"I love that you've brought this to attention. An extensive database of uncommon but resistant and hardy plants/foods could be developed and organized by climate. Ease of growth and processing should also be taken in to account. I will try to…"
A crash course in changing the world.
Go Big or Go Home, Redux
Alright, so I've been doing some more thinking about why I like the idea of going big or going home, and I want to qualify it. Specifically, I'd like to address the issue of the World Bank, this game, and my relationship to it as anti-capitalist.
First, if you don't know why I'm skeptical about things the World Bank has its fingers in, I'd recommend you'd get a taste of the reasons people have given the WB hell in the past on Wikipedia, here. There are a few things worth pointing up. First, the WB's conflict of interest is a big deal. Second, the WB's desire to produce knowledge to justify its operations. And third, privatization as a pervasive theme, both in-game and in the World Bank's (and neoliberal capitalism's) discourse.
So the reasons this game -- and people's buying into it -- concern me is that we're being watched by an organization that is not politically or economically neutral, that has a questionable history of ethics with regard to the Global South, and which has some investment in the kind of knowledge that we can generate. As you might imagine, my skepticism with too much sharing is complex and deep-seated.
I consider myself anti-capitalist. I don't think that the neoliberal/neoclassical style of free-market economy is any way to create a world that is equitable and healthy for all people and the environment. Of course this is a hard situation to extract ourselves from, and there don't seem to be clear answers or best practices. Which is what we should be here to imagine together.
In that sense, go big or go home. Global capital is already really big. Ordinary folks -- especially ordinary folks who are worried about the way that global capital is being managed -- should work on going bigger, too. And that's not just in numerical scale, but also in the way we open our minds, the way we dream of a better world, the way we consider the history that underlies our actions, and the way we move forward with an agenda based on the equality of all. This means: centering the people who are the most marginalized, doing more thinking outside of this game, and yes, even critiquing the game structure itself.
More later -- I need to get some work done tonight.
First, if you don't know why I'm skeptical about things the World Bank has its fingers in, I'd recommend you'd get a taste of the reasons people have given the WB hell in the past on Wikipedia, here. There are a few things worth pointing up. First, the WB's conflict of interest is a big deal. Second, the WB's desire to produce knowledge to justify its operations. And third, privatization as a pervasive theme, both in-game and in the World Bank's (and neoliberal capitalism's) discourse.
So the reasons this game -- and people's buying into it -- concern me is that we're being watched by an organization that is not politically or economically neutral, that has a questionable history of ethics with regard to the Global South, and which has some investment in the kind of knowledge that we can generate. As you might imagine, my skepticism with too much sharing is complex and deep-seated.
I consider myself anti-capitalist. I don't think that the neoliberal/neoclassical style of free-market economy is any way to create a world that is equitable and healthy for all people and the environment. Of course this is a hard situation to extract ourselves from, and there don't seem to be clear answers or best practices. Which is what we should be here to imagine together.
In that sense, go big or go home. Global capital is already really big. Ordinary folks -- especially ordinary folks who are worried about the way that global capital is being managed -- should work on going bigger, too. And that's not just in numerical scale, but also in the way we open our minds, the way we dream of a better world, the way we consider the history that underlies our actions, and the way we move forward with an agenda based on the equality of all. This means: centering the people who are the most marginalized, doing more thinking outside of this game, and yes, even critiquing the game structure itself.
More later -- I need to get some work done tonight.
Views: 19
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Comment by Claire Moylan on March 16, 2010 at 2:28am
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I think you don't know the half of it. Ha, ha. What's that saying? Maybe you've heard of it: "Keep your friends close, but keep your enemies closer."
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Comment by Linda Holt on March 16, 2010 at 2:59am
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I have thought these same thoughts, and there may be something sinister lurking in the agenda and/or platform. But if I choose to shut down and not take the opportunity to share in this enlivening dialogue, then I am my own worst enemy. I believe (and believe that I am witnessing) a shift in the way that life occurs to us. Especially in the way that we perceive the future. It will be a great game well played if at the end of ten weeks we are active agents of change in our own communities. I also think that we are birthing great possibilties outside of the context of resignation, and when we "shift" in our conversation to create our future from the future and not from the past, the universe changes. . .
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Comment by Matthew Reinbold on March 16, 2010 at 3:23am
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It may be tempting to assume this is an elaborate way for the World Bank to crowdsource, or "harvest", a new crop of ideas; ideas with a subtle intent to further enmesh developing nations to current global systems. However, I see nothing with this platform or the participation by individuals that would prevent you from seeking out like minded individuals, cherry picking the most agreeable thoughts, and starting your own effort.
Time magazine recently listed "The Dropout Economy" as one of its "10 Ideas for the Next 10 Years". In it they talk about wh*** swaths of people creating functional subsets, organizing work and capital around principals that most appeal to them. If having your creative output public for the World Bank to poach bothers you start your own. I'd encourage you, however, not to 'go big or go home' as then you'll eventually end up with large, enc**bered, lethargic systems no better than the ones you set out to replace.
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Comment by dr_morel on March 16, 2010 at 2:43pm
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Hmm... I don't know that it's necessarily the threat of the WB poaching ideas form collective intelligence communities that is the only concern, at least for me; rather, it's the rhetoric employed and how that might seek to curb criticism from "players" (i.e. a new class of innovators) of the neoliberal structures that secure the WB's future. For instance, the focus on monetary profit and the support and intervention with heads of government (governments that are failing their citizens) rather than, say, dealing with citizens directly as the point of contact for innovation. This rhetoric would seem to be very much in line with maintaining power structures and producing quick fixes, as opposed to addressing institutionalized problems.
And, I think that, while nothing is preventing anyone from splintering off and forming a competing community, this community would doubtfully have the vast resources of the World Bank. Parody (see Invoke) is possible as resistance, but reforming semi-alternate organizations of work and capital within a "Dropout Economy" (there's some interesting rhetoric for you!) that operates within the neoliberal global economy... I'm not sure how effective that resistance is, really. That's certainly up for debate!
Matthew, I do think it is good to note the potential for small structure to be efficient and effective, but this idea of agility might also decrease group agency within the larger context of power structures, as well as fracture social capital through hyper-competition.
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Comment by Nick Heyming on March 16, 2010 at 6:27pm
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Ah, the world bank. I appreciate them creating this forum, and agree with some of their main principles, but like any large institution, sometimes they do more harm than good. Maybe they'll learn from this exercise how to refine their approach?
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