minimum commons and
maximum commons
Işık Barış Fidaner
alternative informatics association
-- a network of researchers, users, developers
-- a social look on technology
-- social media, free software, digital games, etc.
-- against censorship and surveillance
-- public statements, conferences, free e-books
http://www.alternatifbilisim.org/wiki/English
"commons in the new millenium" by dolsak, ostrom:
"it is certainly the case that common-pool resources will continue
to be a core type of resource of major theoretical and policy
significance for as long as humans continue to rely on water, air,
and the atmosphere."
"In addition to the prototypic local resources, the oceans, the gene
pool, and the atmosphere are all common-pool resources. No oneto-one relationship exists, of course, between any kind of good or
resource and the type of institutions that are used to govern and
manage that resource."
"The modern corporation, for example, is viewed by some as the
epitome of private property. A publicly held corporation, however,
is more properly thought of as common property than as strictly
private property."
commons
minimum commons
maximum commons
"human rights"
a particular system
in general
it is agreed upon
model
in this country
it functions
implementation
"thin and thick" by michael walzer
commons as resources
a resource
-- useful
-- beneficial
-- limited
-- desirable
-- costly
-- exist objectively <---an authority to use a resource
-- exist subjectively
resource and authority in terms of existence
-- there's an apple,
i can eat it,
it exists as a resource
-- there's a cow
-- if i can eat it (possibly desirable),
it exists as a resource
-- if i won't eat it (not desirable),
it does not exist as a resource
-- no authority => no resource
-- resource exists only if authority exists
-- "resource" is "authority"
commons as resources
an authority to use a resource
-- useful
how?
-- beneficial
how?
-- limited
how?
-- desirable
how?
-- costly
how?
authority depends on volition (willingness)
authority belongs to a body
bodies are conditioned to volition
but how does volition exist?
examples:
body
volition
authority
i
can
eat this cow
this cow
can
bring N dollars
the manager
can
fire you
US Army
can
bomb Hiroshima
the police
can throw gas canisters
the government can
inprison people
in these sentences, a definite body relates to a
definite authority through an indefinite volition.
"cost" will be determined through "volition"
we can show these as:
authority
(volition)
body
-- what is a "benefit" of an authority?
-- it refers to "positive volition" under authority
-- but this volition is qualitatively undetermined
-- "benefit" refers to a pure quantity
-- "benefit" is synonymous with "loss"
volition needs to be determined qualitatively, not
quantitatively
experiment:
more money => more work (if it's a boring work)
more money => more work at first, less work after
a threshold (if it's a creative work)
"the year of dreaming dangerously" by slavoj zizek
"resources are authorities"
consider "resources" in digital games
-- "gold" in world of warcraft
-- "land" in second life
-- "items" in knight online
-- they exist as an "authority" allocated to a player
-- their existence depends on "volition"
-- this volition depends on a "system"
authority = resource
body = avatar of a player
volition = gameplay
system = game mechanics
"play" is not for mere "fun/happiness" etc.
it is a fundamental process that concerns "desire,
drive, repetition, chance" etc.
types of games:
paidia (pure play) / ludus (winner/loser)
- agon (competition) - alea (chance)
- mimicry (mimesis) - ilinx (vertigo)
"man, play and games" by roger caillois
"homo ludens" by johan huizinga
"dijital oyun rehberi" by binark, bayraktutan, fidaner
dijitaloyun.wordpress.com/kitap
we can interpret these in a very general sense:
volition = gameplay
system = game mechanics
"system" also means biological systems.
it can relate to most basic common resources like
air and water.
these resources also exist "subjectively" only to
our biological bodies in biological systems
just like virtual resources exist "subjectively" only
to our virtual bodies in a digital game system
examples:
body volition authority
system
i
can
spend gold
in world of warcraft
i
can
buy things
in capitalism
i
can
breathe
in biosphere
our org. can find funding
in cultural capitalism
this CEO can save our company in this situation
authority concerns use
body concerns play
consume
use
play
authority
volition
body
system
"use"&"play" are two basic aspects of "consume"
examples:
body
volition
authority
system
worker
can
produce X
in workplace
(labour)
(exploitation)
(labour-power)
(modern factory)
citizen
can
consume X
in market
problems of commons
-- "crowding" concerns a determinate short term
"volition" in a given "system"
-- "overuse" concerns a determinate long term
"volition" in a given "system"
-- "sustenance/sustainability" concerns a
determinate longer term "volition" in a given
"system"
-- "negative externalities" concerns "volitions" by
other bodies/authorities as they are determined
in this system
two kinds of exclusion / indeterminacy:
body:
... can produce X
who?
authority:
Y can ....
do what?
two kinds of inclusion / determinacy:
body:
... can produce X
( we can ) produce X (in this workplace)
body recognized through volition + system
authority:
Y can ....
Y ( can produce X in this workplace)
authority given through volition + system
apply to commons:
body volition authority
X
can
instit.
can
system
consume Y in this common-pool
provide Y
in this city
the gov. can manage the common-pool in this city
commons = volition
common-pool = system
common-pool resources = authorities
common-property institutions = bodies
limited resource
= a certain amount of authority
instantly renewable resource
= authority re-produced in time
what is a "community" ?
1- group of "bodies" & "authorities" & relations
community in itself : some game elements
2- a "volition" that emerges around its particular
traditional/local "system"
community for us : a local game
3- a "body" that seeks "authority" to exist in the
"volition" of the larger global "system"
community for itself : a player in a larger game
"capitalism 3.0" by peter barnes:
"fix capitalism’s operating system by adding a commons sector to
balance the corporate sector... If the corporate sector devours
nature, the commons sector would protect it. If the corporate
sector widens inequality, the commons sector would reduce it. If
the corporate sector turns us into self-obsessed consumers, the
commons sector would reconnect us to nature, community, and
culture. All this would happen automatically once the commons
sector is set up. The result would be a balanced economy that
gives us the best of both sectors and the worst of neither."
can world be a single game?
a single system of capitalism depending on the
single volition of a "commons sector"?
"capitalism 3.0" by peter barnes:
"imagine a game called Sim Commons that lets you design and
grow your own virtual economic sector. The object of the game is
to produce the most happiness with the least destruction of
nature. You plunk down commons trusts, and from simple menus
you assign them property rights, ownership regimes, and
management algorithms. As you play, the computer displays your
happiness and nature scores. Through trial and error, you learn
what combinations of moves work best. In the real world, building
a new commons sector will be something like that."
"commons sector" : a separate system that will
embody the common volition of the larger system
if systems separate, volitions also separate.
new sector => new game => new rules =>
new authorities & bodies => new kinds of resources
"commons in the new millenium" by dolsak, ostrom:
"When common-property regimes are initiated with external
donors’ funding, a danger exists that the devised rules will not
correspond to the social customs, norms, and value orientations of
those on whom they are imposed. Further, the user community
may not be given authority to change the rules governing the
resource; rather, this authority may be vested in the donor or
national government of the country hosting the project.
International donors prefer engaging in projects with national
governments rather than with the recipient community"
is there a smaller sub-system+volition behind the larger
authority, or is it simply a smaller authority that depend
on the larger authority, so that there is only one system
and one volition? is there a game+a subgame or is there
only a single game?
"contesting the commons" by carolyn lesorogol
"A number of scholars have advanced theories of institutional
emergence and change, often based on game-theoretic
assumptions about individual strategic behavior. An important
element of this work is the recognition that the vast majority of
institutions are undesigned. That is, they are the outcome of many
individual actions and choices that occur over a long period of
time that ultimately result in a consensus about an institution.
While it is true that some institutions, such as formal law and
government policy, are intentionally designed, these are few in
comparison to the innumerable social norms, codes of conduct,
and conventions that permeate social life."
"contesting the commons" by carolyn lesorogol
"The fact that most institutions are undesigned has two important implications.
First, it dispenses with the idea of an evolutionary trajectory through which
institutions become more and more efficient, adaptive, or functional over time.
This cannot be the case since institutions are the outcome of so many acts that
combine in unpredictable and unintended ways. Second, it requires us to
examine the microfoundations of institutional change. That is, we need to
understand why people make choices and take actions as they do. While game
theory provides models of strategic interaction, anthropological method offers
the opportunity to observe actual behavior in situ, thus enabling us to
empirically verify theoretical models. Combining theoretical insight with
empirical evidence, we are better able to trace the course of institutional
development. We may even be able to make reasonable predictions about the
course of change, although it is important to remain cognizant of the fact that
the volatility of social interaction means that outcomes always remain
somewhat unpredictable."
consume
use
play
authority
volition
body
system
develop
thank you
ışık barış fidaner
fidaner@alternatifbilisim.org