So, if I were going to make a tech manifesto, it might be something like:
- protocols not platforms
- coops and unions
- technology should not actively hurt us
- people not users
- seven generations, seven continents
- free markets require antitrust enforcement
@evan I'd prefer a model which is not as adversarial as unions are. The "co-determination” system in Germany is a good system where workers elect representatives to a company's supervisory board. This way the direction of the company and policies are directly influenced by workers. The current system the US has where workers must go on strike without pay for weeks or months to get fair contracts is harmful to workers as we saw with the writers strike.
By law, companies with more than 2,000 employees must have an equal number of worker elected representatives on the board. This reduces the friction between workers and management while ensuring workers have a voice and significant influence.
@brennansv @evan Also the legal form dubbed 'worker coop' in the UK doesn't exist in many other legislations.
Here in the EU, if not trying to harmonise cooperative legislation, there are attempts at new legal forms where shared ownership is a mandatory quality.
So far the cooperatives movement has found different implementations throughout the globe, and we need to learn a lot more from each other how to use existing and advocate for new legal forms for fruitful ecosystems.
This BBC Horizon's 1980 documentary on the Mondragon Experiment might be interesting. Talks about how they developed somewhat organically based on the needs of the community, from manufacturing to education to banking.
This film explores the cooperatives of Mondragon, Spain as a model of industrial and community development that can guide the future.
@brennansv @evan Unions are not fundamentally adversarial. Workers have a huge vested interest in the success of the work that they do.
The idea of trade unions being a drag on productivity and corporate performance is propaganda promulgated by capitalists to make it easier for them to exploit labour without hindrance.
In any organisation with fair and equitable employment and compensation policies, the trade union is an ally, not an opponent.
@brennansv @evan no. any labour representative in a for-profit company would immediately get sidelined by "infinite growth"-cultist investors bringing everything back to square one.
the true solution to this is worker-owned co-ops, where the investor class is cut out of the arrangement entirely.
in for-profit, hierarchical models, unions *are* the compromise. anything less is pandering.
@evan I just saw a comment about a completely different topic, but it matches perfectly with your proposal:
"This is too much like common sense, rationality, and compassion. Totally won't fly." 🙂
Also, my thoughts on the manifesto: https://mas.to/@merlinrebrovic/111250411970629588
Attached: 1 image This Techno-Optimist manifesto doing the rounds is one of the most delusional pieces of writing and thought I have read in a long time.
@[email protected] @[email protected] I made it up. "Seven generations" is a term that means thinking three generations backwards and three forwards. Seven continents is one way of dividing up the world, meaning, don't just think of the US and maybe Europe.
@Brendanjones @evan Thanks! What an idea, click around and explore more before asking a question! 😅
Fully agree with the sentiment. It's a challenge to think about "generations" given how emphemoral software is, but maybe that's the point.
Seven Generations is a term in some cultures that indicates long-term thinking.
I think Evan is drawing from an Indigenous / First Nations understanding. It means that you need to think about the impacts of your decisions for the next 7 generations.
But 7 generations is also found in the Judeo-Christian tradition. In the Bible, seven generations is a stand-in for eternity or a really long time. And in India, you get married for 7 lifetimes (basically forever).
Thanks for the check. That sounds about right. I wonder if there was a hint of truth but it has been so altered that it has lost all rooted meaning like how mindfulness in the West is usually divorced from its Buddhist context.
Considering 7 generations is a nice concept and doesn't need the roots in some mystical exotic.
I figured it was a clever turn of phrase in your post. 7 generations and continents sounds nice to the ear.
@evan I haven't heard "seven generations, seven continents" before, and my search skills aren't bringing up anything useful.
What does it mean?
(I can try to guess from context, but would rather hear it from you, if you're willing to share.)
@[email protected] @[email protected] I made it up. "Seven generations" is a term that means thinking three generations backwards and three forwards. Seven continents is one way of dividing up the world, meaning, don't just think of the US and maybe Europe.
@evan there's a lot of possible acronyms...like
PANACEA: Protocols And Networks Advancing Coops, Unions, And Ensuring Antitrust
@[email protected] @[email protected] I made it up. "Seven generations" is a term that means thinking three generations backwards and three forwards. Seven continents is one way of dividing up the world, meaning, don't just think of the US and maybe Europe.
@evan why seven generations?
edit: scrolled down and saw the 3 back and 3 forward stuff. good thought.
important to think about those older and sometimes wiser, as well as those younger or yet to arrive.
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