Stefan Merten * Current limitations of peer production - And ideas on how to overcome them (was: [ox-en] Conference documentation)

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

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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?

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