Peer to Peer: The Commons Manifesto

Description

Not since Marx identified the manufacturing plants of Manchester as the blueprint for the new capitalist society has there been a more profound transformation of the fundamentals of our social life. As capitalism faces a series of structural crises, a new social, political and economic dynamic is emerging: peer to peer. What is peer to peer? Why is it essential for building a commons-centric future? How could this happen? These are the questions this book tries to answer. Peer to peer is a type of social relations in human networks, as well as a technological infrastructure that makes the generalization and scaling up of such relations possible. Thus, peer to peer enables a new mode of production and creates the potential for a transition to a commons-oriented economy. 1 Introduction 1.1 What is P2P and How is it Related to the Commons? 1.2 Are P2P Technologies Good or Bad? 1.3 How Does P2P Relate to Capitalism? 1.4 How is P2P to be Implemented in Practice? 1.5 Towards a Commons-centric Society? 2 P2P and a New Ecosystem of Value Creation 2.1 Diverse Skills and Motivations 2.2 Transparent Heterarchy 2.3 A New Ecosystem of Value Creation 2.4 Four Short Case Studies 2.5 From Contradictions to an Integrated Economic Reality 3 P2P and New Socio-technological Frameworks 3.1 Two Generic Models 3.2 The Extractive Model of Cognitive Capitalism 3.3 The Generative Model of Commons-based Peer Production 4 P2P and the Structure of World History 4.1 Four Modes of Exchange 4.2 Towards Associationism 5 A Commons Transition Strategy 5.1 Pooling and Mutualizing Resources Wherever Possible 5.2 Introducing Reciprocity 5.3 From Redistribution to Empowerment and Predistribution 5.4 Subordinating the Capitalist Market 5.5 Organizing at the Local and Global Level 5.6 Summary of our Proposals 5.7 A Last Word Acknowledgments References Endnotes Index