[p2p-research] Blog on Political Economy of P2P

Sun May 24 02:01:20 CEST 2009

Hi Michel:

Source:

John Hagel <http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=527217336&ref=mf> Gary
Rieschel: $29 invested so far by VC's in Web 2.0 companies without a single
successful IPO so far
Thu 4:42pm<http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=527217336&v=feed&story_fbid=82614767299&ref=mf>·
via
Twitter <http://www.facebook.com/apps/application.php?id=2231777543> ·
Comment · Like <http://www.facebook.com/home.php?src=fftb#>

He then added a twitter saying it meant billion.

I said 27...the number is 29...2 billion USD more.

Ryan Lanham
rlanham1963 at gmail.com
Facebook: Ryan_Lanham

On Sat, May 23, 2009 at 1:35 AM, Michel Bauwens <michelsub2004 at gmail.com>wrote:

> Hi Ryan,
>
> Could you flesh out the the source of that paragraph?
>
> As you know, this feeds our (with Adam in cc)  'crisis of value' hypothesis
>
> i.e.
>
>  <Here is a stunning statistic from a leading venture capitalist (I can
> give the exact source if anyone needs it but I don't have it at my
> fingertips...)  $27 Billion USD have been invested in Web 2.0 firms.  Guess
> how much has been realized from either profit returns or IPOs so far?
> Zero.  Zilch.  Not one penny.  That is devistating to capitalists...even
> they don't understand it...but it appears that firms like Facebook and the
> whole raft of Web 2.0 firms are effectively operating as non-profits.  Very
> odd times for the market economy.>
>
>
>
> On 5/22/09, Ryan Lanham <rlanham1963 at gmail.com> wrote:
>>
>> Schumpeter famously described capitalism as creative destruction.  He
>> meant that it is so hard to stay on top that innovation constantly destroys
>> the less than sharp.  It is probably true.  Wealth management allows people
>> to stay rich, but their productivity must come from investment.  Now that
>> cash flows are difficult (long-term) that is even becoming extremely hard.
>>
>> The best answer to economics is education.  Smart, scientifically educated
>> people win.  Asia is winning.  Africa will win next.  The key for poor
>> countries is to eliminate the incredibly high costs of corruption.
>> Corruption destroys far more wealth than anything else on the planet--far
>> more.  A country like Jamaica which was exceedingly promising has been
>> completely destroyed by corruption--so too Burma, Kenya, Zimbabwe, etc.  If
>> you hate poverty and inequality, hate corruption.
>>
>> But monopoly power is unlikely in a framework where you don't have corrupt
>> power because systems innovate vastly more quickly than they did in Marx's
>> time.  Just look at PCs and software which change almost daily.  Innovation
>> is the friend of the smart and the fair...and the commons must continually
>> innovate to stay relevant...another strength of P2P.
>>
>> Here is a stunning statistic from a leading venture capitalist (I can give
>> the exact source if anyone needs it but I don't have it at my
>> fingertips...)  $27 Billion USD have been invested in Web 2.0 firms.  Guess
>> how much has been realized from either profit returns or IPOs so far?
>> Zero.  Zilch.  Not one penny.  That is devistating to capitalists...even
>> they don't understand it...but it appears that firms like Facebook and the
>> whole raft of Web 2.0 firms are effectively operating as non-profits.  Very
>> odd times for the market economy.
>>
>> Ryan
>>
>>
>>  On Fri, May 22, 2009 at 4:31 AM, Tomas Rawlings <tom at fluffylogic.net>wrote:
>>
>>> I've always felt this is a major hole in capitalism; that all companies
>>> aim for monopoly, which destroys competition.
>>> In addition while competing against other companies using better
>>> products, price and services is one method to achieve this monopoly (and the
>>> one in theory companies are supposed to use), once a company reaches a
>>> certain size, other options become open to it; competing using legal and
>>> financial muscle, so 'buying' legal influence to alter the business
>>> environment to favour you and disenfranchise your competitors, buying then
>>> closing competing companies and dramatic temporarily price wars to knock the
>>> competition out of the game.
>>>
>>> In a post-capitalist economy where much of the wealth resides in a
>>> commons; I guess it could be the commons that has the monopoly position,
>>> thereby fixing this problem?
>>>
>>>>
>>>> Monopoly is a major problem in capitalism.  It necessitates regulatory
>>>> workarounds.  Socialism assumes government or "people's" monopolies also
>>>> leading to various problems.  In those cases, there is no one to
>>>> regulate
>>>> the state.  My own view is that state monopolies make good sense where
>>>> service-provider commitment is essential or where equality of output is
>>>> valued above all.
>>>>
>>>> Certain functions, I believe, are ideally fulfilled by the
>>>> state--national
>>>> defense, policing, certain banking functions, certain social service
>>>> functions, public health functions, certain basic health services, some
>>>> types of insurance services, prisons, etc.
>>>>
>>>> What I think is emerging is a poly-system of modes where various
>>>> production
>>>> mechanisms are optimizing to fit the ecosystem--economies are evolving
>>>> to be
>>>> more than one thing at once--capalist/socialist/anarchist/polyarchist,
>>>> etc.
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> --
>>> Tomas
>>>
>>> -----------------------
>>> Tomas Rawlings
>>> Development Director, FluffyLogic Development Ltd.
>>> web: www.fluffylogic.net
>>> tel: 0117 9442233 -
>>> Also see:
>>> blog: www.plugincinema.com
>>> tweet: www.twitter.com/arclightfire
>>>
>>>
>>>
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>>>
>>>
>>
>>
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>>
>
>
> --
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>
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