Institutions (was: Re: [ox-en] Out-Cooperating the Empire? - Exchange with Christoph Spehr)
- From: Stefan Merten <smerten oekonux.de>
- Date: Tue, 24 Oct 2006 08:49:29 +0200
Hi Markus, Michel, all!
3 weeks (21 days) ago Markus wrote:
I THINK I made a similar mistake during the early formulations of
P2P Theory.
same here.
We are probably all so much caught in capitalist ideologies like
(abstract) equality that it is hard to even see something new but
promising...
Peer projects are not anti-institutional, they create different
institutions, such as the Commons legal framework, the use of nonprofit
foundations, and the body of regulations arising out of the problems of
working together. Institutionalization is simply a crystallisation of
experience: when you are encountering similar problems time and again,
it is natural to have a consensus on process,
I like the term "crystallisation of experience". That indeed is like
it feels to me.
but this of course
constrains to a certain degree the next generations.
Of course. And the very nature of being felt as a repression is
probably the lack of (bad) experience. Additionally it is also hard to
make experiences on your own when you have already an institution
which prevents bad experiences.
However, with open (mailing list) archives you can point to the
experiences made by others. The nice opportunity here is that people
reading this afterwards are nearly in the same situation as those who
read it during it happened.
But the
institutions themselves should be open to revision.
[...]
one of the main issues i have with institutions (apart from generally
being sceptical on them) is the issue of control and the relationship
"individual-institution/decision makers". when there is an institution,
individuals (like the chairman for instance) get quite some (statutary,
static) powers ("decision making monopolies").
Meanwhile I think that is one of the challenges life will always
present to mankind: To maintain stability *and* flexibility at the
same time. Too much of the first means stasis, too much of the second
means chaos. To walk the line between stasis and chaos will be
difficult forever.
Mit Freien Grüßen
Stefan
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