[p2p-research] investment, productivity and ownership

[j.martin.pedersen]

On 21/11/10 12:33, Michel Bauwens wrote:
> but the fact remains you are spending an extraordinary amount of energy to
> combat an enemy, people who believe the digital commons are a key tool for
> global social cooperation in the fight for a sustainable future and against
> the pseudo-abundance of infinite material growth, instead of what I think is
> the real enemy, i.e. those promoting that infinite  growth ...

I haven't look at your discussion, but this is a problematic
simplification of a complex issue.

It is very clear that those "digital commons" on the one hand constitute
the fastest growing carbon emitting indusstry with severe environmental
justice problems - and on the other hand the digital commons and
cyberspace in general are integral elements in the growth visions of
capital interests. So, the digital or cyberspace is both a progressive
possibility and part of the design of the "real enemy, i.e. those
promoting infintie growth".

For sure you can do good with ICT and digital this and that connection,
but in the present paradigm these are one step forward, two steps back,
from the perspective of the peasant commoner who, for instance, had to
leave her land where they mined for the minerals to connect the already
empowered, and she must now go hungry.

A systemic analysis should not gloss over problems merely in order to
convey an optimistic tone. Instead, a systemic analysis should be
complemented with trends and tendencies in the political economy that
are promising. In this context, micropower alternatives, low-energy
gadgets and so on could lead a reader out of the gloomy perspective that
a systemic analysis inevitably entails.

Most importantly, one must stay intellectually honest and open about
ambiguities - and they are plentiful when it comes to cyberspace.

m