[p2p-research] discussing money on ning

[Kevin Carson]

On 3/16/09, Stan Rhodes <stanleyrhodes at gmail.com> wrote:
> Since I have a little knowledge, I'll throw out a few comments.
>  Regarding the "big names," or players, many of them have in the past,
>  and continue to talk to one another in the present, on occasion.  They
>  "run into" one another on the internet and at actual functions.  Most
>  are aware of each other, the internet is not such a vast place.  Some
>  keep tabs.  Many are quite busy.
>
>  A few harsh realities to consider:
>
>  1. Absence of evidence is not evidence of absence.  I may not see a
>  lot of action on some front, but that doesn't mean there isn't any, it
>  just means I don't see it.

>  2. Confirmation bias.  People tend to think they are right and others
>  are wrong, even when they are very open-minded and go to significant
>  effort not to be biased.

>  3. They may identify different needs based on philosophical
>  differences, therefore they're not likely to agree on the common
>  infrastructure.  This isn't necessarily bad, because innovations are
>  less likely when you put all of your eggs in one basket.  I don't
>  think any of the baskets so far have been seen as egg-worthy by
>  everyone else.  LETS is the closest, but it's been around quite a
>  while.  And to follow with that line of thought...

>  4. Maybe technology isn't the problem.  Maybe lack of adoption of
>  certain methods in certain areas is the result of other forces,
>  including flaws in the methods that aren't obvious.

>  5. I think an OpenVISA-style project is cart-before-the-horse if it
>  doesn't evolve with point-of-sale and other exchange systems.

Thanks for the comments, from a far more informed perspective than
mine.  Your points, that there is more mutual discussion going on out
there than meets the eye, and that we shouldn't rush things in a way
that results in a less than optimal system, are well taken.  My fear
is that while a less than optimal system may be good enough, too much
delay will mean an impending perfect storm of Peak Oil, financial
collapse and climate catastrophe will overwhelm society to the point
that there's nothing in place that can survive the tsunami.

-- 
Kevin Carson
Center for a Stateless Society http://c4ss.org
Mutualist Blog:  Free Market Anti-Capitalism
http://mutualist.blogspot.com
Studies in Mutualist Political Economy
http://www.mutualist.org/id47.html
Anarchist Organization Theory Project
http://mutualist.blogspot.com/2005/12/studies-in-anarchist-theory-of.html