[P2P-F] Transnational and P2P Commons Transitions

Michel Bauwens michel at p2pfoundation.net
Sun Jul 27 05:18:48 CEST 2014


Two quick reactions to Orsan and Gordon.

First, thanks Orsan for acknowledging the importance of the
multi-perspectival work we are doing.

You mention the potential charge of 'reformism'. I do not consider my
position 'reformist'. Revolutionaries were never against reforms and my
ultimate goal is phase transition, i.e. overcoming infinite growth based
capitalism, while at the same time being meliorist (as defined by William
James). This means that, while the end goal is in mind, measures that
advance the cause in any way, are seen as positive milestones. So I would
call my position 'adaptive'.

Revolution as classically conceived, as a violent overthrow of one system
by another, I consider as organic events (even Lenin wrote one month before
the russian revolution: "unfortunately, I will not witness the revolution
in my lifetime) that are outside of anyone's control, (most of all the
revolutionaries themselves) and mostly caused by the inability of the
previous system to adapt. If you look at the 'bourgeois revolutions', you
will see a wide variety of revolutionary subjects (the russian star who
abolished serfdom, the junkers in prussia, with bismarck instituting the
first welfare state measures, the english radical religious reformers, and
so on ..) .. the classic one, the French Revolution, may have been the most
violent and led to the restoration by Napoleon; regarding so-called
workers' revolutions (they weren't), again, Russia led to Stalinism,
probably the worst outcome ...

My preference goes to the creation of maximally autonomous communities that
engage in counter-economics, and produce social charters to reconstitute
politics around p2p and the commons, as the athenians and free citizens of
the middle ages did. The endgame is phase transition, but not waiting until
it occurs, but instituting it through hyper-connected micro-scale
initiatives .. scaling through scope, until we are a social force that can
play at meso and macro-scale

Regarding Gordon, to explain my position. There has been a collective
decision by the core members of the p2p foundation, asking me to refrain
from further negative reactions, and I will abide by it. However, our
position is available on the wiki for those who search and ask, we are just
not spreading it actively. My associates estimated that anyone who needs to
know, is already aware of the logic of the flok mgt team.

I regret that Gordon is focusing on me as a person in this whole affair

Why an open letter to the person who challenged the abuse, and not to those
that conducted the abuse. It seems to me Gordon is focusing on the wrong
person(s).

Michel

-- 
*Please note an intrusion wiped out my inbox on February 8; I have no
record of previous communication, proposals, etc ..*

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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