The information society, open source knowledge, and efficient peer-to-peer problem solving represent an immense step forward, a revolution in problem solving that could help overgrow previous social structures based on high energy waste.
Joseph Tainter argues that we are in this current mess because problem solving is making civilization more and more energy inefficient. However, this inefficiency also stems from the hierarchical social organisation of civilization. Capitalism is an outgrowth of this form of organisation which seriously restricts energy flows to loci where problems could be solved far more efficiently. Simply put: hierarchy does not permit a free market of utility in any useful sense.
Break the hierarchy and the free market will permit energy to flow to that genius kid on the streets of a slum who will be the one to solve a key technical problem for us and our planet. You guess at the problem, s/he will solve it if given the knowledge resources. Capitalism has proven useful for this to a very small degree. But open source, legal hacking, distributed information structures, free peer-to-peer information flow can achieve many multiples better than capitalism.
Am I arguing against intellectual property? Well yes, if you like. If that’s what does it. If that’s what permits creative minds to connect and solve the world’s problems, educate each other, overgrow the hierarchical establishment and develop what Jeff Vail calls a society based on Rhizome.
