[p2p-research] essay on liberation technology

[Michel Bauwens]

hi sepp

could you publish this dated september?

great comment

mb

On Sat, Aug 28, 2010 at 12:45 PM, Sepp Hasslberger <sepp at lastrega.com>wrote:

>  A very interesting paper Michel,
>
> thanks for copying me. There are a few important points made in the
> discussion, and there is a "solution" that won't work. Let me explain some
> more in detail.
>
> First, there is a historical comparison of the internet with other
> communication advances such as the printing press and the telegraph, which
> should make us think. The correct conclusion here is that each advance
> resulted in (successful) efforts to neutralize the advantage the technology
> provided to the peers of the time, by corraling and controling the kind of
> information that could be sent over the new channel. Few of us recognize
> those historical parallels:
>
> *Quote: "**It is tempting to think of the Internet as unprecedented in its
> potential **for political progress. History, however, cautions against
> such hubris. In **the fifteenth century, the printing press revolutionized
> the accumulation **and dissemination of information, enabling the
> Renaissance, the Prot**estant Reformation, and the scientific revolution.
> On these foundations, **modern democracy emerged. But the printing press
> also facilitated the rise **of the centralized state and prompted the
> movement toward censorship."*
>
> Then there is discussion of how the same is true today. States (and not
> only repressive states such as China or Malaysia) are quietly but
> efficiently figuring out how to control the internet and are putting into
> effect their counter measures to prevent p2p organizing, as far as it could
> infringe with the logic of government-as-it-exists. An interesting point is
> made here about those peers who seek to bypass the State's control
> technologies in China ... "they quickly share what they learn."
>
> *Quote: "**Such quasi-Orwellian control of cyberspace is only part of the
> story, **however. There is simply too much communication and networking on
> **line (and via mobile phones) for the state to monitor and censor it
> all. **Moreover, Chinese “netizens”—particularly the young who are
> growing **up immersed in this technology—are inventive, determined, and
> cynical **about official orthodoxy. Many constantly search for better
> techniques to **circumvent cyber-censorship, and they quickly share what
> they learn."*
>
> And then the article goes into the wrong direction. The "solution" Larry
> Diamond advocates is that States (who all inherently are having to eye the
> need to corral their own citizens) will help to prevent other States from
> doing the same. The governments of the US and other western nations are just
> as guilty of developing and putting into use technologies to control the
> flow of information on the internet as are the governments of nations called
> "repressive". It is only a matter of degree, and perhaps of slight
> differences in the kind of motivation used to justify the controls:
>
> *Quote: "There is now a technological race underway between democrats seek
> **ing to circumvent Internet censorship and dictatorships that want to
> extend **and refine it."*
>
>  *"Western governments can help **by banning the export of advanced
> filtering and surveillance technologies to repressive governments, and by
> standing behind Western technology companies when dictatorships pressure
> them “to hand over Internet users’ personal data.” And finally, liberal
> democracies should stand up for the human rights of bloggers, activists, and
> journalists who have been arrested for peacefully reporting, networking, and
> organizing online."*
>
> In the end, I believe, the solution lies not in opting for the lesser of
> two evils which would be control of the internet by a more benign and less
> "repressive" power, but in staying a step ahead of all the censors, whatever
> their colors may be. We should learn from the Chinese "quickly sharing what
> they learn", and make that a part of the net's protocol.
>
> If we do nothing, the internet will go the way of the printing press and
> the telegraph. It will be turned into a commercial, and tightly controlled
> "information medium" by the advanced filtering and control technologies the
> Western technology companies are developing and which they are willing to
> sell to the repressive regimes. It goes without saying that those control
> technologies will eventually be used to blunt the effectiveness of the
> internet not only for the Chinese and the Malaysians, but also for the
> Germans, the French, the Italians, the Canadians and in effect everyone in
> these so-called civilized Western countries.
>
> So how could "quickly sharing of what we learn" be saving us from this
> creeping repression?
>
> The instant sharing of data should be incorporated in the very protocols of
> the internet. We need redundant (shared) storage of information by peers
> themselves, where the information can be retrieved, but can never be
> completely expunged by any force (and be it even a "benign" government)
> seeking to control the information. In other words, we need to advance the
> construction of a peer-based internet structure, to take over from the
> rigid, server-based web that has developed, which can be controlled fairly
> easily by installing certain choke points.
>
> I am sure many good people are already thinking about how to do this.
>
> Kind regards
> Sepp
>
>
>
>
> On 25/ago/10, at 14:40, Michel Bauwens wrote:
>
>  Hi Sam and Paul,
>
> see http://irevolution.files.wordpress.com/2010/08/diamond-21-3.pdf
>
> I wonder if one of you could comment on this for our blog?
>
> Michel
>
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