From a great resource on P2P infrastructure, linked by @sleslie:
@brlamb I thought you’d like that one. cf bit.ly/L0x7hO for a list of emerging p2p architected projects
— Scott Leslie (@sleslie) July 4, 2012
Freedom requires infrastructure.
A man who has no tools to acquire his necessities of life is a slave to his necessities. Given those tools, he becomes a slave to the labour required to fruitfully use them. Only by transcending each difficulty as it comes, in a process not dissimilar to metasystem transitions, can the individual achieve freedom.
Similarly, if at any point the individual becomes removed from the infrastructure that allows him any of the previous metasystem transitions, then he becomes a slave to those who control that infrastructure.
- Smari McCarthy, FCF Discussion, February 2011
When we are using an endless list of provided infrastructure, magical clouds, startup services, and things we can’t possibly have any individual control over, how is our freedom impaired?
The funny thing is this is a very deep question that has been hijacked in so many different arenas (technology, copyright, politics, etc) by polarized all-or-nothing positions that sometimes seem like they come from unresolved childhood development issues, but mostly arise, I think, because unless you are willing to trust or accept loss, either direction is ALWAYS a slippery slope.
The “Middle Way” (which I am lousy at practicing, but hey, haven’t given up trying!) isn’t just the “average” of the extremes, it seems to me, but instead a way of acting that situates itself in the midst of a conversation that should never end. Which is tiring for people, especially when the “conversation” is a yelling match.
Anyways, thanks for this poke; I am really struggling with this personally as I see rights and freedoms eroding all around us and find myself staking out positions far more radical than I likely actually believe simply to try and maintain the status quo. And all of this in place FULL of infrastructure (and compromises made to get it) – it’s easy to have a philosophical discussion about it when you are not still figuring out how best to clean your water.
maybe the ultimate first world problem… but still, if a good chunk of interaction takes place online, we need to be able to understand if not have some level of control over the venue rather than just settling for hanging out in corporate lobbies with pervasive and invasive monitoring and monetization baked in…