P2P Theory Books

First project, initiated by Phoebe Moore, Athina Karatzogianni and Michel Bauwens concerns a book that would gather key readings on P2P Theory.

Documentation

The following links hold a series of essays on p2p and could be used to identify authors and to request 'updated versions of their basic essays' (Michel).

URL = http://www.p2pfoundation.net/Essays and http://www.p2pfoundation.net/Essays_2

General Description

A more elaborate description, geared at publishers, can be found here at http://docs.google.com/Doc?id=dcv7crb4_149ggnkbfvc&hl=en_GB

"New technological affordances have increased the possibilities to produce common value through "peer to peer" self-aggregation on a global scale, resulting in the emergence of modalities such as peer production, peer governance and peer property and social practices that have been identified under the paradigms of "open and free" input, "participatory" process and "commons" oriented output.

The proposed project is an edited volume of about 300 pages, bringing fourteen experts for the first time together in one cross-disciplinary volume and can serve as a core text for both undergraduate studies in new media and global politics courses or postgraduate studies in new media, critical economy add.... The project focuses on theoretical approaches that can help us understand the peer to peer dynamic, bringing together foundational readings on peer production, governance and property, as well as it underlying value systems.

The first part examines general approaches to the peer to peer dynamic and peer production in particular, with an emphasis to its economic aspects.

The second part examines approaches to the study of peer governance and property, with an emphasis on its political aspects.

In the third part, we examine the underlying value systems, with an emphasis on its ethical aspects."

Proposed Structure

Part 1: Basic readings

• The Political Economy of Peer Production - Michel Bauwens
• Introduction to Germ Form Theory - Stefan Merten and Stefan Meretz

Yochai Benkler?

Part 2: Understanding Peer Production and its Economics

• ask Richard Barbrook for an update on his high-tech gift economy
• Nick Dyer-Witheford on the Circulation of the Common
• Brett Frischmann, an economic theory for the Commons
• Roberto Verzola on Undermining vs. Developing Abundance / Author agreed: rverzola at gn.apc.org
• Raoul Victor on Peer Production and Money / Author agreed: raoulv at club-internet.fr

Eric von Hippel?

Part 3: Peer Governance and Peer Property

• Mathieu O'Neill, Understanding Online Authority (based on his book, Cyberchiefs)
• George Dafermos
• Jo Freeman, on the dark side of Peer Governance
• David Ronfeldt on the Evolution of Governance

Steve Weber?

Property:

• Eben Moglen on Free Software and the Death of Proprietary Culture

James Boyle?

Part 4: P2 Value Systems: Openness, Freedom, Participation, the Commons

• Peer production in the context of the ethical economy, Adam Arvidsson
• Stephen Downes on P2P epistemology
• Magnus Marsdal on Socialist Individualism
• Kevin Carson on the Mutualist tradition
• David Skrbina, the participatory worldview
• Bruno Theret, on the tradition of 'civil socialism'
• Evan Thompson, on the enactive theory of consciousness
• Massimo d'Angelis on the Commons / author agreed with phoebe / author reaction: "The book project seem very interesting indeed, and I am happy to be part of it. As I mentioned, I would include some writings on the problematisation of the relation between the idea of "sufficiency" and p2p. I would also add something on "reproduction" and p2p: how do we conceive the reproduction of our bodies, from making and raising babies to the question of care, within a p2p framework? These would add some "real" body to the book."
• Sylvia Federici, agreed: something around food and agri commons?

Future Plans

BOOK 2

Part 5: The Politics of Peer Production and Social Transformation

• Michel Bauwens: Political Implications of P2P
• Johan Soderbergh, Hacking Strategies
• George Caffentzis: On the Antagonistic Usage of the Commons Concept
• McKenzie Wark, update on the hacker manifesto
• Mark Cooper on a Policy for Collaborative Production
• Massimo De Angelis on The Production of the Commons and the Explosion of the Middle Class.
• Erik Douglas, on peer governance and democracy
• Cosma Orsi on The Political Economy of Solidarity