The FLOK Society Project: Making The Good Life Possible Through Good Knowledge | Techdirt

"One of the most striking and important developments in the world of technology over the last two decades or so has been the rise of an alternative mode of production that is open, collaborative and global. This began in the world of software, with Richard Stallman's GNU project, but has now been extended to the realms of text, data, science and hardware, among others. The free sharing of information to form a kind of digital commons, which lies at the heart of these projects, has also been applied to business, albeit in the modified form of collaborative consumption -- things like Airbnb. These different manifestations of fundamentally similar ideas have sprung up in a largely uncoordinated way, but an interesting question is whether they could be drawn together into a unified approach, applied to a whole country, say. That's what Ecuador's FLOK Society (original in Spanish) has been exploring ... There is a detailed research plan, 'Transitioning to a Commons-Based Society', and numerous texts providing more detailed information. But probably the best introduction to FLOK Society and its ideas is an interview with the project's research leader, Michel Bauwens, conducted by Richard Poynder, best known for his unmatched profiles of key figures in the world of open access.  Bauwens describes the background to the FLOK Society project as follows:'

The legitimacy and logic of the project comes from the National Plan of Ecuador, which is centred around the concept of Good Living (Buen Vivir), which is a non-reductionist, non-exclusive material way to look at the economy and social life, inspired by the traditional values of the indigenous people of the Andes. The aim of FLOK is to add 'Good Knowledge' as an enabler and facilitator of the good life.'

That sounds inspirational, but how will it work in practice? ..."