[p2p-research] P2P Foundation and Las Indias

Mon Nov 22 20:28:35 CET 2010

Many thanks for these details,

Sam, Franco and James have already indicated/responded that they are willing
to participate in the to be created coop, and we will create a new list to
discuss this project, so as not to burden the regular list,

In the meantime, we can still discuss on the p2p list, so everyone is aware
of this new plan,

Michel

2010/11/22 Sociedad de las Indias Electrónicas <info at lasindias.coop>

> Hi!
>
> Here is our publishing model:
>
> 1. We only publish works by contemporary authors -no matter what the case
> of poetry, essays or narrative- under public domain, preferably written in
> latoc language (Spanish, Portuguese, Galician, Asturian, etc.).
>
> 2. The paper editions are sold to the public at 9 € and 7 € for organizers
> of events, but the electronic formats are freely distributed. The 90% of
> sellings are made in public events.
>
> 3. Our model is based on facilitating the direct relationship between
> authors and readers. So the paper distribution centers not in bookstores but
> in presentations and small events for between 50 and 200 people where the
> author can interact with readers. In the old publishing model the reader
> paid for an item that allowed him access to content, in our model has free
> access to content and pays to receive an object, the paper-book linked to
> this moment when he met and possibly spoke with the author.
>
> 4. Our books are living-books. The paper editions are adapted to these
> «situations» in which the author and the reader meet and have face to face
> conversations. For every event's print the author can edit content, add
> prologues or epilogues, etc.. depending on the tone the author wants to give
> to the meeting with a specific audience.
>
> 5. The length of the works is around 15,000 words -about 100 pages- for
> assays and 30.000 for narrative, free for poetry.
>
> María Rodríguez
>
>
> On 21/11/10 13:42, Michel Bauwens wrote:
>
> this process is exactly what I was referring to in my email just send,
>
> so give me time until December, and I will digest this proposal and respond
> to it,
>
> but indeed, this is the way to go in my opinion,
>
> I'm also copying Franco Iacomella, a young argentinian who has expressed
> interest in working together on the creation of the p2p phyle,
>
> Michel
>
> 2010/11/21 Sociedad Cooperativa de las Indias Electrónicas <
> info at lasindias.coop>
>
>> Dear Michel,
>>
>> (más abajo en español)
>>
>> For us it is more than good news: we believe is the first step of
>> something really deep and transformative.
>>
>> Over the years the phyle model has gained richness, complexity and
>> subtlety. Economically it is, increasingly, an onion structure where each
>> level of community identity and personal commitment has been developing its
>> own space through the relationships between affiliated enterprises,
>> cooperatives and community in the strict sense. Politically, this nebula
>> appears as a web of foundations, publishers, and nonprofit associations.
>>
>> There is no recipe but a decade of experience to share with the network of
>> "p2p foundation" in order to make your own theoretical digestion about it.
>>
>> Discussing over the weekend from your message, think we ought to give us
>> an agenda for discussion and work.
>>
>> First we are committed to developing a series of papers
>>
>> 1. How is it organized the economic structure of our phyle?
>>
>> 2. How do we ensure the hegemony of the deliberative process on the logic
>> of the economic structure?
>>
>> 3. The role of foundations (public infrastructure of knowledge and
>> transnational initiatives)
>>
>> 4. Publishing model
>>
>> 5. The Indiano view on the global economic framework of "decomposition"
>> (what we call "the futures to come)
>>
>> After sharing this context p2pf and las Indias could address an agenda of
>> cooperation with the objective of:
>>
>> 1. Creating tools to extend the deliberative space, translating and
>> distributing monthly to the different languages an abstract of the major
>> debates in each network.
>>
>> 2. Building a transnational network and multi-language publications in the
>> public domain in both paper and electronic formats.
>>
>> 3. Organizing a system of workshops and consulting with the goal of
>> providing the knowledge tools to build the economic structure necessary to
>> become phyle.
>>
>> The starting point of this agenda could be in March-April 2011, when the
>> "Third Transnational Meeting on Economic Democracy" will be celebrated.
>>
>> Obviously the optimum physical place to keep this meeting should be chosen
>> according to:
>>
>> * The physical location of those who wish to participate (with the aim of
>> reducing total travel costs)
>> * The costs of infrastructure and hotels (with the aim of reducing costs
>> of accommodation)
>> * The availability of a physical space for discussion given free to the
>> event or at least at low cost.
>>
>> If you agree, we will begin preparing the papers this week to explain to
>> your network the economic structure of las Indias.
>>
>> And if you find the proposed agenda interesting and affordable, we can all
>> start working on the horizon on March 21.
>>
>> A big hug
>>
>> Natalia
>>
>>
>> Querido Michel,
>>
>> Para nosotros es más que una buena noticia: creemos que es el primer paso
>> de algo realmente más profundo y transformador.
>>
>> Con los años el modelo de la phyle ha ganado riqueza, complejidad y
>> sutileza. Economicamente es, cada día más, una estructura cebolla donde cada
>> nivel de identidad comunitaria y compromiso personal ha ido desarrollando su
>> propio espacio a través de las relaciones entre empresas participadas,
>> cooperativas  y comunidad en el sentido estricto. Políticamente esta
>> nebulosa aparece como un tejido de fundaciones, editoriales y asociaciones
>> sin ánimo de lucro.
>>
>> No hay una receta sino una década de experiencia que transmitir para que
>> la red de la «p2p foundation» pueda hacer su propia digestión teórica sobre
>> ello.
>>
>> Reflexionando a lo largo del fin de semana a partir de tu mensaje,
>> pensamos que deberíamos darnos una agenda de discusión y trabajo.
>>
>> En primer lugar nos comprometemos a elaborar una serie de papeles breves
>> explicando de manera sencilla:
>>
>> 1. ¿Cómo es organizada la estructura económica de la phyle indiana?
>>
>> 2. Cómo se asegura la hegemonía del proceso deliberativo sobre la lógica
>> de la estructura económica?
>>
>> 3. El papel de las fundaciones (infraestructuras públicas de conocimiento
>> e iniciativas transnacionales)
>>
>> 4. Modelo editorial
>>
>> 5. La mirada indiana sobre el marco socioeconómico global la
>> «descomposición» (lo que llamamos «los futuros que vienen»)
>>
>> Tras compartir este contexto la p2pf y las Indias podríamos abordar
>> conjuntamente una agenda de colaboración basada en:
>>
>> 1. Crear herramientas para ampliar el espacio deliberativo traduciendo y
>> distribuyendo mensualmente a las diferentes lenguas los principales debates
>> en cada red.
>>
>> 2. Contruir una red transnacional y multilingue de publicaciones bajo
>> dominio público tanto en papel como en formato electrónico.
>>
>> 3. Organizar un sistema de talleres y consultoría con el objetivo de
>> aportar las herramientas para que distintos grupos interesados puedan
>> construir la estructura económica necesaria para devenir phyle.
>>
>> El punto de arranque de esta agenda podría situarse en marzo-abril de
>> 2011, en el «III Encuentro Transnacional sobre Democracia Económica».
>>
>> Obviamente el lugar físico óptimo para mantener este encuentro deberá ser
>> elegido en función de:
>>
>> * El lugar físico de los que deseen participar (con el objetivo de reducir
>> costes totales de viaje)
>> * La infraestructura y costes de hoteles (con el objetivo de reducir
>> costes de alojamiento)
>> * La disponibilidad de un espacio físico para la discusión cedido
>> gratuitamente para el evento o al  menos a bajo coste.
>>
>> Si estás de acuerdo, comenzaremos esta semana preparando los papeles que
>> expliquen a vuestra red la estructura económica de la phyle indiana.
>>
>> Y si la agenda propuesta os parece interesante y abordable,  podemos
>> empezar a trabajar sobre el horizonte del 21 de marzo.
>>
>> Un gran abrazo
>>
>> Natalia
>>
>> El 19/11/10 15:59, Michel Bauwens escribió:
>>
>>> Dear friends,
>>> below is an important message, which I have not cleared with
>>> lasindias.net <http://lasindias.net>, but reflects my understanding of
>>>
>>> our talks in Madrid, of the importance of their contribution, and on a
>>> further cooperation,
>>> I'm publishing this on the 24th on the blog,
>>> Michel Bauwens
>>> The next “five year plan” of the P2P Foundation: constructing livelihood
>>> through phyles <http://blog.p2pfoundation.net/?p=11782>
>>> photo of Michel Bauwens
>>> Michel Bauwens
>>> 24th November 2010
>>>
>>> *Towards a strategic relationship between the P2P Foundation and Las
>>> Indias*
>>>
>>> Regular readers of our blog will have noticed that I have paid
>>> substantial attention to my discovery of the Spanish-language network
>>> developed by lasindias.net <http://lasindias.net>, which I hadn’t
>>>
>>> previously encountered.
>>> Las Indias, is a cooperative, a neomedieval ‘neo-Venetian’ guild
>>> structure that was rooted in cyberpunk literature and is devoted to the
>>> globalization of small entrepreneurs. As a entrepreneurial but fraternal
>>> structure, it fully engages not only in providing its members with a
>>> current livelihood, but with full future security. Las Indias fully
>>> adopts and practices the open ethos, uses decision-making through
>>> deliberation, and is committed to splitting into autonomous units,
>>> whenever the Dunbar limit is reached.
>>>
>>> Recently, I covered the three books, recently translated, in which David
>>> de Ugarte and others from lasindias.net <http://lasindias.net>, offer
>>>
>>> their take on the history of economic forms (Phyles: Economic Democracy
>>> of the Network Age); a history of governance forms (From Nations to
>>> Networks), and a history of civil society itself (The Power of
>>> Networks). There are well-thought out interpretations of where we are
>>> going and how networks are changing the fundamental nature of our social
>>> organization.
>>>
>>> The key insight for me is their argument for the creation of phyles.
>>> Indeed, it was a missing piece of the puzzle in my own peer to peer
>>> theory. We have been able to describe the emergence of peer production,
>>> governance, and property; we have been able to describe the emergence of
>>> open business models, mostly noticing how companies are adapting to
>>> communities. But at the same time, we also know that there is not a
>>> clear choice available for peer producers who want to go their own way.
>>> We have successfully democratized the means of creating value, but have
>>> not been able to democratize the means of realizing that value. Creating
>>> livelihood independently of the capital players that profit from our
>>> social cooperation and obtain asymmetrical hyper-competitivity through
>>> our contributions, remains an arduous task. Localization through global
>>> open design communities is still mostly an effort to avoid the
>>> dislocation of the global meltdown, it’s a strategy of resilience, not
>>> yet of thrivability; and the nation state is increasingly failing us,
>>> with what remains of the welfare state under a violent assault of
>>> extreme neoliberalism. We create increasing surplus value, but we don’t
>>> capture it, this is the crux of the matter.
>>>
>>> Las Indias on the other hand, asks the right question, and in my
>>> opinion, gives the right answer.
>>>
>>> *The question is: what do distributed networks really bring to the
>>> table, that is new and unique, and points the way forward?*
>>>
>>> The answer: it is a new form of human socialization around the creation
>>> of common value. Distributed networks do not just change localism and
>>> the nation-state, but create the possibility of creating transnational
>>> value networks, used by communities in order to sustain their common
>>> work. In other words, we are not just talking about entrepreneurs and
>>> businesses adapting to co-production and communities, BUT, we are
>>> talking about communities creating their own mission-oriented business
>>> forms, in which the market activity is subsumed to the common value.
>>> This creates sustainability and livelihoods for the individuals
>>> involved; subsumes the profit maximization of the marketplace to higher
>>> ethical values which constrain it to the value commons; and captures the
>>> surplus value directly for the peer producers.
>>>
>>> There are a lot of exciting things to say about the internal
>>> organization of the Las Indias phyle, which is a combination of elements
>>> of cooperatives, decision through deliberation, the gradation of
>>> knowledge skills taken from the guild system, etc … The reality is that,
>>> in a world where precarity is the norm for many peer producers, the
>>> phyle is a efficacious solidarity mechanism. Next to liberty and
>>> equality, it brings the missing fraternity to the table of social
>>> practice, in a new transnational format that transcends the limitations
>>> of the nation-state, and is rooted in a true human community.
>>> Therefore, it is now clear to me that the central task of the P2P
>>> Foundation, after five years of creating a global knowledge commons in
>>> conditions of precarity, is, for the next five years, to focus on the
>>> sustainability of the common work, by creating appropriate livelihoods,
>>> through the creation of a phyle.
>>>
>>> The way I see it, we are going through a major cultural, political,
>>> economic transition; nothing less than a revolution and phase
>>> transition; the P2P Foundation wants to position itself as one of the
>>> trusted players that can offer guidance and learning in this
>>> transformation, on both individual and collective levels. The knowledge
>>> commons will continue to evolve and improve, but an added layer of
>>> activity will offer useful services that can generate income.
>>>
>>> My visit last month, where I spent two days socializing with lasindias
>>> in Madrid, showed that we are operating on the same wavelength, and that
>>> there is strong mutual sympathy. Therefore, there is a priori agreement,
>>> which still needs to be worked out in detail, to form a strategic
>>> relationship. Lasindias will help us create a phyle, and we will help to
>>> spread the key insight of phyles in the English-speaking world, while
>>> creating first-class educational material to go through the transition
>>> period unscathed, coming out with the thrivability associated with
>>> providing useful services to society.
>>>
>>> How exactly the P2P Foundation phyle will look, is still an open
>>> question, as I do have anxieties and reservations about the full
>>> communal level that is at the heart of Las Indias. Las Indias has a very
>>> strong ‘social market’ orientation, rather than our own commons’
>>> orientation. So there are differences, and their will remain a diversity
>>> in our cooperation. The way I envision it, is the following: the peer to
>>> peer revolution is a deep cultural, political, economic and social
>>> transformation, which will require a very broad ‘church’ of interlinked
>>> social movements. Within this broad movement, it is a very good thing
>>> that there is a very committed core, that lives their values to the
>>> fullest, and serves an inspiration and an example for others.
>>>
>>> In terms of P2P Theory as a guide to transformation, a very important
>>> missing piece of the puzzle has now been added. In the context of a
>>> failing nation-state, destructive globalized capitalism, there does
>>> exist a social form that is both local and global in form, and can
>>> provide security for its peer producing members.
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> --
>>> P2P Foundation: http://p2pfoundation.net  -
>>> http://blog.p2pfoundation.net
>>>
>>> Connect: http://p2pfoundation.ning.com; Discuss:
>>> http://listcultures.org/mailman/listinfo/p2presearch_listcultures.org
>>>
>>> Updates: http://del.icio.us/mbauwens; http://friendfeed.com/mbauwens;
>>> http://twitter.com/mbauwens; http://www.facebook.com/mbauwens
>>>
>>> Think tank: http://www.asianforesightinstitute.org/index.php/eng/The-AFI
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>> --
>> Sociedad Cooperativa de las Indias Electrónicas
>> Grupo Cooperativo de las Indias
>> Barco, 37 - 28004 Madrid
>> Florencio Escardó, 1486 - 11700 Montevideo
>> http://lasindias.coop
>> http://lasindias.info
>>
>
>
>
> --
> P2P Foundation: http://p2pfoundation.net  - http://blog.p2pfoundation.net
>
> Connect: http://p2pfoundation.ning.com; Discuss:
> http://listcultures.org/mailman/listinfo/p2presearch_listcultures.org
>
> Updates: http://del.icio.us/mbauwens; http://friendfeed.com/mbauwens;
> http://twitter.com/mbauwens; http://www.facebook.com/mbauwens
>
> Think tank: http://www.asianforesightinstitute.org/index.php/eng/The-AFI
>
>
>
>
>
>
> --
> Sociedad Cooperativa de las Indias Electrónicas
> Grupo Cooperativo de las Indias
> Barco, 37 - 28004 Madrid
> Florencio Escardó, 1486 - 11700 Montevideohttp://lasindias.coophttp://lasindias.info
>
>

-- 
P2P Foundation: http://p2pfoundation.net  - http://blog.p2pfoundation.net

Connect: http://p2pfoundation.ning.com; Discuss:
http://listcultures.org/mailman/listinfo/p2presearch_listcultures.org

Updates: http://del.icio.us/mbauwens; http://friendfeed.com/mbauwens;
http://twitter.com/mbauwens; http://www.facebook.com/mbauwens

Think tank: http://www.asianforesightinstitute.org/index.php/eng/The-AFI
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