[p2p-research] Repurposing Profit for User Freedom

[Ryan Lanham]

On 2/5/10, Michel Bauwens <michelsub2004 at gmail.com> wrote:

>
> I'm not sure where these ideas are that have always failed. I have heard
> from many different people that my record of predicting trends has been
> pretty accurate (of course I do make mistakes and I am constantly adjusting
> my expectations to observable facts.
>


I am saying that the ideas that fail are socialism and communism of the
coercive sort.  I agree that you have been quite prescient about the
evolution of the system.

>
> Denying that almost any sector of our mainstream economy are run by
> dominant monopolies would demand pretty strong blindfolds, but indeed they
> are being undermined by the new p2p economy, and not by capitalism itself
> which has been a monopolistic system probably from the beginning of the
> century. The whole system is stacked in favour of big players.
>
>

I guess I have pretty strong blindfolds.  I see no monopolies.  I see
desparate hopes for momentary control.  It is indeed the exact oppositive.
It is the instability of profit that is the issue...not the guarantee of
it.  Capitallsm isn't failing because it is corrupt and torpid, it is
failing because it is hypercompetitive and evolving too fast.


>
> It is strange that you say that free and p2p are winning all over, yet you
> are opposed to communal property. But this is exactly what open knowledge,
> free software code and shared designs are, as clearly defined by their very
> licenses! But you probably mean that you oppose coops then, i.e. communal
> property in the physical world? (and please note that public state property
> is NOT communal property). Fair enough, I like coops and they have a very
> good record, they are the largest employer of the world, bigger than all the
> multinationals combined. Yes, I admit it, I prefer, for many reasons,
> distributed property above oligarchic exclusive property that is based on
> massive expropriation.
>
> Michel
>
>

I am completely not opposed to communal property.  I am a greater advocate
for it than any socialist.  I am for free participation in open and
voluntary systems.  I am for co-ops.  I advocate for them regularly.  I have
worked for one.  Co-ops do have a great record.  They work well.  But you
must not be forced to join a co-op.  At that point they become the failed
past.  Coercion is everything.  If you coerce, you destroy incentive.  The
incentive must be to share and be communal.  If you force it, you destroy
it.
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