OpenSource Communism?

[Tzadikim]

I've discussed this idea briefly, and it got quickly shot down, so I'd like to address what I mean by it in more detail.

A century ago, when the struggle for public schools was integral to the struggle for a classless society, one of the motivating factors behind the push for public schools was democratizing knowledge: before the establishment of the school system, knowledge itself was monopolized by the ruling classes of a given society, which had a direct effect on the composition of the toiling classes below.

Today, of course, this originally socialist notion has been given expression in most first-world nations. And while I have enormous reservations with regards to the way most public school systems are presently operated, I have little doubt they are superior to the alternatives in place before their implementation.

The same impetus - the democratization of knowledge - is today being implemented across the Internet, in the Wiki "sandbox" style. The earliest socialists would have been envious of us: this advancement alone portends the final accomplishment of that ancient and deeply-rooted goal.

Which leads me to believe we would have more success following this model, not only in the area of information but in production itself. If our intent can be summarized in the simple statement "to achieve the democratization of production", then wouldn't it be a better tact - and more in keeping with the times - to actively work towards this goal, and match our rhetoric and imagery to suit?

[jake williams]

A century ago, when the struggle for public schools was integral to the struggle for a classless society, one of the motivating factors behind the push for public schools was democratizing knowledge: before the establishment of the school system, knowledge itself was monopolized by the ruling classes of a given society, which had a direct effect on the composition of the toiling classes below.

Today, of course, this originally socialist notion has been given expression in most first-world nations. And while I have enormous reservations with regards to the way most public school systems are presently operated, I have little doubt they are superior to the alternatives in place before their implementation.
The education system which exists today is superior to that which existed before for the same reason that capitalism is broadly speaking preferable to feudalism, because what we have is a capitalist state education system and not a feudal education system. But it's not the case that knowledge is no longer monopolized by the ruling class; it is to a lesser extent, and the ruling class that monopolizes knowledge is no longer an aristocracy, but it's still under tight control under the capitalist state in all capitalist countries.

However, the internet is significant. I don't think it's too idealistic or unwary of its potential dangers to point out that the internet is an important example of the socialization of production with its consequences, foundational to Marxism, for the political organization of the working class. The internet after it left DARPA was designed and implemented because it suited the interests of almost all businesses in the world, and that faction which had the capacity to act, to have rapid, global, mass communication. But that same network is bringing all sorts of things out.

At the same time, there are complexities to the example. For one thing, the factory where workers are brought together is capital; the internet where workers (and of course others) are brought together is a commodity. In the most abstract sense it is a consequence, or perhaps a major instance, fo the socialization of production which provides a vehicle for broader collective action. But the way in which it's done - through a commodified and tightly corporately controlled system - is different in nature.

Depending on where we go in the next ten years with net neutrality, the internet could look very different.

[Tzadikim]

Essentially, what I'm asking is this: can we hook social productive labour into the paradigm unleashed by the creation of the Internet? How can we - who look at and approach the Internet from a horizontal perspective entirely different from that of business - use this to help achieve our economic ends? Can social labour become OpenSource?