peer-to-peer

Internet

1990s

is not a form of equality matching... it is not based on reciprocity. It follows the adage:Each contributes according to his capacities and willingness, and each takes according to his needs.

economy] is somewhat misleading,' he writes. 'The key reason is that peer to peer is not a form of equality matching... it is not based on reciprocity. P2P follows the adage: each contributes according to his capacities and willingness, and each takes according to his needs. There is no obligatory reciprocity involved. In the pure forms of peer production, producers are not paid. Thus, if there is 'gifting' it is entirely non-reciprocal gifting, the use of peer-produced usevalue does not create a contrary obligation' (from Bauwens, 'Political Economy').

is a holopticon rather than a panopticon, meaning that knowledge is not gathered to a single person or elite group, but rather, is distributed with the aim of reducing information asymmetry.

Finally, Bauwens contends that P2P projects are defined by their 'holoptism,' contrasting the idea with 'panoptism.' Under panoptism, total knowledge is reserved for a single person or elite group, and participants only know what they must know to carry out their work. Holoptism represents a reverse order knowledge is distributed among all users. In other words, it aims to reduce the information asymmetry and redefine the power balance that has typically characterized relationships between users and providers, between workers and owners. This in turn means that in P2P projects, communication is distributed rather than hierarchal.

is a robust decentralized system boasting robust ways to work around predetermined routes if network resources fail.

So unlike, let's say, the US airport system (a decentralized system where planes still must go through pre-determined and centrally allocated hubs), the Internet, powered by the TCP/IP protocol, is a truly decentralized system, since transmission paths are determined in a distributed way, and there are robust ways to work around predetermined routes if network resources fail. In Bauwens's words, 'P2P is based on distributed power and distributed access to resources.'

is defined by anti-credentialism, which is to say, because the internet protocols are 'permissionless' anyone can participate.

Second, Bauwens maintains that P2P projects are defined by their 'equipotentiality' or 'anticredentialism.' Said simply, anyone, rather than a permissioned few, can participate in these networks. The guiding philosophy again is perhaps TCP/IP, a 'permissionless' protocol that allows any device to transmit over a network, irrespective of the nature of content they are transferring.

is further advanced by additive manufacturing, such that pure data is exchanged rather than physical objects which can be increased by small-batch manufacturing by microentrepreneurs.

As a consequence, the potential for commercial peer-to-peer interactions increases dramatically. Pure data is exchanged rather than physical objects. The need for wholesale distributors and traditional retailers diminishes. The economics of small-batch manufacturing by microentrepreneurs (who might then sell their additively manufactured craft through a marketplace like Etsy) improve dramatically.

is processes happening over distributed networks, networks in which individuals have a certain degree of agency.

A central takeaway from Bauwens's article is his clearly articulated definition of peer-to-peer projects. First, he maintains that they are processes happening over distributed networks. These networks are places where individuals have a certain degree of agency.

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