[p2p-research] what to think of the market

[Ryan Lanham]

On Wed, Jul 29, 2009 at 9:56 PM, Michel Bauwens <michelsub2004 at gmail.com>wrote:

>
>   I think one set of discussions that is often played with here but never
>> really fleshed out is...which nations are most P2P and why?
>>
>
> Hi Ryan,
>
> I think we need to distinguish several factors ..
>
> According to our definition of p2p it consists of 3 inter-related
> paradigms,
>
> - the commons, both digital and physical
>
> - participatory processes
>
> - openness and freedom of information/cultural/scientific raw material ..
>
> In Iceland there is apparently a strong physical commons, and probably
> quite a strong digital commons, but it co-existed with a choice for
> neoliberal economic practices ...
>
> I think different ethics can co-exist and compete with each other .. for
> example, you can share in your family, but be exploitative with outsiders;
> you can have a commons in your locale regarding your plot of land, but be
> competitive in your business environment  ... Most people are able to
> dissociate logics to some extent, and it is probably necessary for survival,
> since it's hard to imagine a mono-logical society
>
> Of course what the P2P Foundation wishes for, is to extend the p2p ethos to
> broader areas of human life, that's precisely the endeavour ... At this
> stage it is an emerging piece ... that could potentially reach parity level,
> and even, that's my bet, reach 'dominance', but it will never be the whole
> of life.
>
> Ultimately, capitalism, especially neo-liberalism,  has historically been
> an anti-commons. It could not have come into existence without first
> enclosing the land commons of the farmers, so as to force them to become
> 'free' workers ... this process is going on in many areas of the world,
> expropriation of farmers goes on a unprecedented scale ..
>
> Nevertheless, because paradoxically it is creating a new digital commons,
> we see a small new section of capital emerging which co-evolves with the
> digital commons, while also seeking to capture its monetization ..
>
> In this case we have to ethics competing and trying to find co-existence
> ...
>
>
Michel,

What you say above is not what I hear so often in these lists.  I hear of a
tipping point we are approaching where the commons becomes hyper-meaningful,
and abundance (etc.) flows like milk and honey.

To me it sounds like the worst sort of utopianism--detached from the messy
reality of politics, the dignity of human choice, and the difficulty of
making a case to those who might have very different perspectives.  If that
is not egomania, I know not how to define it.  Isn't it always the case that
ego-maniacs simply know better than the rest of us?

Instead, perhaps what may be emerging is that P2P and the commons REQUIRE
neo-liberalism and its excess cash, high education level surpluses and
technology prowess to exist in the modern world.  Poor countries are simply
to busy coping with corruption, disease, low productivity and hate to every
rise to a level of sharing and the commons on any meaningful levels.

And the only alternatives to the co-existance of neo-liberalism and P2P is a
reversion to primitive states or neo-feudalism--both of which are highly
unappealing to the great vast numbers of humans who enjoy their cable TV,
Google with ads and private properties.

There are truly no emergeant P2P states and the most neoliberal states--the
US, Northern Europe, Australia, India...seem to also be those that are most
P2P.

Is it perhaps the narcissism of having a symbol of (social) wealth as the
capacity to share and have abundance that has replaced the simpler
narcissism of the 1980s where one simply flashed overt symbols of material
wealth.  The new symbolism is the egotistical desire to prove one is more
more, more selfless, more sharing than anyone else can be and is therefore a
"commons leader."

Ryan
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