Also, don’t hesitate to write about little ideas and observations that might seem too small or unimportant to share. We all have our unique perspectives and even the smallest experience is worth sharing.
The copyright extremists have told us that internet freedom is the same thing as piracy. A generation of proud, self-identified pirates can’t be far behind. When you make copyright infringement into a political act, a blow for freedom, you sign your own artistic death-warrant.
The current market for electronic products depends on planned obsolescence: old products quickly become outdated and unfashionable. But extending the life of our electronic devices helps to address the e-waste problem. Project Cybersyn showed that it is possible to create a cutting-edge system using technologies that are not state-of-the-art. It demonstrates that the future can be tied to the technological past.
Techno-utopianism isn’t the answer, in other words. Neither is techno-dystopianism. The internet once embodied our hopes for a harmonious future. Now it offers a convenient punching bag for our despair about the present. But technology doesn’t automatically generate justice or injustice. The outcomes it generates depend on who owns the machines, and how they’re engineered.
Utopia may never arrive. But technology can make the world more just—if we find the right ways to organize and operate it.
Prosperity itself transcends material concerns. It isn’t just about earning more and having more. It has vital social and psychological dimensions. To do well is in part about our ability to give and receive love, to enjoy the respect of our peers, to contribute useful work, to feel secure, to have a sense of belonging and trust in our community. Prosperity consists in our ability to participate meaningfully in the life of society. All the things, in short, that had gone missing for ordinary people over recent decades.
With the UK’s 6,815 co-ops employing 226,000 people, the co-operative sector employs 0.7% of the UK’s workforce, making it a significant player in the economy.
Open source is an excellent example of how something that does not directly increase GNP can fuel real prosperity[…] It is a stunning example of how both the market and the state can be bypassed by cooperative creativity. The barrier between user and provider is eroded; a direct agreement between society members is maintained… Marx would have been a Firefox user.
Out of date software means usable hardware provides a second rate experience, with reduced features, limited app compatibility and security vulnerabilities.
demonstrating how companies can adapt software, hardware and business models for a circular economy. They show the changes companies could make, which parts of the supply chain might benefit most and which consumers are likely to be most receptive.
This report shows how companies across the mobile electronics supply chain can adopt a circular economy model to make money out of old devices, attract new customers around the world, increase brand loyalty, and cut manufacturing costs and risks. Doing so would also help to cut electronic waste, carbon emissions and resource use.