[P2P-F] eco-systemic supply chains are on their way

Tue Aug 7 09:28:07 CEST 2018

hi David,

I may see this a bit differently than yourself,

i.e. the market itself can have extractive and/or generative forms, and the
commons need to interact with the market and the commons,

in order for the market to work for the commons, it needs to be a
generative market, i.e. a non-capitalist or post-capitalist market form or
at least a suitable adapted capitalist market form that is kept at arms
length

a commons sector can use 'communist principles' internally, as it does in
open source, everybody can contribute and use, or it can use 'socialist
principles' internally (reciprocal relationships and allocations); but
externally, in this society, it cannot escape relations with the market,

now in the blockchain space, the commons are geared towards the market, in
ways that seem acceptable to most actors in these sectors, as they do for
most of open source spaces; but for us, that is not sufficient, since these
arrangements still generate major exclusions (higher gini coefficients than
normal market relationships) and ecological damages (relatively higher than
external); this being said, blockchain economics are tilted far more in
favour of labour, however, at the price of exploiting 'external labor'

so we favour different arrangement, a la Enspiral, in which the market and
capital, sustains and grows the commoners and their resources

but you never talk about commos sectors in your work but about networks

hence for you, what is important, is that the corporate market form is
subsumed to the network form, i.e. there are much less possibilities for
vertically integrated oligopolies; in blockchain economies all market
players are subsumed to the new network form, which is a hybrid of markets
and commons, but  they are not completely subsumed to the commons sector as
such

nevertheless, what is already shows is that a network form , allied with a
strong commons element, is for market forces, already more competitive than
market forms without the commons, that surely, must be significant enough
for your TIMN framework,

open source was the first wave of this, blockchain is the second, and the
platform economy is also a form of this

at a more marginal local level, urban commons are also playing a role in
this transformation

but for a commons sector to thrive as such, major societal reforms would be
necessary, i.e. a shift away from extractive financing, to generative
financing models

this is the price to pay for saving the planet, otherwise we are doomed

On Tue, Aug 7, 2018 at 12:29 AM David Ronfeldt <ronfeldt at icloud.com> wrote:

> Your email refers to an article about applying blockchain to business
> actors in a market economy. What interests me far more is the nature of
> actors who will end up in a new commons sector, possibly after migrating
> there from the old public and private sectors. Will blockchain-like methods
> give them advantages? Enough to help form and sustain a distinct commons
> sector?
>
> As you know, I think good candidates for this sector will come from
> health, education, environment, and welfare activities and related
> insurance entities, following huge reorganizations. A while back I saw an
> article about blockchain’s promise for insurance, observing among other
> points that "Blockchain adoption has the power to transition new and
> existing models of insurance, including P2P insurance, parametric insurance
> and microinsurance, into a new digital age.”
>
> The article you circulated about “V-form networks” implies improvements
> for the market sector. Fine with me. But I’d sure like to see lots more
> about competitive advantages for a commons sector vis a vis the old public
> and private sectors, along with cooperative advantages within and without
> this prospective commons sector. At least I’ve seen few references to using
> blockchain/ holochain/ whatever in hospitals and schools.
>
> More generally, i shall hope that this prospective new commons sector
> (which will be decades in the making) focuses on being itself,  the commons
> sector, and not on transforming all of society. Many problems we have now
> stem from the public and private sectors trying to be so much more than
> they should be, distorting our society (including by squeezing and
> burdening the family /community /household sector). All of which helps
> explain why I’d say politicians like Bernie Sanders and Alexandra
> Ocasio-Perez would be well-advised to cease calling for socialism across
> society as a whole and instead call for socialism in one sector, since the
> commons sector should meet many of their values and principles. TIMN is not
> a socialist theory, but it could commend what I just suggested.
>
> Onward.
>
>
> ===
>
> > On Aug 5, 2018, at 8:19 AM, Michel Bauwens <michelsub2004 at gmail.com>
> wrote:
> >
> > dear James,
> >
> > in the context of our study,
> https://www.foprop.org/stewarding-material-commons
> >
> > perhaps this context is precisely what you could offer us ? I am also
> still in particular need of a good explanation, for a separate 'explanatory
> box' of the 3 thermodynamic laws,
> >
> > Michel
> >
> > On Sun, Aug 5, 2018 at 2:31 AM <jbquilligan3 at charter.net> wrote:
> > beyond earthquake, Michel
> >
> > the global political economy of supply chains restructured by blockchain
> will be in full operation when emergency rationing is instituted about
> 2040-2045 due to swelling populations, diminishing levels of arable land,
> water, fossil fuels and rare minerals and the debilitating effects of
> climate change
> >
> > -----------------------------------------
> >
> > From: "Michel Bauwens"
> > To: "Alex Pazaitis", "David Ronfeldt", "Sarah Grace Manski", "xavier
> rizos", "Xavier BlaqSwans", "Andrea Fumagalli", "Alex Foti", "jose ramos",
> "p2p-foundation"
> > Cc:
> > Sent: Saturday August 4 2018 3:27:49AM
> > Subject: eco-systemic supply chains are on their way
> >
> > I hope this can impress some people that are still on the sidelines of
> this major earthquake, to understand the significance of what is occuring
> right now, a fundamental re-ordering of the capitalist economy under new
> models:
> >
> > first of all, see this article, that shows successfull blockchain trials
> for supply chains,
> https://which-50.com/commbank-and-logistics-giants-complete-blockchain-trade-from-regional-victoria-to-germany/
> ?
> >
> > and what it all means in terms of industrial structures see the article
> quoted below,
> >
> > but in fact, I don't think their analysis goes far enough, because in
> the ethereum networks, corporates are already subsumed to a eco-system
> consisting not just of companies, but of a multitude of other players,
> including lots of single individuals:
> >
> > QUOTE
> >
> > Blockchain-Based Corporate V-Networks
> > = "V-form networks consist of a number of fully independent companies
> that effectively operate as one vertically integrated company through
> blockchain technology". [1]
> >
> > Contents  [hide]
> >       • 1 Contextual Citation
> >       • 2 Description
> >       • 3 Example
> >               • 3.1 The IBM and Maersk TradeTech
> > Contextual Citation[edit]
> > "A blockchain economy will have more, smaller firms linked together by
> protocols. .. It’s worth pointing out that these networks are inherently
> global, and any regulatory questions global as well."
> > - Chris Berg, Sinclair Davidson and Jason Potts [2]
> >
> > Description[edit]
> > "The Nobel laureate Oliver Williamson distinguishes between U-form
> companies and M-form companies.
> > Traditional U-form companies are unitary — their units are divided by
> business process (for instance, accounting, human resources, component
> manufacturing, assembly) and are not treated as separate cost centres.
> > M-form companies are multidivisional — their units are self-contained
> divisions that report profits and losses to an umbrella central body.
> They’re fully owned by a parent company, but they tend to have their own
> business services (accounting and human resources departments, for
> instance) and even market relationships.
> > But now we see a new corporate form — the V-form network — made possible
> because thanks to the application of distributed ledger technology to
> supply chain problems.
> > These V-form networks consist of a number of fully independent companies
> that effectively operate as one vertically integrated company through
> blockchain technology, coordinated and supplied by a third party.
> > This is a big change to the nature of the firm. We can already see
> V-form networks in the real world. They date as far back as January. It is
> surprising the economics community haven’t noticed them yet.
> > ...
> >
> > Blockchains can work to coordinate supply chains without the need for
> either (traditional) vertical integration or regulation. The vertical
> integration is outsourced to a distributed ledger. The blockchain provides
> the managerial service that coordinates each ‘unit’ (that is, firm) in the
> supply chain.
> > Regulators in any country can deal any firm in the supply chain as if it
> was a small unit of a larger, global company.
> > Each firm in the supply chain get the benefits of vertical integration
> through a network rather than a hierarchy.
> >
> > ...
> >
> > In the V-form network, the blockchain’s token establishes the
> consortium, and incentivizes cooperative behaviour.
> > The token also serves to move rents around the network. In this way, the
> blockchain provides a market mechanism to solve the sort of bargaining
> problems described by another Nobel laureate, Ronald Coase, that may occur
> as the network operates.
> > Outsourced vertical integration could be applied to many industries that
> are now integrated. Energy firms that currently integrate the exploration,
> production, generation, and retail of electricity might be better
> decomposed, with blockchains and tokens taking the place of head offices.
> The token economy, rather than energy regulators, could make decisions
> about the distribution of rents around the network." (
> https://medium.com/cryptoeconomics-australia/outsourcing-vertical-integration-introducing-the-v-form-network-78e1aa93a814
> )
> >
> > Example[edit]
> > The IBM and Maersk TradeTech[edit]
> > Chris Berg, Sinclair Davidson and Jason Potts:
> > "Two weeks into 2018, IBM and the shipping giant Maersk announced a
> joint venture to develop a digital supply chain management system on their
> Hyperledger blockchain platform. Hyperledger is a private blockchain which
> requires permission to access.
> > In a previous Cryptoeconomics piece, we described how international
> trade is an information problem. As goods are shipped around the world,
> they are accompanied by information — really stacks of paperwork — that
> describe their provenance, destinations, regulatory and tax liabilities and
> so on.
> > In the IBM-Maersk system, each firm and bureaucracy in the supply chain
> — producers, shippers, port authorities, regulators, importers, retailers —
> will access and update a shared blockchain ledger containing all the
> information needed by each organisation.
> > And each organisation would have access to that information everywhere,
> ensuring complete visibility on where goods are in the world and which
> economic and regulatory hurdles they next need to overcome." (
> https://medium.com/cryptoeconomics-australia/outsourcing-vertical-integration-introducing-the-v-form-network-78e1aa93a814
> )
> >
> > --
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> >
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> >
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