Cosmolocalism: "a human being is not only a self-interested entity programmed to maximize profits, but also loves to communicate, work for pleasure, and share"
Shoreditch, London
As you’ll know by now, cosmolocalism - as both concrete practice, and ethical aspiration - is a big concept for The Alternative UK. We knew that the EU was sponsoring a Cosmolocalism practice and research project - but we wondered how it was faring during the pandemic. We’re delighted to have received a progress report from the project leader, Vasilis Kostakis, which shows there’s been a rich archive of activities and thinking going on.
Selected publications
Energy: Reconfiguring energy systems as a commons “We propose a commons-oriented Energy Internet as a potential system for energy production and consumption, which may be better suited to tackle the current issues society faces”.
Organization: Are the most influential websites peer-produced or price-incentivized? “Currently, our economic institutions largely assume that people are driven solely or primarily by price signals, even though the larger part of human activity is even today, stubbornly, not price-incentivized. From our friends and family relations, to our work interaction beyond the strict terms of our job description to the broader social interaction in our neighborhood, village or city. And so is our Internet-mediated social interaction as well.”
Sustainability: Bridging barriers in sustainability research “Centralized, expert-led assessments that use aggregated data to represent large areas and populations, and attempt to predict their behaviour, constrain decision making at this level. Whereas place-based, inclusive, socially-embedded processes that synthesize diverse sources of knowledge, allow for bottom-up decisions, and solutions tailored to particular socio-ecological contexts.”
Futures: Can peer production democratize technology and society? “For the
time being, peer production has failed to replace its industrial antecedents, reproducing some anti-emancipatory aspects and practices of the former… Peer production projects may involve participation inequality, rigid bureaucracies, power concentrations, and unequal gender balance. Moreover, peer production still depends on capitalism for its reproduction…But commons-based peer-production does show how non-coercive cooperation around a shared resource can produce innovative and functional artefacts. Second, it shows that the human being is not only a self-interested entity programmed to maximize profits, but also loves to communicate, work for pleasure, and share”.
Education: Is ‘deschooling society’ possible? “Cosmolocal initiatives create entanglements between analog and digital technologies, between natural and digital commons, between physical and digital spaces and activities, and between synchronous and asynchronous collaboration. However, the pertinent question that Jandrić poses still needs to be addressed: ‘Is it possible to build convivial human existence using non-convivial tools?’ Cosmolocal production is based on information and communication technologies as well as on local manufacturing technologies. The problems of these technologies pertain to resource extraction, exploitative labor, energy use, and material flows”
Politics: Envisioning a cooperative partner state “The Partner State is a powerful idea for the political community of peer production. It presents a dynamic track for both peer production movements and state institutions to assemble. The current political establishment is not expected to wither away any time soon. Even if peer production manages to outcompete its rival forms in many domains, there it is still no valid reason to think of it as automatically politically decisive. It is exactly if we want peer production to be politically relevant that we must examine it as such, and the domain of the state is the place for this to take place.”
Science popularization
In late 2020, we launched The Other School project to communicate economic, political and philosophical ideas that can have a transformative effect on society. All these ideas are related to Cosmolocalism and are communicated via videos, games and children books. Indicatively, see the “Changemaking ideas in 3 min” YouTube series:
Five technological revolutions in three minutes, with Prof. Carlota Perez
Buddhist Economics in three minutes, with Prof. Wolfgang Drechsler
Who creates value and why do so few make so much? with Dr. Alex Pazaitis
The poverty of mainstream economics and how to address it, with Prof. Erik Reinert
Design pharmaceuticals for people, not for profit!, with Dr. Els Torreele
Yes to limits to growth!, with Prof. Giorgos Kallis
The forthcoming videos will feature Prof. Katherine Gibson, Dr. Kaire Holts, Prof. Maria Kaika, and Prof. Martin Parker.
Pilot work and social impact
Pilot work and design and manufacturing workshops (aka cosmolocal workshops) in our Greek (website) and Bhutanese (FB page) pilots were affected by the pandemic. Few in site activities took place under strict protocols of safety.
Instead, much work was done in solidifying networks of collaborators (including diverse communities, local government organizations and other researchers/activists) as well as planning and organizing new actions, which will be launched in the following months.
Ongoing research work
Documentation of the pilots from a political ecology perspective
Technology theory and development for post-growth
Patents and commons-based innovation
Democratizing energy production and distribution
Interested in participating? Check here.