[p2p-research] Pay-it-forward Mutuals and Cooperatives

[Michel Bauwens]

hi edward,

could you define precisely what pay-it-forward concrete entails in these
areas?

Michel

On Sun, Apr 25, 2010 at 8:38 PM, Edward Miller <embraceunity at gmail.com>wrote:

> I am especially interested in feedback from Kevin and Patrick, but anyone
> is free to respond.
>
> I was wondering what examples of mutuals and cooperatives there are which
> are currently serving the mainstream US consumer market. I can think of a
> few insurance mutuals and credit unions, community supported agriculture,
> and igo carsharing which are all close to the mutualist ideal, but all of
> them fall short and only make up a tiny share of the overall market. By the
> way, if anyone has other examples of current institutions I would love to
> hear them.
>
> Why is this the case? One of the main things I have tried to drive home for
> people interested in post-scarcity models is the incredible resilience and
> viral nature of the standard mode of production. This can not be emphasized
> enough!
>
> The main elements which contribute to this incredible resilience include:
> limited liability, shareholder ownership, fractional reserve banking,
> monetarism, and keynesianism.
>
> The only way to beat this system is to create something even more viral and
> even more resilient. The method I am about to propose is likely
> insufficient, but it is thinking along the proper lines.
>
> Contract law can allow for pay-it-forward models that fit well within the
> current system and should be philosophically inoffensive to most anyone.
>
> The concept of Copyleft could easily be extended much further. I know many
> people talk about gpl hardware, but I am thinking of extending it into
> organizational structures.
>
> I don't know how many of you have seen this, but there is a group called
> Presumed Abundance that is trying to apply a pay-it-forward model to angel
> investing.
>
> http://www.presumedabundance.com/
>
> I think this could work even better for gift economies.
>
> Pay it forward skillsharing
> Pay it forward reprapping
> Pay it forward freecycling
> Pay it forward couch surfing
> Pay it forward carsharing
> Pay it forward seed saving
>
> There is already a lot of pay-it-forward stuff happening in these
> communities, but it isn't formalized let alone institutionalized with
> reputation systems or contracts.
>
> Perhaps where it gets more interesting is when money is changing hands and
> contracts are being signed. Cooperatives and mutuals could adopt a
> pay-it-forward philosophy that is set in stone into the contracts.
>
> If you are a mutual that is producing tools, you could stipulate in the
> contract that the tools be placed into a tool library for at least some
> minimum amount of time per year.
>
> If you are a mutual that produces cars, you could stipulate that the cars
> be lent to the Center for Neighborhood Technology for a certain minimum
> amount of time.
>
> If you are a cooperative that builds houses, you could stipulate that the
> residents lend out their sofas for some minimum amount of time per year.
>
> Then the second level would be the people who borrow the tools or the cars
> or the sofas would then have to do the same for others. (there is no profit
> that needs to be reinvested as with the Presumed Abundance example)
>
> Pretty sweet.
>
>
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