Anarchists: Neoliberals Without Money?!?

.@ChessaAnarch. @C4SSdotOrg. #antistatism. #anarchia.

A charge that has been leveled by the pro-government left is that anarchists are simply neoliberals without money or some variation upon this. The tweeter in question provides no definition of neo-liberalism, so, we turn to Dictionary.com to provide us with a definition of neoliberalism to be used in analyzing this charge. It’s as follows:

a modern politico-economic theory favouring free trade, privatization, minimal government intervention in business, reduced public expenditure on social services, etc

There’s a wide range of anarchist views and types of anarchism. Some of which largely or entirely reject economies based on notions of free exchange or free trade. Anarcho-communism and anarcho-primitivism come to mind. They tend to favor gift economies and oppose market economics. There are forms of anarchism like mutualism and left-wing market anarchism that do support free trade and markets. Their conception of free trade and markets is not neo-liberal however. These types of anarchism involve worker control and opposition to usury in some cases.

The related notion of privatization is another supposed feature of neo-liberalism that anarchists allegedly also agree with. There is a huge problem with this accusation. Anarchists favor the abolition of capitalist private property. A faulty assumption at work is that the government sphere and public sphere are the same thing. It’s possible to advocate “privatization” in the sense of non-government or non-state control/ownership without ditching the idea of public space. The kind of corporate capitalist privatization favored by neo-liberals is also not what anarchists support. A related point to be made is that neo-liberal “privatization” tends to involve just outsourcing a government monopoly to a private corporation. This corporation is the new monopolist protected by law and gains tax dollars via government compulsion.

What about minimal government intervention in business? Not all anarchists advocate business arrangements. Those that do are proponents of non-capitalist markets. It’s also important to note that our present neo-liberal system includes plenty of subsidies to corporations. This corporate welfare is something anarchists oppose.

Anarchists also don’t have the same ideas about what should replace government social services. We oppose capitalist arrangements as a viable alternative. Neo-liberals don’t. This is an important difference to note.

A final and very important difference to note is that neo-liberalism is not really so anti-government. Peter Frase noted this in a good Jacobin piece. He said:

Neoliberalism is a state project through and through, and is better understood as a transformation of the state and a shift in its functions, rather than a quantitative reduction in its size. In his Brief History of Neoliberalism, David Harvey underlines the importance of the state in forcibly creating a “good business climate” by breaking down barriers to capital accumulation and repressing dissent.

By Natasha Petrova - More articles by Natasha Petrova

Originally published at the Center for a Stateless Society on 29 August 2014

Republished under a Creative Commons Public Domain Dedication

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Kids aren't the only ones learning to share

. @DBHurley .@OpenSourceWay. #opensource. #creativecommons.

It’s one of the most basic lessons we teach our children when they’re young—the idea of sharing their toys with others. We try to instill in them the values of giving up control and playing alongside others. Of finding joy in a shared toy. We recognize the importance of this idea, and we work hard to impress it on our young kids learning about the world.

Growing up

But then something happens. Somewhere along the way they grow up and turn into adults, and a different mindset takes precedence. Corporate secrets, intellectual property, and maintaining an edge of others. Where along the way did we seemingly forget those values our parents worked so hard to instill in us?

Open source is the exception to the rule

There is one model which does continue to prove the importance and value of sharing. It’s the open source way. Open source believes in the core values we were taught as children, the core values that we were shown to be the ‘better way’ to live. Here are three areas where open source demonstrates a better way.

Open source encourages sharing

This one is fundamental. If we look at the four software freedoms we can see very clearly how important the concept of sharing is. To clarify, obviously these four freedoms are not a part of all open source, but they do hold value as a reference when thinking through the concept of sharing.

The Four Freedoms

• The freedom to run the program, for any purpose (freedom 0).
• The freedom to study how the program works and change it so it does your computing as you wish (freedom 1).
• The freedom to redistribute copies so you can help your neighbor (freedom 2).
• The freedom to distribute copies of your modified versions to others (freedom 3).

Of course sharing might be called other things, like distributing, or re-distributing, but the principle is the same basic principle we were taught as kids. Sharing is important for adults for the same reason its important to our children when we teach them the value of sharing. The concept of being unselfish and giving something of ours for the good of someone else.

Side note: One thing I love to see shared in open source is knowledge. It’s great to see knowledge shared and open source provides a fantastic way for people to do that. It’s the whole “teach a man to fish” principle. Sharing knowledge empowers others. Sharing your knowledge is one of the greatest gifts you can give to someone else.

Open source encourages working together

Open source not only encourages sharing of resources and knowledge, but it inevitably leads to sharing time. And when we share time we begin working together. Open source encourages collaboration and teamwork. The importance of teams should not be overlooked. When we work together, we see an exponential increase in accomplishments. Something said inspires a different line of thought. Groups working together see greater success at a faster pace. Recently I saw an article about the strength of open source involving the ability to “try” a lot of possible solutions quickly.

When we work together in open source we accomplish more (and quite honestly, we have more fun in the process). Playing together was always a part of a kid’s childhood (even for the introvert).

Open source encourages thinking bigger

When we share with open source, we encourage people to make changes, to grow, and to improve both themselves and the project they are working on. By working with open source, and by sharing open source, the result is new ideas come to the surface. Bigger ideas. No longer are we tied to the innovation of a single person where we all work within our own silos and do things on our own, when we share our knowledge and share our resources we enable each other to build on the successes of others and build bigger, higher, and greater solutions.

When we shared our toys as kids, we were forced to realize there are other toys to play with, there is the opportunity to play together, and there is always the chance that we might discover something better.

Open source sharing encourages us to reach beyond our comfort zone and think bigger.

So the next time you’re in a situation where you are encouraging a child to share, take a minute to think about your job and the ways in which you are able to continue practicing the idea of sharing. Do you have an open source community where you can volunteer some of your time? Do you have a way you can share your knowledge or your skills? If you don’t already then I encourage you to find one. Share your toys. It’s the open source way.

By David Hurley - More articles by David Hurley

Originally published at Open Source Way on 28 August 2014

Republished under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License

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Tunapanda brings digital literacy to Africa

. @TunapandaOrg. @OpenSourceWay. #edtech. #onlinelearning.

In 2013, our non-profit organization called Tunapanda (a Swahili word that means "we are growing" or "we are planting") launched a project to create and share "an education on a hard drive."

The ultimate goal was to bring low-income communities to technological literacy in the most rapid and cost-efficient way possible. Initially, we loaded the hard drive with tons of educational content and FOSS software, intending to allow anyone anywhere to duplicate the contents and set up a learning center. Using these tools, we've launched computer learning centers ("hubs") in Kenya, Tanzania, and Uganda—in both rural and urban settings.

Because of what we've learned since last year, and the positive feedback we've received from partners and students, we've significantly expanded our scope to focus on cutting-edge technologies and to emphasize self-expression, creativity, and story-telling. We use almost exclusively open source software and try to maintain an open source organizational mindset.

What we learned

Unsurprisingly, we found that dumping content onto a server isn't the most effective way to encourage fast learning. And although Tunapanda just opened its own facility in Nairobi to train teachers, we still need another method of guiding students through different learning paths and incentivizing them to complete their educational goals. One of our ongoing projects aims to structure learning paths around a game-like environment so students can earn points and badges, and so they can follow their progress. This allows learners to progress at their own speed in a non-linear curriculum, allowing interests and passions (rather than standards set by a teacher) to influence the next learning module. The platform will be completely open source and customizable, allowing anyone to adapt it to the needs of themselves or their school.

Although neither of the co-founders are software experts, we work with a team of talented volunteers that help us improve our system. Tunapanda already has a customized version of Edubuntu that includes extra programs conducive to its overall goals, and are developing a way to measure and evaluate the most effective processes.

Creativity and self-expression

Most computer training in Kenya revolves around the teaching of software-specific "packages," in which students finish the course having earned a certificate that will show their proficiency in, for example, Microsoft Office. Tunapanda focuses instead on a more holistic method of training in which learners can eventually gain enough experience to sit down in front of any software and be comfortable enough to learn through experimentation.

Furthermore, we believe the development of creative talents is essential for learners. Many traditional education systems are designed to allow students to pass tests, and don't emphasize teamwork, creativity, critical thinking or problem solving. Tunapanda incorporates self-expression as a key facet of the learners' curriculum, aiming to increase creativity and push students to actually create knowledge and strive for innovation.

Locally created content

A plethora of great video learning content is available online, but even if learners are able to afford data costs associated with accessing this content, most of it caters to a Western audience. While video learning technologies such as MOOCS and the Khan Academy are great, they aren't always ideal for the region. Language barriers and cultural differences mean that the best way to spread content is with locally created content. As Tunapanda students are learning how to create and edit videos, they will also be working with local partners to create Creative Commons licensed educational videos that can be put on DVDs or downloaded from the Internet, as well as stored on local servers at our hubs across the region. Eventually these servers can act as digital libraries, making free educational content available to passers-by. They can even spread further through decentralized mesh networks.

3D printing

One of our partners, the Human Needs Project, won a Gigabot large-format 3D printer, and we are currently developing a 3D printing educational curriculum. We're also brainstorming ideas for how to use the printer for social impact. Current ideas include custom water piping (likely still prohibitively expensive) and repairing broken parts of medical equipment. By allowing the wider community to see this cutting edge technology in action and propose design ideas, the 3D printer can also excite people about new technologies, inspiring them to learn computer skills and change our world for the better.

Why open source?

One practical reason for open source software is that it allows Tunapanda's model to spread in low-income areas without forcing people in those areas to become "criminals" by buying illegal software. More importantly, open source software and freely-licensed content are vital to instilling a widespread culture of collaboration and the sharing of ideas. The people all over this planet are a huge pool of untapped potential. We can accomplish great things when open source software and content become the norm rather than the exception.

How to help

In the long-term, Tunapanda Institute can be financially self-sustaining through revenue sharing with our partners, who charge small fees for delivering courses. But operations are currently crowd-funded from generous people all over the world. A contribution as small as $25 can put you forever on Tunapanda's Angel List page. The gift helps pay stipends for hard-working students who are learning to become content creators and masters of technology.

Anyone wishing to volunteer and contribute to our software or curriculum needs is invited to follow our GitHub page, browse our website, or contact the author to be kept more closely in the loop.

By Mick Larson - More articles by Mick Larson

Originally published at Opensource.com on 22 August 2014

Republished under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License

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