Open Source Economy of Affection
Introduction
This is a term congruent with the principles of the Open Source Economy - emphasizing that the product of a sound economy should be improved relationships, not capital, where capital is simply a byproduct of good relations, as opposed to capital being a destroyer of happiness. See also Gross National Happiness.
See Wendell Berry's notes on the economy of affection -
http://irjci.blogspot.com/2012/04/wendell-berry-in-national-lecture-calls.html
And another:
http://www.neh.gov/about/awards/jefferson-lecture/wendell-e-berry-lecture
Evolution
The concept was first documented by Chayanov, a Russian revolutionary, and the specific term was first used by Göran Hydén. See Economy of Affection on Wikipedia.
In the digital age, open source sharing of information is the enabler of unleashed productivity. For the first time in history - humanity has a good chance of transcending Artificial Scarcity by means of advanced, appropriate, open source technology. Eradication of artificial scarcity implies reduction of Competitive Waste. Open source hardware is seen by OSE as the critical enabler of the economy of affection in the information age. Thus, in the digital age - we propose a more precise form of the concept: Open Source Economy of Affection.
OSE Case
OSE asks - how do we solve all of the pressing world issues without leaving anyone behind?. Our vision is Open Collaboration for a transparent and inclusive economy of abundance. Starting at the level of material abundance. Abundance is a rigorous requirement. Abundance has less to do with long-haired drum circles, but more with the discipline of attaining industrial productivity on a small scale.
Employment
We ask - Is it possible that the norm becomes the self-determination - typically associated with honest entrepreneurship - rather than employment - which is frequently associated with wage slavery? We believe that wage slavery should be the exception, not the norm. See How Many People Love Their Jobs?
The industry standard is to hire employees - and managers and workers are not encouraged to be friends.
How do we shift this from a capitalistic mindset to one of the Economy of Affection? Is it possible to set up the livelihood dynamic where self-determination and friendship are the norm?
How to align people to do good work, when they are self-determined?
Practical Experiment
OSE is embarking on a design incentive challenge where the goal is to create 100 part time un-jobs - Extreme Manufacturing operations for a professional grade, open source cordless drill. The outcome is intended to be either part time or full time engagement.
Critical questions are:
- If we promote self-determination - how do we select people who actually contribute to the forward motion of OSE without being alienated? Do we force a certain level of collaboration, or do we make that voluntary? How to structure the job duties so that they are fulfilling?
Possible Solutions
The number one solution for alienation is efficiency afforded by the Extreme Manufacturing process. Thus, we must invest sufficient resources into distributed productivity to make