun…> > [edit > <https://wiki.p2pfoundation.net/index.php?title=Bancor&action=edit&section=3> > ] > > Chance Barnett: > > "In this way, a token sale represents a new model of crowdsourcing or > crowdfunding, where the line between buyers and customers are blurred. > > As an example, imagine if 1,000 new participants sign up and buy tokens in > an ICO. This not only provides funding for futher development and > expansion, it also jumpstarts the underlying service with a community of > users as token holders. One example of this was the Bancor ICO, which took > in over $153M at the time, while the sale also resulted in thousands of > token-buyers. These early and first buyers of the Bancor token are the most > likely future users and adopters of the core protocol and services that > Bancor provides. > > "We had one of the largest bounty programs in history with thousands of > active participants working towards the success of the token launch, > directly through our software's alpha demo," Galia Benartzi, CoFounder and > VP of Business Development at Bancor explained. > > "While we ourselves were a small team, we had ambassadors all over the > world translating, explaining and creating great content about the Bancor > protocol. These contributors remain more motivated than ever to see the > project succeed, as they own a piece of the open source network via their > tokens. Rather than paying marketing or PR firms, we can share these > resources directly with end-users in a distributed and still orchestrated > way. The reach is a step function larger and also feels much more > authentically aligned. This is inline with blockchain's promise to > decentralize every aspect of business, including growth itself." ( > <https://www.forbes.com/sites/chancebarnett/2017/09/23/inside-the-meteoric-r…> > https://www.forbes.com/sites/chancebarnett/2017/09/23/ > inside-the-meteoric-rise-of-icos/#2e010b515670) > > -- > Check out the Commons Transition Plan here at: > <http://commonstransition.org>http://commonstransition.org > > P2P Foundation: <http://p2pfoundation.net>http://p2pfoundation.net - > <http://blog.p2pfoundation.net>http://blog.p2pfoundation.net > > <http://lists.ourproject.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/p2p-foundation>Updates: > <http://twitter.com/mbauwens>http://twitter.com/mbauwens; > <http://www.facebook.com/mbauwens>http://www.facebook.com/mbauwens > > #82 on the (En)Rich list: <http://enrichlist.org/the-complete-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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how do contemporary social change movements grow ?
by Michel Bauwens 12 Jan '18

12 Jan '18

dear all, below a strongly recommended essay that shows how close our analysis and recommendations fit with the actual record of how contermpary movements are initiated and grow, see https://wiki.p2pfoundation.net/Local_Food_Movement_in_Belgium ** Article: The local food movement in Belgium: from prefigurative activism to social innovations. By Geoffrey Pleyers. Interface: a journal for and about social movements. Volume 9 (1): 123 – 139 (2017)* URL = http://www.interfacejournal.net/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/Interf… Contents [hide <https://wiki.p2pfoundation.net/Local_Food_Movement_in_Belgium#>] - 1 Abstract <https://wiki.p2pfoundation.net/Local_Food_Movement_in_Belgium#Abstract> - 2 Excerpts <https://wiki.p2pfoundation.net/Local_Food_Movement_in_Belgium#Excerpts> - 2.1 On the political origins of the movement <https://wiki.p2pfoundation.net/Local_Food_Movement_in_Belgium#On_the_politi…> - 2.2 Scaling through swarming <https://wiki.p2pfoundation.net/Local_Food_Movement_in_Belgium#Scaling_throu…> Abstract[edit <https://wiki.p2pfoundation.net/index.php?title=Local_Food_Movement_in_Belgi…> ] "This article provides an analysis of the action logics and challenges that underline the evolution of the local food sector in Belgium and the challenges that these actors face in a new stage of the movement for local, organic and fair food. Since 2000, disparate local movements have spread all over Belgium, in the wave of the alter-globalization movements, critical consumerism and prefigurative and concrete actions against neoliberalism. Regional networks of those groups have progressively emerged, and have become socio-political actors. While prefigurative activism and the original critical stances towards markets and mainstream economics remain present in many groups, a rising part of the local food activists now draw on a confluence of critical consumption, ecological transition, the social economy and solidarity and local development." ( http://www.interfacejournal.net/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/Interf… ) Excerpts[edit <https://wiki.p2pfoundation.net/index.php?title=Local_Food_Movement_in_Belgi…> ]On the political origins of the movement[edit <https://wiki.p2pfoundation.net/index.php?title=Local_Food_Movement_in_Belgi…> ] "The current renewal of local food networks in Western Europe, and notably in France (Zimmer, 2011), Italy (Toscano, 2011) and French-speaking Belgium finds its roots in the alter-globalization movement in the early 2000. In France, the new local food network setting, AMAP2, was launched in 2001 by small peasants and a local section of the alter-globalization network ATTAC and was directly inspired by the US groups for “Community Supported Agriculture”. In Liège, two social and cultural centres particularly active in the local alterglobalization movement were also among the first ones to start direct purchase groups for local food. The “Beau Mur” hosts both the local section of ATTAC and one of the larger group of local food consumers in town. It gathers over 80 families every Tuesday. A frontrunner of the local alter-globalization movement and the heart of the "Social Forum in Liège" in mid-2000s, the autonomous social and cultural centre "Barricade3" launched its “GAC” as early as 1999. It organizes a dozen talks a year about food, denouncing the hold of transnational corporation over food and pointing to concrete alternatives. In 2013, Barricade was again the main initiator of a new model of local food network: the “Liège Food-Earth Belt” (“Ceinture Aliment-Terre Liégeoise”, see below). It involves dozens of actors from different sectors and promotes the production and local food consumption. As I have showed elsewhere (Pleyers, 2010: 35-105) Barricade and most of the local food initiatives emerged in a specific part of the alter-globalization movement, bathed in a culture of activism4 that focuses on prefigurative activism, personal subjectivity and a concept of change rooted in everyday life." Scaling through swarming[edit <https://wiki.p2pfoundation.net/index.php?title=Local_Food_Movement_in_Belgi…> ] "Rather than enlarging its various groups, many groups thus opt for “emulation” (Tarde, 2001) and “swarming” rather than a growing organization (Pleyers, 2010: 93): “We don’t seek to build a big organization but many, many small organizations, each maintaining its specificities.” By doing so, they hope to maintain convivial and participatory group dynamics and to counter the trend towards institutionalization that usually characterizes civil society organizations and solidarity economy projects. When a group grows, the interpersonal dimension progressively gets lost and the separation between the project entrepreneurs and the more passive “consumers” widens. These actors lead us to reconsider the importance of local level in a globalized world." -- 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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class analysis of the token economy, part 2
by Michel Bauwens 12 Jan '18

12 Jan '18

Tokens as a Model for Community Acquisition <https://wiki.p2pfoundation.net/index.php?title=Tokens_as_a_Model_for_Commun…> [edit <https://wiki.p2pfoundation.net/index.php?title=Bancor&action=edit&section=3> ] Chance Barnett: "In this way, a token sale represents a new model of crowdsourcing or crowdfunding, where the line between buyers and customers are blurred. As an example, imagine if 1,000 new participants sign up and buy tokens in an ICO. This not only provides funding for futher development and expansion, it also jumpstarts the underlying service with a community of users as token holders. One example of this was the Bancor ICO, which took in over $153M at the time, while the sale also resulted in thousands of token-buyers. These early and first buyers of the Bancor token are the most likely future users and adopters of the core protocol and services that Bancor provides. "We had one of the largest bounty programs in history with thousands of active participants working towards the success of the token launch, directly through our software's alpha demo," Galia Benartzi, CoFounder and VP of Business Development at Bancor explained. "While we ourselves were a small team, we had ambassadors all over the world translating, explaining and creating great content about the Bancor protocol. These contributors remain more motivated than ever to see the project succeed, as they own a piece of the open source network via their tokens. Rather than paying marketing or PR firms, we can share these resources directly with end-users in a distributed and still orchestrated way. The reach is a step function larger and also feels much more authentically aligned. This is inline with blockchain's promise to decentralize every aspect of business, including growth itself." ( https://www.forbes.com/sites/chancebarnett/2017/09/23/inside-the-meteoric-r… ) -- 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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important quote, a class analysis of the token economy ?
by Michel Bauwens 11 Jan '18

11 Jan '18

a class analysis of the token economy: By Vincent Chen and Ramon Recuero: "We’ve come to the understanding that in the blockchain paradigm, developers can capture value through protocol innovation. To continue our discussion, we review how blockchain technologies evolved to eventually cater to developers. Eight years ago, Bitcoin was conceived as a virtual currency that removed the need for centralized financial systems. Initially, developers actually tried building applications upon the Bitcoin blockchain by storing data in the blockchain itself, but it turned out to be pretty inefficient (as described in another old Joel post!). One of these developers, Vitalik Buterin, was frustrated by Bitcoin’s immobilism and risk averse culture for adopting new developer-friendly features. So, he built his own platform, Ethereum. While Bitcoin was originally intended to serve as a new medium for financial store of value, Ethereum was invented to serve as a Turing complete developer environment. In Ethereum, developers write smart contracts in the Solidity programming language, and those smart contracts are run in the Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM). Here, we observe an opportunity for developers to fork and implement their own blockchains to serve different purposes. To do so, however, would require rekindling developer support and network effects that existing blockchain technologies had previously achieved. Today, building on top of existing networks like Ethereum allows developers to become stakeholders in not only their own applications, but also the underlying protocol." (http://blog.ycombinator.com/building-for-the-blockchain/) -- 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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