Archives: Reads

reading a book, magazine, newspaper, other physical document, or online post
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Mondragón and the System Problem

(Truthout)
The bankruptcy declaration of Mondragón Corporation's major subsidiary, Fagor Electrodomésticos Group, illustrates the need for large-scale cooperatives to go beyond competition in the existing economic system and begin to address system design.

Interesting read about some of the issues faced at the system level as cooperatives get large and embedded in global markets. As experienced by Mondragon.

http://www.truth-out.org/news/item/19704-mondragon-and-the-system-problem

Also on:
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The making of the CommonsCloud - technical choices

(freeknowledge.eu)

Interesting article on the tech choices behind CommonsCloud.

freeknowledge.eu/article/makin

(CommonsCloud is a platform coop combining Discourse, NextCloud and Phabricator. They’re trying to build an online collaboration platform for the solidarity economy.)

en.goteo.org/project/commonscl

Also on:
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Blockchain could reshape the world – and the far right is one step ahead | Josh Hall

by Josh Hall(the Guardian)
Crypto technology is coming to a crossroads. Those who want to use it to radically redistribute wealth must take urgent action.

Thoughts?

I think the article could explain better what it is specifically that both the left the far-right are doing with cryptocurrency. And in what way the far-right is one step ahead.

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Next, the Internet: Building a Cooperative Digital Space

by Nathan Schneider(The Internet of Ownership)
Cooperatives brought electricity to rural America when no one else would, and they’ve given Main Street a fighting chance against the big boxes. They help millions buy homes. They pioneered the local, organic revival and the means of delivering fair-trade products from across the planet. Next, the internet. We have done this already, and we can do it again, even better than before.

Really nice article by @ntnsndr on the possibilities of coops in the digital space (and what they’re already achieving).  Quality rather than unnecessary growth; data privacy; federation rather than centralization; harnessing ideas like blockchain for trust; and funding new ventures through cooperative means. Exciting times. (h/t @Matt_Noyes)

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Jeremy Corbyn pledges rebirth of 'municipal socialism' in the UK

(The Guardian)
Labour leader urges councils to reverse privatisation of public services while defending party’s intervention in Haringey

Interesting to see a reference to “municipal” socialism from JC. Also interesting to see the top-level intervention when a local authority is doing something dodgy. I agree with the sentiment of the intervention but how municipalist is it?

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When Workers Takeover: From Redundancy to Ri-Maflow

(workerscontrol.net)
Italian workers occupy the factory where they used to work and run it as a cooperative recycling electronic components.

It’s from 2013, but it is a positive story of workers taking over the factory and turning it into something with positive environmental and social impact.  And while I can’t read Italian from what I can understand they are still active, despite some attempts to shut them down.  http://rimaflow.it/

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Paradigm shifts for the decentralized Web

(ruben.verborgh.org)
As separate markets for data and apps emerge, Web development needs to adopt a new shape.

Interesting article on the Solid (Social linked data) platform.  It describes a lot of the decentralisation concepts that are explored and implemented in the indieweb movement (surprised the article doesn’t mention indieweb, in fact, given the W3C link), but comes at it from a Linked Data angle.  The language around markets and competition doesn’t really appeal to my personal politics, but good to see the philosophy of moving away from centralised silos being explored in different ways.

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Can Basic Income Plus The Blockchain Build A New Economic System?

(Fast Company)
To stop society’s unsustainable demand for ever-more resources, we need to decentralize and localize our economy. Combining the new ledger technology with UBI may be the way to make that happen.

I’m not clued up enough to know what the final result of the blockchain hype vs antihype ping pong match will be. Ditto UBI. This article is about both. Nevertheless, regardless of the means, I like the ends they’re aiming for: decentralization, degrowth, reinvigorated local communities, post-capitalism. https://www.fastcompany.com/40482312/can-basic-income-plus-the-blockchain-build-a-new-economic-system

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Our Consumption Model Is Broken. Here’s How To Build A New One.

by Ali El Idrissi(NewCo Shift)
On August 2, 2017, we started using more from nature than our planet can renew in the whole year. Every natural resource we used from that day onward resulted in “ecological overspending.”

Summary

  • Our consumption patterns have huge environmental, social and health impacts.
  • Consumption is a corporate strategy.
  • We need a systemic change, not just tweaks to consumerism.

Thoughts

Good article, backed up by plenty of stats.  But it’s stronger on the “our consumption model is broken” part, a bit weak on “here’s how to build a new one.” The plan for system change doesn’t feel very fleshed out, with some loose suggestions, and not much as to how we actually achieve the suggestions.  Maybe that’s explored further elsewhere.

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