Cosmolocalism and the Transformation of the Production of Everyday Life

* Article: The Power of IIDEAS: Cosmolocalism and the Transformation of the Production of Everyday Life. Jose Ramos, Futures Lab, 2026.

URL = https://futureslab.org/2026/06/14/the-power-of-iideas-cosmolocalism-and-the-transformation-of-the-production-of-everyday-life/

Abstract

"Cosmolocalism is an emerging mode of production and exchange that reflects both the possibilities and the crises of our era. This paper provides a descriptive, historical, discursive and empirical overview of cosmolocalism. The paper begins by describing the planetary context, cosmolocalization’s technological dynamics, its preferred virtuous cycle, the inversion of production it expresses, and presents the IIDEAS mnemonic. The second section reviews its historical emergence and context, the discourses that constitute it, the dynamics of capitalism and the commons, the relationship between labor and degrowth and modes of exchange. Section three provides a presentation of examples and a preliminary analysis of the data. Section four builds on this by discussing themes and issues that emerge from the preliminary analysis. This paper is intended as an explication of foundational concepts, examples and issues within the inquiry into cosmolocalism, from which further research and initiatives may stem."

Excerpts

Cosmolocalism Defined

Jose Ramos:

"Cosmolocalism ... represents an emerging and coalescing body of theory and practice (Sachs 1992; Manzini 2015; Kostakis et al 2015; Ramos 2017; Escobar 2018; Schismenos, et al 2020). At its heart it envisions a planetary mutualization of knowledge, in which localities benefit from and contribute to all other localities through open design, open hardware, open technology and open knowledge (what in this paper is described as “IIDEAS” – see explanation below), all of which supports and accelerates human wellbeing and a transition to low eco-footprint / carbon economies, empowers communities as producers of what they need and generates livelihoods for those most in need."

(https://futureslab.org/2026/06/14/the-power-of-iideas-cosmolocalism-and-the-transformation-of-the-production-of-everyday-life/)

Technological Foundations of Cosmolocalism

Jose Ramos:

"The potential for precision production at local scales rests on a number of new technologies: low cost renewable energy production and storage (solar, wind, battery tech) that is not energy grid dependent; microgrid technology that allows energy sharing and scaling; microcontroller technologies that allow small scale precision manufacturing (3D printing, CNC routing, etc.); sophisticated supply chain software that can instantiate circular economies and local economies.

The emergence of a global design commons rests on the revolution in information and computer technology (ICT) over the last 50 years, and in particular how ICT enabled peer production (Benkler 2006). Early formations in open source software like Linux and Apache, and formations in the open knowledge space like Wikipedia / Wikimedia foundation, Creative Commons, and Mozilla Foundation normed and laid the foundations for the ideas of a global knowledge commons. The translation from open source software to open source hardware (e.g. Arduino), to open design, was married to the local through the maker and fab lab movements, where localized experiments in instantiating open designs quickened."

(https://futureslab.org/2026/06/14/the-power-of-iideas-cosmolocalism-and-the-transformation-of-the-production-of-everyday-life/)