[p2p-research] Non digital commons a lot more complicated than Free Software

[j.martin.pedersen]

I didn't pretend to have answers ready and was merely addressing lines
of thought that tend obscure matters rather than lead to solutions...
Yet, let me try to suggest...

On 28/11/10 09:15, Michel Bauwens wrote:
> and how do you suppose digital commoners would do that, given that relative
> little of the world's resources are under commoners control?

Take control: log off, leave the keyboard, occupy land - at least
support those who do, such as the MST; i.e. outspoken support for
landless, peasants and indigenous movements who work for common control
over land is essential. At the moment a lot of free culture does the
very opposite: speaks of immateriality, sucks up to IT corporations and
appears to be allergic to stances that confront the power of capital (as
we heard time and again in Berlin).

> if we cannot even tackle the clear and present danger of climate change, and
> abolishing the present system cannot be achieved by simply wishing it, what
> is your concrete way forward, beyond what is happening now, i.e. creating
> digital commons, connect them with sustainability communities, working on
> green computing, and constructing an infrastructure for social change,

Thinking honestly about the problem and refrain from misleading ideas,
such as treating digital commons as immaterial. In other words, discuss
philosophy and politics of organisation of digital commons as if they
were, as they indeed are, very complex systems embedded deeply and
problematically in natural resource systems: i.e. acknowledge the
problem, instead of glossing it over,

We are not even at a problem solving stage yet, we are still deep in
denial - nevermind the material aspect, just look at the widespread use
of, say, Facebook - which is a major agent of enclosure in cyberspace -
by virtual "commoners".

Once we are all on the same kind of page - this is *not* about ideology,
but acknowledgement of the material realities of the virtual and the
power of capital - then let us move forward to the practical questions
you pose. Meanwhile, we need to work on awareness and realisation - and
importantly: global solidarity, meaning that we have to move away from
Euro-centric conceptions of history, which supports a culture that never
has acknowledged very much where its riches came and continues to come
from. Digital commons are parasites on natural resources and territories
of people elsewhere in the world in much the same way as supermarkets are.

When enough eyes see the materiality of the virtual, the hack might
emerge. We are far from that.

-m