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[The idea is to create a research group centering around understanding the 'object' of emerging peer to peer dynamics, and more particularly the emerging forms of peer production, governance and property, and the associated paradigms of openness, participation, and commons-orientation. ...]

"Michel Bauwens 30th November 2010 In the article for the Argentinian national daily "Pagina 12″, journalist Mariano Blejman writes that I equate open hardware with socialism. and this is also the message that is being retweeted. This is not explicitely my position, so I'd like to take up the occasion to republish an earlier article on how our position is related to the historical movement of socialism. What is the connection between the historical tradition of socialism/communism and the contemporary emergence of ideas and practices centered around p2p dynamics and the commons?"

"Michel Bauwens 30th November 2010 In the article for the Argentinian national daily "Pagina 12″, journalist Mariano Blejman writes that I equate open hardware with socialism. and this is also the message that is being retweeted. This is not explicitely my position, so I'd like to take up the occasion to republish an earlier article on how our position is related to the historical movement of socialism. What is the connection between the historical tradition of socialism/communism and the contemporary emergence of ideas and practices centered around p2p dynamics and the commons?"

[ Book: Wolfgang Hoeschele. The Economics of Abundance: A Political Economy of Freedom, Equity, and Sustainability. Gower Publishing, 2010 Contents [hide] * 1 Description * 2 Contents * 3 Excerpts o 3.1 Introduction o 3.2 Oppressive Scarcities (pp. 19-20) o 3.3 Conclusions: Strategies for Change o 3.4 Table 9.1: Coalitions for change o 3.5 Resource Use and Property Rights to Minimize Scarcity + 3.5.1 Contributory resource uses + 3.5.2 Neutral resource uses + 3.5.3 Rivalrous resource uses + 3.5.4 Key References on resource use Description "The "economics of abundance" is based on a critique of our present economic system, which finds value only in scarce commodities - i.e., things which can be sold at a high price because demand exceeds supply. Because this economy depends on demand always outstripping supplies, it also depends on "scarcity-generating institutions" - institutions that either manipulate supply or demand in order to keep us in a constant state of need. An economy of abundance seeks to dismantle or reform these scarcity-generating institutions in such a way as to affirm our freedom to live life as art (self-expression to others), social equity (so that everyone can live life as art), and sustainability (so that all life can thrive into the future). Among other things, this implies a much greater role for various forms of shared property, individual and community-level self-reliance, and participatory decision-making." (http://shareable.net/blog/event-the-economics-of-abundance) ]

[Here's a quit extensive synthesis of "The Penguin and the Leviathan," in my opinion a wonderful book for anyone who is interested in improving and transforming our economic and political institutions. Human motivation is a subject that 'makes me tick'. I really enjoyed reading "The Penguin and the Leviathan", not only because it paints a much nicer picture of "human nature" than the one used by the free marketeers, but also because it gives a glimpse of a future, higher form of society that will be much more based on human cooperation. I think it is important to see that the seeds of this future society are very much present today. ...]

agreed! thanks for this share... the book's on my wishlist.

"Michel Bauwens 25th January 2015 Our book of the year is Humanizing the Economy by John Restakis. See why below.. I can truthfully say it's one of the most important books I have read in the last ten years."

"Bitcoin has taken quite a beating for its libertarian design biases, price volatility due to speculation, and the questionable practices of some currency-exchange firms. But whatever the real or perceived flaws of Bitcoin, relatively little attention has been paid to its "engine," known as "distributed ledger" or "blockchain" technology. Move beyond the superficial public discussions about Bitcoin, and you'll discover a software breakthrough that could be of enormous importance to the future of commoning on open network platforms."

"How To Thrive In the Next Economy * Book: How To Thrive In the Next Economy. John Thackara. Thames & Hudson, 2015 URL = http://www.doorsofperception.com/thackarathrive/ Contents 1 Description 2 Review 3 Discussion 3.1 On the importance of positive stories"