Peer2Politics

The still raging financial crisis of 2007–2008 has enabled the emergence of several alternative practices concerning the production, circulation and use of money. This essay explores the political economy of the Bitcoin ecosystem. Specifically, we examine the context in which this digital currency is emerging as well as its nature, dynamics, advantages, and disadvantages. We conclude that Bitcoin, a truly interesting experiment, exemplifies “distributed capitalism” and should be mostly seen as a technological innovation. Rather than providing pragmatic answers and solutions to the current views on the financial crisis, Bitcoin provides some useful and timely questions about the principles and bases of the dominant political economy.

This essay set out to show, through the case of the RepRap-based, Lego-built 3D printing-milling machine, two points: First, on a theoretical level, that modularity, not only in terms of development process but also of hardware components, can catalyze CBPP’s replication for tangible products enabling social experimentation, learning and innovation. Second, that the synergy of a globally accessible knowledge Commons as well as of the CBPP practices with digital fabrication technologies, which are advancing and becoming more and more accessible, can arguably offer the ability to think globally and produce locally. Of course, there are several 3D printers as well as CNC machines on the market; however, through our case study, it became obvious how the synergy of CBPP practices and tools with modular hardware components can offer innovative, novel products, such as a hybrid 3D printing-milling machine. When hardware becomes modular, we saw and discussed how individuals – no matter their age, level of expertise and initial skills – could engage in stigmergically collaborative productive processes of designing, programming and manufacturing. The parts and components of modular objects could be re-used for their own improvement or for the design of other products, enabling collaborative (and thus incremental) innovation within hardware construction. Taking into consideration the trends and trajectories of the current information-based societies, the fact that a non-expert can take advantage of a peer produced knowledge Commons and of very elementary digital fabrication capabilities and become capable of developing such a sophisticated machine, in collaboration with others, can be considered a positive message indeed.

Work on developing Commons Based Reciprocity Licenses (or CBRLs, for short) continues apace here at the P2P Foundation. When speaking of the types of licenses, we often find it hard to explain how they fill a niche in the alt. license spectrum, falling somewhere between the straight up copyleft and the popular Creative Commons Non-Commercial License.

Time is running short for a paradigm shift. When it comes to our individual and collective engagement in making the world a better place, we often talk about uniting in diversity: uniting in harmony to multiply outcomes and uniting in diversity for multiple focus and resilience. But how can this concretely be achieved? We all acknowledge the critical need for systemic change and for collective intelligence, but we all have different opinions about the challenges our world is facing and the ways to address these challenges. We each try to convince others that we hold the best solutions and methodologies, which often prevents us from coordinating or communing in effective ways. But is this possible? What type of unity or communion are we talking about?

In addition to our efforts in the P2P Lab and to our collaborators and partners (for example the DLN network or the Athens-basedhackerspace), the  TEPSIE report (see the full citation and more info about it at the end) contains some more initiatives with the aim to build alternatives for the Greek society: