Info, news & debate
Platform co-ops
You can help develop non-corporate digital tools to support collaboration between community groups
Are you sick of having to always use corporate software, that uses your data to track your activities, to try to sell you things, and who knows what else?
Ways Forward co-operative conference is back: Manchester, Oct 20-21
This year the Ways Forward conference – an in-person event – focuses on how we can work together to address the climate emergency.
Help build the co-operative sector via the Co-op Data Club
Leo Sammallahti explains the Co-op Data Club – a new venture to promote the co-operative sector. At the moment, the Co-op Data Club is about building a solid network of co-ops, and later, individuals will be able to join in. If you’re part of a co-op, please consider joining.
Are power hierarchies inevitable in human society?
Just to be clear, I’m only talking about institutional, power hierarchies here, not hierarchies based on beauty, knowledge, intelligence, ability, respect etc. Those hierarchies are inevitable, of course, and life would probably be quite boring without them.
Disillusioned with the parliamentary route to a better society? Here’s an alternative.
Before the election in December, I had a ‘lively debate’ with a friend – an old-school Labour supporter and Corbynite – who was trying to convince me that the only way that we can have an effective social safety net is by voting in a genuinely redistributive party, taxing the rich properly and spreading wealth …
Become one of the first movers in a new, collaborative economy: Open Credit Network Alpha launch
Lowimpact.org are working with Open.coop to build a new, co-operative, moneyless, mutual credit trading system for the UK, with a view to joining many similar schemes around the world to create a new global trading system, that requires neither banks nor interest. The point of this article is to invite you, if you own or …
Networking small businesses and co-ops to replace corporations: Micky Metts on the new economy
This is part 2 of a conversation with Micky Metts of Agaric – a co-op in Boston, Massachusetts that provides online tools for other co-ops. Part 1 is here. I told Micky about some of the meetings and discussions we’ve been having in the UK with people working to build ‘new economy’ infrastructure, like community …
A strategy for challenging the giant corporate platforms: Duncan McCann of the New Economics Foundation
We talk about a strategy for challenging the giant corporate platforms in Part 2 of an interview with Duncan McCann, who’s working on a platform co-op alternative to Über in Brighton.
Decentralised collaboration, Paul Mason and more: see you at OPEN 2019 next week?
We hear from Oliver Sylvester-Bradley about exciting opportunities to collaborate at the OPEN 2019 Community Gathering, taking place in London next week.
Reflections on the CTRLshift gathering – an emergency summit for change
The stated aim of the annual CTRLshift gathering (that took place in Stoke-on-Trent recently) is to bring key people together to talk about practical steps to help shift power away from central government and multinational corporations, to communities and individuals. Well, you had me at ‘decentralisation’, so I went along.
A ‘Transcender Manifesto’ for a world beyond capitalism
Dil Green shares a Transcender Manifesto for groups to develop networks of transcendent social relations for a world beyond capitalism.
How do we grow the ‘co-operative commonwealth’? Interview with Pat Conaty
We talk about growing a co-operative commonwealth in the second part of an interview with Pat Conaty, senior research fellow at NEF and Co-operatives UK and author of the Resilience Imperative, with Michael Lewis.
The barriers to growing the co-operative economy: Graham Mitchell of CoTech, part 2
In Part 2 of our interview with Graham Mitchell of Co-Tech, we talk about growing the co-operative economy and the barriers we might face.
Building a co-operative train line: Alex Lawrie of Go-op
An interview with Alex Lawrie about his attempts to launch Go-op, a co-operative train line linking south west England with the Midlands.
How I hitch-hiked across the Atlantic to visit US co-ops: Cath Muller of Radical Routes
Today I’m talking with Cath Muller of Radical Routes, Cornerstone Housing Co-op and Co-operative Business Consultants. This is part 1 of our conversation, about her visit to Catalan co-operatives, and hitch-hiking across the Atlantic to visit US co-ops.
How the viable system model (VSM) can help build a new economy: Trevor Hilder of Web of Wealth
Dave Darby interviews Trevor Hilder of Web of Wealth, who is a specialist in Stafford Beer’s viable system model (VSM).
Can we build a platform co-op to challenge Über? Interview with Duncan McCann of the New Economics Foundation
Dave of Lowimpact.org / Noncorporate.org talks with Duncan McCann of the New Economics Foundation (see video below), about platform co-ops. Duncan is starting a taxi platform co-op called Faircab, to challenge Über.
The coming crash, and why co-ops are so important: Mark Simmonds of Co-op Culture
Mark Simmonds gave us some free advice that saved us hundreds of pounds when we were setting up as a workers’ co-op. We talk about his work, and get deeper into the philosophy of co-operation.
Is technology the problem? Conversation with Dave King of Breaking the Frame and the New Lucas Plan
This is a conversation between Dave Darby of NonCorporate.org and Dave King of Breaking the Frame and the New Lucas Plan. Dave (K) is opposed to the ‘technocracy’ that he describes as the root cause of environmental destruction and lack of democracy.
Co-operative smartphones are coming: Nithin Coca interviews the chair of KDIM Co-op
You can get yourself a co-operative phone and broadband provider – the Phone Co-op. But you can’t get a phone made by a co-operative – not in the UK, anyway. Nithin Coca reports from Indonesia on a co-operative in Jakarta producing low-end, cheap phones for their home market.