michel on libidinal econ ness
michel bauwens on libidinal econ ness
via tweet/thread [https://x.com/mbauwens/status/2066841085855645748?s=20]:
Fabio Vighi of which we shared his article analyzing the collapse of the present value form, has an interesting comment on our reaction in Substack:
“Michel, thank you for this, your wiki page is an extraordinary archive of experiments in mutual coordination, and I’m going to have a good look at it. But I want to ask you a question. Does the planned economy you describe move us beyond capital as economic value tied to labour? Or does it simply redistribute that value more fairly, more ecologically, more democratically, etc.? My worry, as you will know from my piece, is that the value-form itself is a deep structure that no amount of mutual coordination can dissolve, only reform. And beneath that, there is something perhaps even more fundamental level: the “mode of enjoyment” that subjects derive from their activity under capitalism, i.e. the unconscious attachment to competition, to accumulation, to the very forms that exploit us. A new plan that does not generate a new way of relating to what we do at the level of desires/drives might not “stick” – do you agree? I do not have the answer but I suspect that the transition you are working toward requires not just new institutions but also a new libidinal economy. This might well arise out of necessity, but was wondering if you have thought about this. I would be grateful for your reflections.”
notes/quotes from michel’s response to fabio on savage minds post/page:
Dear Fabio, thank you so much for this stimulating reaction. I will attempt a short reply:
1) my first answer is yes: my work and research explicitely addresses the value form, and our work is centered around a *shift from commodity value to contributory value. This is not something we wish for, but something we describe as it is already happening at significant scale in peer production communities. The issue is of course is that for now, this contributory value has to co-exist with the commodity economy, it is not independent of it, but our work studies on how to move from ‘a commons for capital’ to capital for the commons’. But just as the coloni/feudal system co-existed with the city merchant system , we believe the contributory and commodity system will co-exist for a significant time. But an accelaration of the death of the commodity system forces an acceleration of the birth of the contributory system. We have done significant thinking **about transition dynamics, which is not very much removed from Marx’s original phased scheme (so we do not believe in direct communlalization)
*to me.. those are same song
**need to try/see 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..
2) This being said, *we are rather weak on the libidinal economy, not because we deny its importance, **but lack of skills and time. But we believe that the object-oriented sociality we find in peer production communities already carries within itself a different investment of desire. My own background lies in Wilhelm Reich (long time ago), and in the discussions of the Philosophy Portal. ***I would welcome further conversations.
*ie: oikos (the economy our souls crave).. ‘i should say: the house shelters day-dreaming, the house protects the dreamer, the house allows one to dream in peace.’ – gaston bachelard, the poetics of space
need tech/means with detox embed (ie: nonjudgmental exponential labeling) to facil the seeming chaos of that global detox(libidinal) leap/dance.. for (blank)’s sake..
**actually.. doesn’t need skills.. just ‘time’ to be quiet enough to hear what is already on each heart.. aka: itch-in-the-soul
again.. 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
***nothing to date has gotten to the (libidinal) aka: root of problem
legit freedom 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..
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be you. 