[P2P-F] From the Communism of Capital to a Capital for the Commons: Towards an Open Co-operativism

[Vasilis Kostakis]

A few contradictions, a paradox, a critique and an alternative regarding
the future of the Commons-oriented economies. This might be of interest:
http://www.triple-c.at/index.php/tripleC/article/view/561

*Abstract: *

  Two prominent social progressive movements are faced with a few
contradictions and a paradox. On the one side, we have a re-emergence of
the co-operative movement and worker-owned enterprises which suffer from
certain structural weaknesses. On the other, we have an emergent field of
open and Commons-oriented peer production initiatives which create common
pools of knowledge for the whole of humanity, but are dominated by
start-ups and large multinational enterprises using the same Commons. Thus
we have a paradox: the more communist the sharing license used in the peer
production of free software or open hardware, the more capitalist the
practice. To tackle this paradox and the aforementioned contradictions, we
tentatively suggest a new convergence that would combine both
Commons-oriented open peer production models with common ownership and
governance models, such as those of the co-operatives and the solidarity
economic models.

-- 
Dr. Vasilis Kostakis

Research Fellow
Ragnar Nurkse School of Innovation and Governance

Research Director
P2P Lab: http://p2plab.org
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