david (b) on re-imagining ness
Re-imagining the Polity for a Networked Humanity (2016) by david bollier [https://www.bollier.org/blog/re-imagining-polity-networked-humanity#_edn9]
via kevin carson bsky post [https://bsky.app/profile/kevincarson1.bsky.social/post/3mj42iaqaj22i]
notes/quotes from article linked:
This is the third and final installment from my essay, “Transnational Republics of Commoning: Reinventing Governance through Emergent Networks,” published by Friends of the Earth UK. The full essay can be downloaded as a pdf file here.
david (b) on commons econ.. david bollier.. et al
III. Re-imagining the Polity for a Networked Humanity
*However promising the new forms of open source governance outlined above, they do not of themselves constitute a polity. The new regimes of collaboration constitute mini- and meso-systems of self-organization. **They do not comprise a superstructure of law, policy, infrastructure and macro-support, which is also needed. So what might such a superstructure look like, and how might it be created? ***Can we envision some sort of transnational polity that could leapfrog over the poorly functioning state systems that prevail today?
*to me.. if still governing/contituting/polity-ing/promising.. not very ‘promising’
**to me.. this is whalespeak.. not only not needed.. but cancerous distraction
***to me.. only if we try something that legit gets to the root of problem
legit freedom (commoning et al) will only happen if it’s all of us.. and in order to be all of us.. has to be sans any form of measuring, accounting, people telling other people what to do
how we gather in a space is huge.. need to try spaces of permission where people have nothing to prove to facil curiosity over decision making.. because the finite set of choices of decision making is unmooring us.. keeping us from us..
ie: imagine if we listen to the itch-in-8b-souls 1st thing everyday & use that data to connect us (tech as it could be.. ai as augmenting interconnectedness)
the thing we’ve not yet tried/seen: the unconditional part of left to own devices ness
[‘in an undisturbed ecosystem ..the individual left to its own devices.. serves the whole’ –dana meadows]
there’s a legit use of tech (nonjudgmental exponential labeling) to facil the seeming chaos of a global detox leap/dance.. for (blank)’s sake..
ie: whatever for a year.. a legit sabbatical ish transition
otherwise we’ll keep perpetuating the same song.. the whac-a-mole-ing ness of sea world.. of not-us ness.. of part\ial ness.. perpetuating survival triage.. for (blank)’s sake..
While states are usually quite jealous in protecting their authority, transnational commons should be seen as helping the beleaguered nation-state system by compensating for its deficiencies. *By empowering ordinary people to take responsibility and reap entitlements as commoners, nation-states could foster an explosion of open-source problem-solving and diminish dependencies on volatile, often-predatory global markets, while bolstering their credibility and legitimacy as systems of power.
*not ’empowering if still talking entitlement ness.. and problem solving ness.. and markets ness.. and crdibliity/legit ness..
But how might we begin to build a commons-friendly polity? After all, the most politically attractive approaches have no ambitions to change the system, while any grand proposals for transforming neoliberal capitalism are seen as political non-starters. I suggest three “entry points” that can serve as long-term strategies for transformation:
again.. to me.. if polity ness.. not ‘commons friendly’
findings from on the ground ness:
1\ undisturbed ecosystem (common\ing) can happen
2\ if we create a way to facil the seeming chaos of 8b legit free people
1) begin to reconceptualize cities as commons;
2) reframe the “right to common” (access to basic resources for survival and dignity) as a human right; and
3) build new collaborations among system-critical social movements so that a critical mass of resistance and creative alternatives can emerge.
need 1st/most: means (nonjudgmental expo labeling) to undo hierarchical listening – so we can hear what’s already on each heart as global detox in order to org around legit needs
These three general strategies are not separate approaches, of course, but highly complementary and synergistic.
1. Cities as a Workshop for System-Change
in the city ness also has to be about as the day ness.. for the dance to dance..
the thing we’ve not yet tried/seen: the unconditional part of left to own devices ness
[‘in an undisturbed ecosystem ..the individual left to its own devices.. serves the whole’ –dana meadows]
there’s a legit use of tech (nonjudgmental exponential labeling) to facil the seeming chaos of a global detox leap/dance.. for (blank)’s sake..
ie: whatever for a year.. a legit sabbatical ish transition
One of the most promising places to start building a new polity is in cities. In Barcelona, Bologna, Seoul, and many other cities, citizen movements based on the ideas of “the city as a commons” and of “sharing cities” are taking root. *Both approaches assert the shared interests of ordinary residents over those of the usual overlords of city government – real estate developers, economic elites, “starchitects” and urban planners.
*need global detox first.. for this to be legit ‘interests’.. ie: imagine if we listen to the itch-in-8b-souls 1st thing everyday & use that data to connect us (tech as it could be.. ai as augmenting interconnectedness)
City governments could augment this general approach by building new tech infrastructures that enable greater citizen engagement.
loaded with cancerous distractions.. ie: govt.. citizen ness.. engagement ness.. et al
City TLDs are a potentially transformative civil infrastructure that could be as consequential as the “street grid” layout of Manhattan adopted in the 1800s.
street grid ness we need: city sketchup ness et al
Network platforms are an especially attractive way to actualize the idea of “the city as commons” because they can enact all sorts of open source principles: low barriers to participation, transparency of process, bottom-up innovation, social pressure for fair dealing and resistance to concentrated power and insider deals.
all cancerous distractions if you want the ‘commons’ dance to dance
One powerful way to advance commoning in cities is through the skillful use of open data.
the data ness humanity needs most: self-talk as data via idiosyncratic jargon ness..
mufleh humanity law et al
Using smartphones to crowdsource real-time data is another way that a city could use commoning to reinvent the role of government.
for real time and real/legit data.. there’s a legit use of tech (nonjudgmental exponential labeling) to facil the seeming chaos of a global detox leap/dance.. for (blank)’s sake..
The beauty of these and other initiatives is that they invite broad participation and address immediate, practical needs while contributing to a very different paradigm of governance – one that fosters commons and commoning.
first need global detox so we grok legit needs.. otherwise we’ll keep perpetuating the same song.. the whac-a-mole-ing ness of sea world.. of not-us ness.. of part\ial ness.. perpetuating survival triage.. for (blank)’s sake.
2. The Right to Common as a Basic Human Right
rights ness is cancerous distraction
the thing we’ve not yet tried/seen: the unconditional part of left to own devices ness
[‘in an undisturbed ecosystem ..the individual left to its own devices.. serves the whole’ –dana meadows]
3. Building a Convergence of System-Critical Movements
The third strategic approach I want to suggest for building a new polity supportive of the commons is through an ongoing convergence and alignment of diverse system-critical social movements.
again.. how we gather in a space is huge.. need to try spaces of permission where people have nothing to prove to facil curiosity over decision making.. because the finite set of choices of decision making is unmooring us.. keeping us from us..
ie: imagine if we listen to the itch-in-8b-souls 1st thing everyday & use that data to connect us (tech as it could be.. ai as augmenting interconnectedness)
Through network-based cooperation and localized grassroots projects, millions of people around the world are managing all sorts of bottom-up, self-provisioning systems.
rather.. millions of whales.. aka: all of us.. need global detox
These movements are developing new visions of “development” and “progress,” as seen in the buen vivir ethic in Latin America, for example, or in “go local” movements in the US and Europe, and the FabLabs and makerspaces.
need: gershenfeld something else law
Conclusion
I do believe that fostering the social practices and norms of commoning may be one of the few pathways to develop transformational change.
to me.. not deep enough for legit change
we need a problem deep enough to resonate w/8b today.. via a mechanism simple enough to be accessible/usable to 8b today.. in an ecosystem open enough to set/keep 8b legit free
ie: org around a problem deep enough (aka: org around legit needs) to resonate w/8b today.. via a mechanism simple enough (aka: tech as it could be) to be accessible/usable to 8b today.. and an ecosystem open enough (aka: sans any form of m\a\p) to set/keep 8b legit free
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be you. 