( revisit for ideas from this video)
This video transcript details the transition towards a cooperative and regenerative economy, highlighting various projects and philosophies that embody this shift. It suggests that people are driven by a hunger for something different because they perceive the “old system” as not working economically, ecologically, or in human terms.
The core idea presented is that cooperation is not merely an ethical choice but a necessity for getting the world to work, aligning the human economy with the principles of living systems. The challenge is likened to “switching out the engines on the plane while we’re keeping the plane in the air”. The vision is to build the foundations of a cooperative world that is free, exciting, generous, moral, and liberating, moving beyond 20th-century capitalism and socialism. This change requires people to “start small but also think big”.
The transcript illustrates these concepts through several real-world examples:
The Red Victorian (Co-living Hotel)
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- Concept: This project instigates a new way of thinking about home and housing in the 21st century. It’s a 20-room hotel that was taken over and transformed into a “co-living hotel,” combining long-term residential accommodations with fluid, short-term options for a “modern nomadic creative population”.
- Cooperative Structure: The space is cooperatively run without a traditional hierarchy; everyone is considered a manager. Decision-making is open to the entire community, often utilizing a tool called Lumio.
- Decision-Making with Lumio: Lumio is a simple technology that allows people to discuss issues, generate ideas, and make shared decisions collaboratively. It originated from experiences in the Occupy movement, demonstrating the potential for collaborative decision-making when processes are well-held.
- Discussions and proposals are created, often with a time limit for clear conclusions.
- Participants can agree, abstain, disagree (not blocking but not fully endorsing), or block/raise a red flag (indicating a serious concern needing to be addressed).
- Lumio is designed to foster respectful, constructive dialogue by allowing people to process emotions and write down thoughts, counteracting negative online behaviors.
- It catalyzes nuanced conversations and enables collaborative structures, challenging the idea of “tyranny or dictatorship in our workplaces”.
- Challenges: The Red Victorian faces issues with existing health codes and regulations that don’t fit its innovative model, leading to potential compliance problems and the risk of being shut down. This highlights an era where diverse economies are flourishing, but government regulations struggle to keep pace.
- Benefits: The physical building provides a “container” for humans, where rules are different, and individuals have a say in how things operate. It aims to support and amplify the work of inspiring people by making it easier for them to do what they do and meet others who inspire them.
Urban Farms (e.g., Soul Food)
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- Purpose: These urban farms, like Soul Food, aim to demonstrate that a successful agricultural enterprise can exist in the city while simultaneously supporting people’s needs. They provide employment to individuals facing barriers such as addiction, mental illness, or physical illness.
- Supportive Environment: The jobs offer flexibility and understanding, without the strict expectations of a “regular job”. The environment is designed to be a “community,” a “place to go,” and a “reason to get up in the morning,” where people are not fired for missing days.
- Transformative Impact: Working with the soil and living things offers healing aspects. It helps people feel valued and cared for, fostering personal growth and a sense of belonging. Farming is described as a “great equalizer” that levels off people’s histories and suffering, benefiting mental health for all involved.
- Challenges: Some urban farm locations are temporary due to future development, emphasizing the need for permanent locations. While they want staff to feel a sense of ownership, traditional “worker-owned cooperatives” are not always feasible when there’s “nothing to own” in a physical sense; instead, the focus is on a “shared experience”.
London Brewing Cooperative
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- Origins: Started by friends brewing beer in a garage, the project evolved from a hobby into a desire for a financially viable yet collectively owned brewery.
- Cooperative Model: It operates on a “one person, one vote” ownership structure, regardless of investment amount, ensuring engagement and control over the workplace for all members.
- Community Integration: The brewery is purposely located in the Old East Village to be an integral part of the community, aiming to avoid pollution and create a space where everyone feels they can be a part of it. They focus on local ingredients, sourcing rhubarb from neighborhood backyards for special brews, further embedding themselves in the community.
- Challenges of Cooperation: The transcript acknowledges that cooperation is not naturally taught, and reaching consensus with equal voices can be difficult. It requires learning and effort, especially compared to the efficiency of a hierarchical business. Practical challenges include managing family leave and finding dedicated people.
- Future Vision: The co-op needs to scale up its operations for financial viability, which requires more space and resources. They are seeking “angel or patient investment” from Londoners who believe in their vision and purpose, rather than just fiscal return. They aspire to full worker-owner realization, bringing in new workers with shared values.
Sensora (Open-source Hardware)
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- Business Model: Sensora is a commercial venture focusing on open-source hardware and electronics production. It operates as a decentralized network with no boss, where individuals join, take initiative, and share revenue based on their contributions, tracked through a “value accounting system”.
- Democratizing Innovation: Their goal is to prove that open source can produce high-end scientific instruments and democratize access to technology. By making products like micro 3D printers and autonomous flower pots open source, they significantly reduce costs (e.g., 20% of traditional cost, or even 10% for some products). This allows scientific labs in emerging countries to catch up with scientific development.
- Rethinking Competition: Sensora challenges competitive crowd-sourcing (like NASA’s prizes where only one winner takes all) by promoting collaborative crowd-sourcing, where contributions are logged, and prizes are shared according to everyone’s input.
- Viable Business: The business model relies on convenience (sourcing parts for kits) and services, rather than patents. The speaker suggests that continuous innovation is a more effective protection than patents, as patents can become useless if someone else rapidly develops a superior technology.
- Motivation: The founder’s personal experience of being laid off during the 2008 financial crisis, despite being stimulated by his work, led him to seek solutions through the internet and establish new economic organizations based on different principles.
- Impact: This model aims to create livelihoods without destroying the planet or creating social strife, representing a “paradigm shift” away from traditional capitalism. The value sought is not just financial, but the validation and positive message gained from contributing to something important.
Doncliffe Park Market
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- Community Initiative: This market was created in Dong Cliff Park by immigrant women, transforming a neglected park into a vibrant community hub.
- Empowerment: It serves as a platform for newcomer women, many of whom run home-based businesses, to sell their goods, gain confidence, build self-esteem, and supplement their income.
- Social Support: The market acts as a “stressor relieving agent” and a space where immigrants and new Canadians can meet, interact, and build relationships. It fosters a “building family kind of environment” where people support each other, especially those facing difficulties.
- Value: The true value of the market is seen in the happiness it brings and the relationships and trust it builds, rather than just financial support.
Overarching Themes & Principles:
- Regenerative Economy: The transcript introduces the concept of a regenerative economy, where systems are self-organizing, self-refueling, and self-learning, mirroring how the universe and living systems operate.
- Beyond Profit Maximization: There’s a strong emphasis on moving beyond pure profit-making, which has historically disregarded environmental and human well-being. The focus shifts to democracy, changing wealth ownership, environmental stewardship, community, and participation.
- Cooperation vs. Competition: Cooperation is presented as the more sustainable approach, contrasting with competitive capitalism. The idea of “survival of the fittest” is reinterpreted as “fittest as in the one that fits best within the whole system, not the strongest”. Competitive models are seen as wasteful, with many “losers,” whereas collaborative models lead to shared benefits.
- Redefining Wealth: True wealth is not just money, but encompasses fresh air, clean water, clean food, family, friendships, community, art, and beauty.
- Enjoyment and Transformation: The process of cooperation and working towards social change should be enjoyable and fun, not a chore. This enjoyment is considered a powerful lever for social change. The overall period is seen as a “lifetime transition” towards a healthier system, with the potential for “irreversible transformation”.
