[p2p-research] gotta read this

Mon Oct 5 01:56:46 CEST 2009

Michel,

I trust I am one your friends, and I am an American, so I'll venture a
response.

Most all of it is hard to argue.  I don't know what to think either.  It is
unprecedented, frustrating and dark times for a country I love very much.

On the other hand, not many nations can be as self critical and divided and
still carry on business fairly well not only for ourselves but for the world
around us.  When it comes to innovation, technological and social, when it
comes to regulation and a general bias for justice--though often confused by
markets, religions, prejudices and ignorance of various forms, I'm still
very proud of my country.

We have our marriage disputes on the front porch, it's true.  Maybe that's a
good thing for the world. I'm often embarrassed about American foibles; I
personally feel no embarrassment about the country in comparison to any
other.

People who understand the US know that Vermont is utterly different from
Oklahoma which is entirely different from Oregon, Florida or Utah.  We speak
the same language.  Have similar cultural institutions and travel/relocate
freely, but other than that, the nation is really more comparable to a
continent--like Europe.  State laws can differ significantly.  State
cultures are dramatically different...my father used to say the widest river
in the world is the Ohio which separates the northern and industrial State
of Ohio from a more southern and rural Kentucky.  Feuds about local college
sports teams, high schools, etc. can be sharply cut at a county, state or
city line.  Our civil war was fought (in principle) for the freedom of a
subject people--no other in world history has been.

In some ways Europe is more homogeneous than the US.  The US deals with
racial and social mixtures that almost no one else matches...maybe Brazil or
Argentina, or parts of the UK like London, or Paris.  We have vastly more
immigrants than any other nation.  In general, our citizenship is the most
desired by the broadest numbers and diversities of people.

We grant much of the world's aid.  We shepherd the UN, the World Bank, the
IMF--sometimes poorly, but overall, no one trusts anybody else.  Our troops
are often the first to stand in front of evil--though some would say we
misinterpret it, and I would agree with them.  We didn't invent the WWW, but
we did build the Internet, built the firms that made it possible, and
experimented on ourselves with the social impacts--like the death of
newspapers.  We delivered cable TV, destroyed our own nationalized phone
network first, built and shattered several international and national
transportation systems, started the Creative Commons and GNU project, and
absorbed graduate students from the whole world into our universities--to
our own advantage sometimes, but not nearly so much as what we have
transferred.

With Britain, we pioneered the social welfare safety net and fought the way
out of the Great Depression without focus on war, socialism, fascism or
colonialism.

I am told by Japanese that they no longer come to the US because there is
nothing for them to learn from us.  Perhaps.  But we still go to Japan to
teach...and China and Korea, etc.  And we open our systems to them.  Never
have I much seen an invitation from the Japanese to understand their
advances and approaches.

In my graduate program there were more students from abroad than Americans.
Can any European or Asian institute claim that?  We took the lead out gas
when it still choked you in Berlin, Paris or London.  We made jet engines
quieter.  We gave GIS to the world...something Europe is gearing up to copy
soon...we've offered it to everyone for 20 years.  We built an unprecedented
and relatively open research network and publication system including
medical research, and we helped rebuild those who attacked   Our farm, seed
and fertilizer technologies have fed the world.

Now it would be easy to build a similar list of US faults and failings.  We
pollute far more, etc.  But when I look at the colonial world, the world of
empires and world wars, I see nothing for Europe to feel joy about and much
to feel shame over.  When I look at communism, I cannot esteem Russia or
China much.  I do not see sharing, honest and often selfless aid, or
legitimate and open self-criticism.  America is deeply flawed.  Clearly.

So, as an American, I am hoping things get better for us.  But I think it
would be a twisted non-American who would wish the US ill during these
times. We have our moments of arrogance and ignorance both, but who would
you trust more as a dominant power? And even if there were no dominant
power, how long would it take for the EU to create the sorts of social,
business, political, legal and technological innovations we take as
commonplace from the US?  Losing that engine of innovation cannot be a gain
for the planet.  Do any of us feel good about China being the leader in
renewables research?  No one would have such doubts about the US.  So the
news isn't all bad.

Ryan Lanham

On Sun, Oct 4, 2009 at 5:50 PM, Michel Bauwens <michelsub2004 at gmail.com>wrote:

> I feel you have to read this:
> http://www.counterpunch.com/green09182009.html
>
> and would love reactions from our American friends,
>
> Michel
>
> --
> Work: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dhurakij_Pundit_University - Research:
> http://www.dpu.ac.th/dpuic/info/Research.html - Think thank:
> http://www.asianforesightinstitute.org/index.php/eng/The-AFI
>
> P2P Foundation: http://p2pfoundation.net  - http://blog.p2pfoundation.net
>
> Connect: http://p2pfoundation.ning.com; Discuss:
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>
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-- 
Ryan Lanham
rlanham1963 at gmail.com
Facebook: Ryan_Lanham
P.O. Box 633
Grand Cayman, KY1-1303
Cayman Islands
(345) 916-1712
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