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Background reading for a fellow traveller in the #LandscapeOfChange

Submitted by Pamela on 25 July 2013 - 1:14pm

I was impressed by this explanation of The Purpose Economy which arrived this morning via Michel Bauwens and Peer 2 Peer Foundation. I decided to send it to a newly arrived "fellow traveller" in the Landscape of Change, following a conversation we had earlier this week. It covers a lot of ideas that are familiar to (and part of the life experience of) many pioneers in the Landscape of Change.

I've been reflecting on the post and on our conversation and the links and thoughts below are the result. 

Ref "invisible stuff"

Various things about Landscape of Change

Influential thinkers and networks

We discussed various people and groups influencing our thinking. They included the Dark Mountain and Uncivilisation people; George Por and School of Commoning people; Michel Bauwens and P2P (Peer to Peer) Foundation people. Francis Sealey and Global Net21 people, and the person we originally knew in common, who caused us to meet -  Steve Podmore of Transform Capital Management.

Commitment and support

We discussed the extreme commitment of people who are pioneers and explorers in the Landscape of Change, and the privations they undergo as a result. I shared my dream of being able to provide the equivalent of "base camps/refuges/retreats" for people who need  some respite from their explorations, so they can be refreshed, refuelled and reinvigorated (I have no idea what that would look like in practice).

We talked about the financial sacrifices people make, and how those who will reap the benefits later might provide some kind of support for the explorers and pioneers. We used analogies ranging from "sending food parcels" to full-financing of expeditions.

Immediate practical action

There are all kind of ways people can get involved in supportign the change makers, explorers and pioneers.

At one extreme we talked about what Steve Podmore is proposing through Transform Capital Management. His plans are for people who are serious investors. I won't try to paraphrase the ideas behind Transform and how it redirects capital to the parts of the "economic food chain" that other systems fail to reach. Steve's ideas make a lot of sense so are worth reading whether of not you are a potential investor.

At the other extreme there are things for more modest budgets. There are often things that need to be crowd funded or given donations. For instance, when I got home Michel Bauwens was sharing some of the serious problems he is currently facing within P2P. The catalyst for Michel's email was some hacking that has caused problems,and he explained about the hacking in the wider context of his need for more technical support and his general lack of resources. A lot of us, myself included' thought his work was now on a firm financial footing, but it's not so.

Helping Michel and the work of P2P

If you go to P2P Foundation and see the quality and quantity of the work there it is hard to believe how it operates with such limited resources. Michel described the ancient equipment he is using and the number of "essentials" that he is having to manage without - things that most of us take for granted.

I was shocked when he shared those details. Fortunately Kevin F immediately came up with a way for us to send Michel some online donations, and so his friends were able to start to help him. If you value the work of P2P you can donate too. See highlights in the email below:

From Pamela McLean to P2P on 23 July

My message is the same as George's - word for word

On 23 July 2013 08:06, George Pór  wrote:

Anyone interested in making a donation can do so here
Thanks, Kevin.
I've just given what I could. 
In the commons "one for all" has to be coupled with "all for one" when need be. 
george

Work, payment and purpose

The idea and action of giving to Michel takes me back to the  start of this post and  The Purpose Economy. As I read that I recognised descriptions of many of the features of the Landscape of Change, with hints of the genuine communities that are emerging there. My quality of my life is richer thanks to my connections in those communities.
Michel's email encourages me about the way we are  learning to be more open with each other, not just about our shared visions and our successes, but on a deeper level. We're not just  sharing our intellectual property, and the results of our labours, but we are also learning to be more open about our struggles and vulnerabilities. That is the way we can act as a community and look out for each others interests

Helping each other and crossing a culture gap

It is essential that we are open about our needs for help, so that we can be more responsive in pooling our resources to help each other.
We also need help from others who are not yet so aware of the invisible revolution and the realities of life in the Landscape of Change. I think those of us who are "the explorers and pioneers" need to be more careful in our use of language. When we talk about "our work" we are often talking to  people who normally connect the idea of work with "paid work" rather than "purposeful work for little or no payment". How are they to understand our situations if they assume that we are paid for all we do? It is a culture gap that we need to bridge more purposefully if the Purpose Economy is to become more mainstream and better understood.

 

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