A virtual project

• Oekonux == Oekonomie + linux (German)

  • I.e.: Economy + Linux

  German roots but meanwhile international

• Discussion process about Free Software and society

  • Founded in 1999
  • Wide range of opinions and fields
  • Common interest in emancipation

• Virtual project

  • Mailing lists
  • Web sites
  • Wiki

• 4th Oekonux Conference

  • 2009-03-27..29, Manchester (UK)
  • Together with P2P Foundation

Feel free to join!

What is a mode of production?

• Common perspective: Free Software as a technology
• Common feeling: But something is different beyond technology
• In this talk: Free Software as a fundamental societal phenomenon
• Mode of production describes how a society reproduces itself
• Important features
  1. Products produced and means of production used
  2. Societal embedding of production
  3. Productivity

Mode of production is the fundament of a society

That is why we need to look at when we think about a fundamental change in society

Examples for modes of production

To give you an idea of what mode of production means

• Feudalism
  • Agricultural production, peasants and artisans
  • Personal relations in communities
  • Aristocracy
  • Low productivity
• Capitalism
  • Industrial production, workers
  • Exchange based relationships (aka money)
  • Democracy
  • High productivity

Mode of production shapes a society

Free Software as a new mode of production

What is special about Free Software then?

Yes, we can!

—Barack Obama

What is Selbstentfaltung?

• Enjoying task and project == Selbstentfaltung
  • Opposite: alienation
• Two basic characteristics
  1. Having fun individually
  2. While maintaining a relationship to society
• Important expression: Volunteering for useful tasks
• Selbstentfaltung aims at absolute quality
  • If it is "your baby" you want to be proud of it
  • No boss stops you from doing so
  • Impossible if you need to make profit

Selbstentfaltung based quality makes Free Software successful

Other examples of this mode of production

• Wikipedia
  • Similar to Free Software in many respects
  • Openness, volunteers, transnational, ...
• OpenAccess
  • I.e.: Free Science
  • Grass root movement from the scientists
• More
  • Free Car projects
  • Free Music
  • ...
• General term: peer production

Peer production is generalizable beyond Free Software

What is a germ form?

• Germ form theory describes how development happens
  • Originated in critical psychology (Holzkamp)
  • Explains how the human psyche came into being
  • Applicable to other fields
• Key characteristics of a germ form
  1. Structurally new
  2. Emerging from and existing in the old
  3. Potential to take over

Germ form theory explains how fundamental change takes place

The five step model

1. Emerging of the new

   • First appearances of the germ form
   • Think: Free Software in 1984

2. Crisis of the old

   • Slump of the old forms
   • Think: Crisis of classical Unices on midrange servers

3. Disseminating and expanding

   • Germ form becomes important in the old process
   • Think: Free Software today
   • Key question: Does the germ form keep its germ form features?

4. Achieving dominance

   • Think: Proprietary software replaced by Free Software

5. Restructuring of entire system

   • Restructuring of entire system

Change we can believe in!

—Barack Obama

Where do we stand today?

• For software
  • Free Software in phase 3: disseminating and expanding
  • Pretty obvious
  • Note: earlier phases were hard to recognize
• For society
  • Peer production in phase 1: emerging of the new
  • ...or rather in phase 2: crisis of the old
  • As early Free Software it may be hard to believe in its potential

Don't hold you breath - but stay tuned

Capitalism as a germ form phenomenon

You may ask: Are there prior examples?

Yes!

• Emerging of the new happened long ago

  Earliest forms appeared during the Roman Empire

• Crisis of the old when feudal principles exhausted

  For instance: Religious schism in the Christian church

  For instance: European Enlightenment and new forms of science transcended feudal principles

• Disseminating and expanding started with textile industry

• Capitalism achieved dominance in late 19th century

• Restructuring society is still not complete globally

• Note: Society changed after the productive fundament allowed it

  • Technical revolution was a precondition for a change of the mode of production

A new mode of production starting as a germ form can take over

The Utopia

How will society look like after restructuring?

However: predictability is very limited

But on an abstract level things can be said

• Selbstentfaltung (aka freedom) is...
  • ...no longer a contradiction to society
  • ...it is rather its fundament
• More automation reduces unwanted activities
• All goods are freely available
• Overcoming labor society
  • No commodities, no labor
  • No exchange, no money
  • No alienation

The dawn of a free society

Free information goods

• The idea of Free Software spreads out already
  • As seen already
• Creative Commons licenses are an important step
• But remember: digital technology is the foundation
  • I.e.: New technology may be necessary for further dissemination

The basis is there already

Free material goods - the practical approach

• Free design communities
  • Free car design
  • Appropedia
  • ...
  • Make production cheaper
• User contribution become more important
  • Some corporations start to include user contributions
  • Gives them an advantage in competition
  • See: Eric v. Hippel
• One of the key questions: Access to expensive means of production
  • http://en.wiki.oekonux.org/Oekonux/DrawingBoard

First steps starting from solid ground

Free material goods - the theoretical approach

• Historical example: Capitalism and agricultural production
  • Agricultural production...
  • ...was key in feudalism
  • ...still exists
  • ...became an appendage of industrial production
  • Proves: The focus of society moved
• Next: Material production becomes an appendage of information production
  • Information already is an important precondition for material production

Restructuring will remove material production from focus

Summary

• Peer economy establishes a new mode of production
• Germ form theory shows how this can develop
• We are witnessing the dawn of a new era

Thank you

• Thank you for your attention
• More on this: http://www.oekonux.org/
• Contact: smerten@oekonux.de
• 4th Oekonux Conference
  • Free Software and Beyond - The World of Peer Production
  • 2009-03-27..29, Manchester (UK)
  • http://www.oekonux-conference.org/
• Questions? Comments?