TheChiefExecutivesClubatQueensandthe

SchoolofLaw

TransitiontoaPostCarbonWorld:
TheNewSocialEconomy

The opensource revolution heralds new opportunities for a more sustainable and social
economy. The emerging collaborativeeconomyischallenging conventional thinking about
therole ofpublicand private spheres throughtheemergenceofathirdcivicspherewhere
production is socially driven by open source, participatory processes, cooperation and the
commons.Thisnewmode ofPeerto Peer productionoffersa distinctcontributiontohowwe
address the challenges of moving to a postcarbon world in accord with the Paris climate
summitthisyear.

The emergence of digital knowledge, software anddesignnot

onlycreatenewopensourceapproaches
to the production of common goods but also new kinds of market activities, requiring an ethical
economy which integrates socialand environmentalconcerns. Thisalsosuggestsanewrole forpublic
authorities as enablers of individual and social autonomy, i.e. thepartnerstate approach.Today, and
moreso tomorrow, value is increasinglygeneratednotfromthesphereof the marketbutfromthesocial
sphere of the commons, created through peer to peer contributions, not wage labour, creating
commons,not commodities. Civil societyhas nowbecomeproductiveinitsownright, andwecanmake
a leap to a vision of civil society that consists of civil commons contributed to by citizens. The
emergence of these postcapitalist dynamics in the very heart of the capitalisteconomycreates great
challenges and contradictions, that must be resolved for a sustainabilityrevolution to trulyoccur. The
opensourcestack,consistingof designfor social utilityby global open design communities,distributed
and on demand local manufacturing, an open source circular economy based on open logistics and
open accounting, and the mutualizationofphysical resources, will bea crucial enablerfor winning the
fightagainstclimatechangefollowingtheCOP21meetinginParisthisyear.

Michel Bauwens isthe founderofthe PeertoPeerFoundation (P2P)andworksincollaborationwith

a globalgroupofresearchers intheexplorationofpeerproduction,governance,andproperty. Heisa
founding member of the Commons Strategies Group advisor to governments around the world a
widelypublishedwriter, includingcoauthoringthe2014book,NetworkSocietyandFutureScenarios
for aCollaborativeEconomya lecturerandteacher.Afterworkingformajorinternationalbusinesses
andcreatingtwointernetstartups,heisapassionatecampaignerforchange.
Forfurtherinformationvisit
:
http://commonstransition.org

http://p2pfoundation.net/
Refreshmentswillbeavailablefrom5.30pm,beforethelecture.Pleaseconfirmyourattendancewith
BrendaCarabine
brenda.carabine@qub.ac.uk
Tel:02890971153