Jean Lievens's Page

I think most Marxists have so far underestimated the impact of the Internet, new technologies, open source, peer-to-peer etc. on society. Of course, in the grand scheme of things, one can always argue that ‘there is nothing new under the sun”. Capitalism has always revolutionised the means of production in order to beat the competition. So why should it this time be different? I think there are many reasons. One is that the capitalist system must grow to survive and…

In this powerful interview published on June 2 2012 on YouTube, Michel Bauwens explains in an nutshell his main ideas on P2P, its impact on society and the opportunity it offers to create a sustainable world.

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On May 3, Jonathan Clyne, Lena Hanno, Alex Dirmeier and Jean Lievens had a discussion with Michel Bauwens on peer-to-peer and Marxism.  The discussion took place in the lobby of the Palace Hotel in Berlin. Here’s a slightly edited transcript of the discussion. The recording was reasonably good, but our voices were sometimes unintelligible because there were other guests talking in the lobby and there was also a piano playing (from the theme song from Titanic to What a Wonderful World,…

The Internet as a “new” medium is not an extension or an extra platform of the traditional media; it is qualitatively different because it turns the passive media consumer (the couch potato) into an active contributor. People not only like to consume, they also like to contribute and share. The Internet makes this possible. Therefore, we are dealing with a completely new ball game, making former Marxists analyses and demands in relation to this subject quite obsolete.

Parts of these…