[p2p-research] A proposal seeking your Endorsement

[Michel Bauwens]

thanks for your input Edward,

Apart from a specific reaction to this initiative, you make general points
about conferencing.

I personally disagree, and think we should see the various parts of the
puzzle as integrative.

I do believe that F2F conferencing is very important for anyone, both on the
local and at the international level, as it sustains the community and the
committment, and for example that's why we have had 6 or 7 meetings with
people of the Foundation. The virtual strengthens the physical and vice
versa, and they are not separated, nor should they.

Of course this is a separate question of whether specific political
processes such as the WSF or this new proposed international are necessary
and successfull.

I certainly feel that Seattle and the WSF were instrumental in changing the
whole tonality of social change, away from the TINA mindset of the 80's and
90s. Have their lost their way since? From outside, it seems indeed that
summit-hopping has had its time, but perhaps they are involved in a lot of
constructive work in their many regional activities?

I think that doers, as you are, should find connections with fighters and
political warriors, as politics can create a framework in which your efforts
can be dramatically more important.

But that doesn't mean that everybody should do everything. In my own case,
having 'been there, done that', I share of disgust of political
demonstrations and endless processing at collective meetings, but I try to
distinguish my personal perspective, from the general situation ... That it
is something that is 'not for me', doesn't mean that it is not necessary.

I still think that,

1) if you don't take care of politics, politics will take care of you

and perhaps contradictorily

2) everything we do is political

I also believe in this general phased growth process of new social
practices: 1) starting as subcultures; 2) creating their own institutions to
insure their further survival; 3) engaging with, and struggling against, the
old institutions which don't want them to emerge or become dominant ...

We are passed stage one, already between 2 and 3,

Michel

Michel

On Tue, Feb 2, 2010 at 2:36 PM, Edward Miller <embraceunity at gmail.com>wrote:

> I am a utilitarian above all else, and thus I only support actions with the
> highest marginal utility. While I think much can be done in the political
> sphere, I don't feel that this has the highest marginal utility for the
> majority of people, at least at the international level. Clearly for those
> already in positions of influence, the amount of effort to effect change is
> minimal. Yet, for most of us we can probably do much more just by doing a
> handful of things in our own lives to re-organize society from the
> bottom-up. Moving your money to community banks and credit unions, going
> vegetarian, participating in local politics, reducing wasteful consumption,
> contributing to open source projects, etc. These are things that average
> people can do that are meaningful.
>
> Organizing conferences and even attending conferences is a lot of work, and
> even big ones like the World Social Forum are often not much more productive
> than would-be revolutionaries sitting around in coffee shops. I like the
> global citizenship aspect of international/transnational organizing, and I
> like the civil society aspect. However, I don't think one should attend
> these thinking they are any more meaningful than attending an international
> anime conference. Getting together is good simply because it provides some
> much needed relief from the constant atomization of our daily life, but this
> has more to do with personal gratification than changing the world.
>
> If, in the unlikely event that it did amount to something, the fact that it
> is so tied up with Chavez and the history of previous attempts should
> clearly give us pause. What evidence do we have that these people have
> learned anything whatsoever from previous revolutions-turned-tyrannies?
>
> Perhaps attending as a dissenting voice, in the spirit of Baukunin's
> participation at the First International, is worthwhile. Other than that,
> what's the point? Take the time and money you would have spent on travel
> expenses, and donate it to Factor e Farm, CubeSpawn, RepRap, or any of the
> other wonderful projects that are poised to change the world.
>
> If you are already a freegan off-the-grid open source fanatic with some
> spare income and a modest amount of influential capacity, perhaps you could
> consider international political activity.
>
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>


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