[-empyre-] from the personal to the political, a p2p confession

[magnus at ditch.org.uk]

> The benevolent dictator meme is in my view one of the more misleading
> concepts for peer governance, because it is not really generally in any
> way
> someone that can dictate what people do, rather, most of the time, they
> function as constitutional monarchs, with a power of moral arbitrage in
> case
> of internal conflict ...

Hmm, something like the democracy aboard the pirate vessel (where the
power of captaincy is bestowed by a consenus of the crew), with more or
less defined articles of association.

Magnus

>
> Michel
>
> On Thu, Jul 28, 2011 at 5:54 PM, <magnus at ditch.org.uk> wrote:
>
>> Hi Michel,
>>
>> > hi magnus,
>> >
>> > this reminds me of a text by brian holmes I once read, where he wrote
>> that
>> > today art/creation, public intellectuality,  and social engagement,
>> are
>> > 'merging', not only in a new type of individual, but as a new type of
>> > 'collective intellectual'. I think this is what the p2p foundation
>> > purports
>> > to be, not just a vehicle for one person or 'group' with the answer,
>> but
>> > as
>> > a platform for the collective intelligence of a moving social field
>> ...
>> > I'm
>> > guessing that Anonymous, on a much bigger scale than us, is also a
>> similar
>> > type of attempt, through their stress on anoninymity, makes it
>> different,
>> >
>> > I also noticed in the recent 15m mobilisations, there is a tendency of
>> at
>> > least part of the movement to choose the new collectivity against any
>> > individual manifestations of leadership ..
>>
>> Perhaps also these approaches are what Paolo and Julian in particular
>> have
>> written about in previous weeks?
>>
>> >
>> > obviously in the p2p foundation, my own personality looms large
>> >
>> > I'm not sure what the good solution is, but I think that a 'transcend
>> and
>> > include' approach, which allows individuality to persist and be part
>> of
>>  a
>> > new collective, is preferable ...
>>
>> Is this the 'benevolent dictator' question which has been (certainly in
>> the past) a subject for Oekonux ( http://www.oekonux.org/ )
>> participants?
>>
>> >
>> > I must admit i'm still struggling with radical
>> non-representationality,
>> > also
>> > in terms of political effectiveness; it reminds me a bit of the issue
>> of
>> > tribal structures .. as far as I know the 'flat structures' and
>> governance
>> > by the elders, was put on hold in times of conflict, with temporary
>> > warchiefs directing the wars,but when they returned and the conflict
>> was
>> > over, their power withered ...
>>
>> Ultra-red ( http://www.ultrared.org ) work specifically to emphasize and
>> experiment with hierarchies and flat(tening) structures. Also, many
>> events
>> convened by arika in the UK ( http://arika.org.uk/ ), which have
>> included
>> Mattin. I think his work on 'going fragile' might be relevant:
>>
>> http://www.mattin.org/essays/Going_Fragile_english_FINAL.html
>>
>> > It is probably when this withering away stopped occuring, that
>> chiefdoms
>> > and
>> > eventually class society emerged; but while it worked, and really this
>> was
>> > the longest period of human history, against which class society is a
>> mere
>> > blip, there was room for individual leadership
>> >
>> > my feeling is that 'consensus' governance, has actually very high
>> > transaction/coordination costs,
>> >
>> > compare anonymous to the personalized wikileaks, which outfit is the
>> most
>> > politically productive?
>>
>> Yes, I find that there is a lot more mess and uncertainty in the more
>> distributed ways of doing. Even, is it less conclusive and could such
>> openness be an acceptable end point?
>>
>> Best wishes,
>>
>> Magnus
>>
>> >
>> > Michel
>> >
>> >
>> > On Thu, Jul 28, 2011 at 4:13 AM, <magnus at ditch.org.uk> wrote:
>> >
>> >> Hi Michel,
>> >>
>> >> Thanks for sharing this personal background with us... the positive,
>> >> sweeping view, your sense of being a 'political artist' engaged in
>> >> creative and performative acts and the constructive, bringing
>> together
>> >> of
>> >> varied individuals and paradigms.
>> >>
>> >> Best wishes,
>> >>
>> >> Magnus
>> >>
>> >> > I'm not much of an art expert but rather the kind of person that
>> gets
>> >> > excited about ideas and visions, but those ideas and visions are
>> very
>> >> much
>> >> > alive and present in my mind .. So I thought that I'd focus my
>> first
>> >> > contribution on political aspects of our work at the p2p
>> foundation. I
>> >> > will
>> >> > comment later more specifically about piracy and its
>> >> political-cultural
>> >> > aspects. (well actually, after finishing this piece, it turns out I
>> >> went
>> >> > in
>> >> > personal confession mode, something I have actually never done
>> outside
>> >> > this
>> >> > forum)
>> >> >
>> >> >
>> >> >  I hope people won't feel to uncomfortable with the personal
>> >> background,
>> >> > which is part of the story.
>> >> >
>> >> >
>> >> >  It all begin a first time about 14 years ago, when I had a 'annus
>> >> > horribilis' that really shook me to the core, I think we're talking
>> >> about
>> >> > the period 1996-97. It was a year where my father died, my mother
>> got
>> >> > diagnosed with Alzheimer, the love of my life broke up, I
>> discovered
>> >> some
>> >> > of
>> >> > my business associates had a criminal background and had gone off
>> with
>> >> the
>> >> > business funds; a movie I had been working on for three years,
>> >> > TechnoCalyps,
>> >> > got stalled because of a fight between the producer and the
>> director,
>> >> > cutting off my escape from the corporate world; and I had a major
>> row
>> >> with
>> >> > my intellectual guru of the time, Ken Wilber (integral theory). Of
>> >> course,
>> >> > serious health consequences also ensued. It basically totally
>> floored
>> >> me
>> >> > and
>> >> > constituted my mid-life crisis. For me this is the time when you
>> >> realize
>> >> > your life is half over, and you realize that if you don't realize
>> the
>> >> > dreams
>> >> > and ideals of your youth, you will die cynical and disappointed. It
>> >> was
>> >> > now
>> >> > or never.
>> >> >
>> >> >
>> >> >  The way I saw it then, was that the major issue for me had been
>> that
>> >> I
>> >> > had
>> >> > given up on my ideals for the creation of a better world, as corny
>> as
>> >> this
>> >> > may sound. It seemed to me that the passionate energy involved in
>> that
>> >> > desire, had been buried and was working against me, and that if I
>> >> wanted
>> >> > to
>> >> > discover from the combined crisis, I had to reconnect with this
>> source
>> >> of
>> >> > energy. It was also the time when I became increasingly convinced
>> that
>> >> all
>> >> > the objective indicators of human and social life, were turning
>> >> negative,
>> >> > and that our civilisational model was hitting a wall.
>> >> >
>> >> >
>> >> >  The first thing question then was really, but how do we change
>> this
>> >> > overall
>> >> > situation as a single individual, how do we engage without actually
>> >> making
>> >> > the situation worse.
>> >> >
>> >> >
>> >> >  As a youth, I had been a radical leftist, active within the rather
>> >> > sectarian Militant tendency, then rather well-known in the UK. But
>> >> this
>> >> > engagement had led nowhere, was followed by the neoliberal
>> >> > counterrevolution
>> >> > of the 80s, and had personally exhausted me. Since I could not
>> change
>> >> the
>> >> > world, I had concluded, by the time I was 23 and after seven years
>> of
>> >> > intense engagement, the only option was to change my 'self'. The
>> >> problem
>> >> > though was that I had emotionally broken with that type of life,
>> and
>> >> with
>> >> > Marxism, but had not really gone through a rational process of
>> >> thinking
>> >> > through what was wrong with it, I had rather rejected it as a
>> whole,
>> >> even
>> >> > ritually burning a suitcase full of my books (yes, I know, a crying
>> >> > shame!).
>> >> > Instead, I began a personal exploration that brought me in touch
>> with,
>> >> > more
>> >> > or less in sequence, the human potential techniques, eastern
>> spiritual
>> >> > practices and theories, the western esoteric traditions (been a
>> >> > rosicrucian,
>> >> > a mason, a templar, had a alchemy teacher and drew Tarot cards),
>> >> ending
>> >> > with
>> >> > a 3 year period of self-study of western philosophy by the time I
>> was
>> >> 30.
>> >> > This may seem pretty fast, but I think I have a capacity of
>> absorption
>> >> of
>> >> > ideas and concepts that is probably beyond the average. My method
>> was
>> >> > really
>> >> > participant observation, going into a movement fully and without
>> >> > reservation, practice the injunctions, see what it did with the
>> >> bodymind
>> >> > and
>> >> > my personality structure, and when I thought I had absorbed its
>> most
>> >> > important core elements, move on. By my thirties then, feeling
>> >> > substantially
>> >> > transformed, I embarked on my business career, not because of a
>> love
>> >> of
>> >> > the
>> >> > corporate world, but because I felt it was an area of cultural
>> >> dynamism,
>> >> > in
>> >> > which I could 'create' something and make something of my life.
>> That
>> >> was
>> >> > the
>> >> > period then that ended with that big personal crisis.
>> >> >
>> >> >
>> >> >  In any case, as I decide to go back to my roots and my youthful
>> >> > engagement,
>> >> > I felt the need to study Marx again, but at the same time, I
>> dreaded
>> >> the
>> >> > effort of going through not only the primary texts, but also the
>> major
>> >> > interpretations of where it had gone wrong. Luckily then, I
>> stumbled
>> >> upon
>> >> > Negri's Empire 
 It's not that I cannot find fault with the
>> approach,
>> >> but
>> >> > here it seemed to me was at least a work with a sweeping vision, a
>> >> > positive
>> >> > view of the potential for change, and that had gone through a
>> critique
>> >> of
>> >> > Marx 

>> >> >
>> >> >
>> >> >  It is after this reading experience, which took me about three
>> months
>> >> of
>> >> > internal struggles, that I decided to follow a basic intuition:
>> that
>> >> the
>> >> > isomorphism of peer to peer, which I literarally saw emerging
>> >> everywhere,
>> >> > this great horizontalisation of human relationships through massive
>> >> > self-aggregation around common value and affinities, was te lever
>> of
>> >> > change
>> >> > I had been looking for. That civil society had now become
>> productive,
>> >> and
>> >> > was no longer a derivative of the value creation of the corporate
>> >> world,
>> >> > but
>> >> > rather the other way around, that social cooperation was becoming
>> >> > increasingly primary, and that the older vertical institution were
>> >> living
>> >> > increasingly 'off' this new productivity.
>> >> >
>> >> >
>> >> >  I decided by the end of 2002, that I had to finally quit the
>> >> corporate
>> >> > world, take a 90% pay cut (actually 100% at first), and try to
>> develop
>> >> > this
>> >> > basic intuition in all its consequences. With hindsight, the great
>> >> crisis
>> >> > of
>> >> > 1996-97, when all had gone wrong that could go wrong, had been a
>> true
>> >> > 'born
>> >> > again' moment in my life, which after a period of restoration and
>> >> > maturation, led to the decision to create an autonomous life around
>> a
>> >> core
>> >> > belief and intuition. Lucky for me, I had by then met my new thai
>> >> wife, a
>> >> > continual source of domestic happiness, and when I asked her if
>> she'd
>> >> > agree
>> >> > with moving back to her home country, answered: don't worry, we
>> will
>> >> > always
>> >> > have food and shelter, what else do we need 
 This was the final go
>> >> ahead,
>> >> > I
>> >> > decided to quit my job by October 2002, taking my wife, new son, my
>> >> mother
>> >> > with Alzheimer, to Thailand.
>> >> >
>> >> >
>> >> >  I took a two year sabbatical, consisting of six months of travel
>> >> within
>> >> > Europe, six months of studying Thai history and culture at the
>> local
>> >> > university and one year of full-time reading, focusing on the long
>> >> haul
>> >> of
>> >> > history and in particular the phase transition at the end of the
>> Roman
>> >> > Empire .. (and finally getting to read the postmodern authors I had
>> >> always
>> >> > missed out on). In 2005, I wrote my first manuscript on peer to
>> peer;
>> >> by
>> >> > 2006, I started the online ecology, gradually introducing the wiki,
>> >> the
>> >> > blog, the social bookmarking 
 Somehow, though it is not at all
>> >> > financially
>> >> > sustainable, it seems to have been the good decision, and as the
>> world
>> >> > continued to evolve, p2p emerged as more than a marginal effect,
>> >> people
>> >> > were
>> >> > slowly attracted to the basic ideas of the p2p foundation, and I
>> could
>> >> > build
>> >> > a community of some type, and this year, a cooperative to achieve
>> some
>> >> > type
>> >> > of sustainable livelyhood for the precarious researchers which
>> hover
>> >> > around
>> >> > us 
 At home, the experience of my thai extented family, the
>> >> > magical-mythical forms of consciousness overlayered with a whiff of
>> >> > postmodern capitalism, the 19 cats, 3 dogs, porcupine, birds and
>> fish,
>> >> the
>> >> > occasional visting monkey ; together with the online network, the
>> >> > equipotential cooperation and the lecture tours, give me a quite
>> >> > extraordinary relational wealth, not bad for a single child of two
>> >> orphan
>> >> > parents 
 In some way, I feel like a 'political artist', not that
>> I'm
>> >> > particularly creative culturally and artistically, but I have to
>> live,
>> >> > from
>> >> > my 'creations', sell my performances, and go through the precarity
>> >> that
>> >> is
>> >> > the lot of most artists and creators ..
>> >> >
>> >> >
>> >> >  Anyway, what then, is the p2p foundation, it is really nothing
>> else
>> >> than
>> >> > the ambitious attempt to create a new vehicle for the world
>> >> revolution,
>> >> > not
>> >> > the only one, but hopefully one that can be a positive factor; a
>> >> pluralist
>> >> > organisation, that does not know the 'answers' but facilitates the
>> >> ongoing
>> >> > dialogue around those answers, bringing very varied sorts of people
>> >> > together
>> >> > 
 Precisely because of my convoluted past, having touched many
>> >> different
>> >> > ideological and lifeworlds, I can bring together on the same table,
>> a
>> >> > 'zionic' social economy mormon, a conservative catholic
>> distributist,
>> >> a
>> >> > deep
>> >> > ecological permaculturist, a unrepentent marxist, a anti-capitalist
>> >> 'freed
>> >> > market' mutualist, and many other strange manifestations of the
>> human
>> >> > desire
>> >> > for change. Rather than looking for universal answers, we are
>> looking
>> >> for
>> >> > commonality of desire. But this ongoing effort is helped by the
>> >> > 'objective'
>> >> > changes in society, and by the new class realities of knowledge
>> >> workers.
>> >> >
>> >> >
>> >> >  I cannot help but be truly convinced that “p2p” is the chaotic
>> >> attractor
>> >> > that we need to reformulate the emancipatory vision that is
>> >> appropriate
>> >> > for
>> >> > the 21st century. Technology is NOT the change, but it enables
>> >> struggling
>> >> > creative minorities to find new ways to outsmart the forces that
>> are
>> >> > against
>> >> > emancipation and that are presently literally and physically,
>> >> destroying
>> >> > our
>> >> > biosphere. As the system will increasingly go in crisis mode, these
>> >> > struggling minorities will be joined by the desperate majorities,
>> who
>> >> turn
>> >> > to p2p solutions not out of any idealism, but as the necessary tool
>> >> for
>> >> > resilience and survival. The key question then becomes, how do
>> create
>> >> a
>> >> > synergy between the new p2p thinking, the construction of new ways
>> of
>> >> > life,
>> >> > and the mass mobilisations that are the inevitable result of the
>> >> breaking
>> >> > of
>> >> > the social contracts on which capitalist life was based until now?
>> >> >
>> >> >
>> >> > --
>> >> > P2P Foundation: http://p2pfoundation.net  -
>> >> http://blog.p2pfoundation.net
>> >> >
>> >> > Connect: http://p2pfoundation.ning.com; Discuss:
>> >> > http://lists.ourproject.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/p2p-foundation
>> >> >
>> >> > Updates: http://del.icio.us/mbauwens;
>> http://friendfeed.com/mbauwens;
>> >> > http://twitter.com/mbauwens; http://www.facebook.com/mbauwens
>> >> > _______________________________________________
>> >> > empyre forum
>> >> > empyre at lists.cofa.unsw.edu.au
>> >> > http://www.subtle.net/empyre
>> >>
>> >>
>> >> _______________________________________________
>> >> empyre forum
>> >> empyre at lists.cofa.unsw.edu.au
>> >> http://www.subtle.net/empyre
>> >>
>> >
>> >
>> >
>> > --
>> > P2P Foundation: http://p2pfoundation.net  -
>> http://blog.p2pfoundation.net
>> >
>> > Connect: http://p2pfoundation.ning.com; Discuss:
>> > http://lists.ourproject.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/p2p-foundation
>> >
>> > Updates: http://del.icio.us/mbauwens; http://friendfeed.com/mbauwens;
>> > http://twitter.com/mbauwens; http://www.facebook.com/mbauwens
>> > _______________________________________________
>> > empyre forum
>> > empyre at lists.cofa.unsw.edu.au
>> > http://www.subtle.net/empyre
>>
>>
>> _______________________________________________
>> empyre forum
>> empyre at lists.cofa.unsw.edu.au
>> http://www.subtle.net/empyre
>>
>
>
>
> --
> P2P Foundation: http://p2pfoundation.net  - http://blog.p2pfoundation.net
>
> Connect: http://p2pfoundation.ning.com; Discuss:
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>
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