Stefan Merten * Current limitations of peer production - And ideas on how to overcome them (was: [ox-en] Conference documentation)
- From: Stefan Merten <smerten oekonux.de>
- Date: Fri, 05 Feb 2010 19:48:03 +0100
Hi list!
Below is my presentation from the conference. The lines without a
bullet are my notes and were not in the slides I shown.
Grüße
Stefan
=== 8< === 8< === 8< === 8< === 8< === 8< === 8< === 8< === 8< === 8< ===
======================================
Current limitations of peer production
======================================
---------------------------------
And ideas on how to overcome them
---------------------------------
:Author: Stefan Merten
:Date: 2009-03-27, Manchester
:Organization: Project Oekonux
:Organization: www.oekonux.org
The source of the power
=======================
Criteria for peer production: Openness
--------------------------------------
* External openness
* I.e.: Everyone may use the results without restrictions
* Implies: Results are available without conditions
* Allowed: Conditions to keep external openness
Exchange *is* no such condition
* Internal openness
* Everyone may contribute to the project
Criteria for peer production: Selbstentfaltung
----------------------------------------------
* Selbstentfaltung of producers
* Work == fun
No compensation needed for work pain
BTW: Something the labor movement has enormous difficulties
with
* Implies: Volunteer producers
* Not alienated from production process
Producers control and manage production process as they see fit
* Producers are not alienated from the products
Volunteers select the product they like
* Results in absolute quality
Not only relative quality as in markets
* Unalienated products
* Products are not alienated from the users
* I.e.: Use value based production
* In other words: Freedom
* Selbstentfaltung ultimately means emancipation
That is why it is interesting for me
Power from a new mode of production
-----------------------------------
* Powerful products
* Successful products
* Complex products
* Major societal impact
* Global use
* Powerful producers
* Happy producers
* Volunteers can not be forced
* Ultimately: A new mode of production
* Undermining the stronghold of capitalism
Basis of contemporary peer production
=====================================
Internet as technological basis
-------------------------------
* Internet enables peer production
* Enables peers to find each other
* Enables peers to work together
* Major distribution channel
Globalization at its best
* Today Internet and computers are part of common infrastructure
* I.e. no extra cost
* On an industrial level
* Even for the average household
* Internet / computers are *the* technological basis of peer
production
* Internet / computers are the *technological* basis of peer
production
This new mode of production needed a technological basis
Skilled volunteers as human basis
---------------------------------
* Peer production mainly by volunteers
* For instance in Wikipedia
* Mostly in Free Software
See respective studies
* I.e. in Free time
* Peer production partly in paid time
* Either where peer production can be monetized by secondary effects
* Or where sponsored by the state
* Peer producers often highly skilled
* Necessary for products like an encyclopedia, software, science...
* At least some discipline needed for Open Streetmap
* Free time of skilled volunteers as the human basis
Contemporary limitations
========================
Availability of machinery
-------------------------
* Internet is sufficient machinery for pure information products
* But some products need expensive machinery
* Also applies to some information products
* Much research is based on expensive machinery
* Expensive machinery is not simply available
* Limits types of products producible by peer production
Availability of skilled volunteers
----------------------------------
* More volunteers would mean:
* More labor force / more products
* More diversity in Selbstentfaltung covering a wider range of
products
* Peer producers must earn money
* Therefore they are not fully available for Selbstentfaltung
Tasks hard to conceptualize as Selbstentfaltung
-----------------------------------------------
* Necessary tasks today may be
* Boring
* Dangerous
* Dirty
* ...
* Hard to see as Selbstentfaltung
* No problem: difficulty
* Difficult tasks are a nice challenge for the real masters ;-)
* Capitalism can structurally force people to do *every* task
* But force destroys Selbstentfaltung
* Thus force is not available for peer production
No principle limitation: Physical products
------------------------------------------
* Information products are based on digital copy
* But digital copy exists since 60 years
* And is ubiquitous since 10-20 years
* Today means of production for physical products are:
* Not ubiquitous
* Less universal than computers
* Not part of common infrastructure
* Physical peer products will exist when their preconditions are met
Overcoming machinery limitations
================================
Sponsored machinery for information production
----------------------------------------------
* State pays for expensive machinery
* Like in science / Open Access
* Free Software also started in universities
Sponsored machinery for manufacturing designs
---------------------------------------------
* Contract manufacturers
* Have expensive machinery
* May produce peer production designs on order
* Standard industry producing peer products
* Trend to ask the users
See Eric v. Hippel's work
* Even in Free Software: Distributors
Cheap / universal machinery
---------------------------
* Note: Computers are universal *and* (meanwhile) cheap
Cheap and universal machinery seems to be a fertile ground
* Cheap means: easy to get
* Universal means: Useful to have
* Like a car for many transportation issues
* Fabbers, industrial robots, ... are universal
* Adopt the Free Software strategy
* Building the means of production from the ground up
* Editors, compilers, operating system
More sophisticated technology
-----------------------------
* May solve many problems
* Lower costs
* Cheap / universal means of production
* Enable physical peer production
* Reduce unwanted tasks
* Enable Selbstentfaltung by needing more sophisticated work
* In short: More automation
Overcoming Selbstentfaltung limitations
=======================================
Expanding Free time
-------------------
* Unconditional basic income from the state
* However: Unconditional basic income destroys the basis of
capitalism
* Thus this won't happen
* Lower average labor time
An old labor movement demand...
* Higher wages
Another old labor movement demand...
But this time not only for pleasure but to the help a new society
* Lower costs by using results of peer production
* Less need to work for money
* Positive feedback cycle
Extending and using Selbstentfaltung
------------------------------------
* Lift skill level by Free education
* OLPC (One Laptop Per Child)
* MIT Courseware
* Open Access
* Open Textbooks
* Leverage diversity of Selbstentfaltung
* Selbstentfaltung is a very individual thing
* What is horror for one person is pleasure for someone else
* Open Streetmap fine for those strange people who like walking ;-)
Using capitalism
================
Learning from capitalism
------------------------
* Learn how germ form becomes dominant
* Learn from history
* Focus on strengths instead of weaknesses
* Learn what functions a modern society needs
* These must be replaced by peer production counterparts
* Or may become superfluous - like banks
* Make peer production sexy
Leveraging capitalism
---------------------
* Public peer product policies helps public recognition
* Use capitalism for what it is (still) good
* E.g.: Production of goods useful for peer production
Wrap up
=======
Summary
-------
* Criteria for peer production must be met
* Contemporary basis consists of technological and human means of
production
* Limitations result from the lack of means of production
* Ideas exist on how to overcome these limitations
Thank you
---------
* This is part of the Oekonux drawing board initiative
* http://en.wiki.oekonux.org/Oekonux/DrawingBoard
* Thank you for your attention
* Contact: smerten oekonux de
* Questions? Comments?