Category: Uncategorized

without close attention to how to construct new structures, aspiration is unlikely to be translated into effective workable systems.

I do like how Ostrom’s views could be used as a different tack to organising in socialism. Locally focused but also recognises need for institutional superstructures. However, these made through rules and constitutions of diverse groups, not ideology and party apparatus.

Dunno if it’s reformist or revolutionary tho yet. Probs reformist.
#Ostrom #readinggroup

In politics we pick a side; in contrast, for Ostrom the main emphasis was to participate in creating rules and, in effect, constitutions. — Derek Wall

If I’m understanding Ostrom’s views so far, I’d say the emphasis there is on ‘participate in’, such that rule making is at a local level. Rules and constitutions will vary from region to region (and over time too presumably.)

#Ostrom #readinggroup

Questions raised as to why there is a prevailing whiteness in the workers co-ops movement. One suggestion was that those from black and minority ethnic groups are hesitant to enter a suspiciously white space. A bit of a Catch 22 that needs concerted effort to be overcome. Important to do so though especially given the structural potential for coops to empower.
Interesting point made as to the demonization made of the white working class as being the racists in society, when in fact there is much subtle and potentially more damaging racism perpetrated by the white middle class.
Really interesting talks at the Stir to Action event tonight on racial justice and the new economy. Moving to a new socio-economic paradigm won’t automatically remove systemic racial biases. We should address them head on to avoid repeating them in our new structures.
Reposted: D Dino on toot.cat (Toot.Cat)

marshalling resources means making sure your friend hosting that nextcloud instance can eat all month. capital marshals resources with the poverty gun: obey or be fired, if you can get in the door at all. volunteer infrastructure is an alternative but we’ve still got rent and that remains an issue. i think we can subvert capital using software but that’s not the fix either. organizations matter here. logistics matters here. i dream of social infrastructure.

D Dino on toot.cat

Reposted: Bob Mottram on soc.freedombone.net (soc.freedombone.net)

@blankideogram @jbond I think it's useful to support people like Corbyn when he's calling for re-nationalization of the railways, but I think nationalization isn't enough. It's just a first step. There needs to be a commons model where people have a real stake in the services which they're running. Something like running them as coops.

State capitalism has the same kinds of failure modes as private ownership by corporations. We need to make systems public in a way where they can't easily be enclosed and sold off later on. A bit like the fediverse. People could sell off instances, but it would be hard for anyone to sell off the fediverse as a whole because it's "owned" by so many different people.

Repost of Bob Mottram

Interesting to see the links (perhaps only nominal…) between #Ostrom’s social-ecological systems and #Bookchin’s social ecology.

Bookchin says that environmental degradation is rooted firmly in patterns of society such as hierarchy and domination. Ostrom with SES says that in making environmental policy, we can only do so by taking into account how it will affect groups in society.

Both recognition that ecological problems can’t be resolved without studying social structure. #readinggroup