Mathieu O’Neil: Cyberchiefs: Autonomy and Authority in Online Tribes (2009)

People are inventing new ways of working together on the internet. Decentralised production thrives on weblogs, wikis and free software projects. In Cyberchiefs, Mathieu O’Neil focuses on the regulations of these working relationships. He examines the transformation of leadership and expertise in online networks, and the emergence of innovative forms of participatory politics.

What are the costs and benefits of alternatives to hierarchical organisation? Using case studies of online projects or ‘tribes’ such as the radical Primitivism archive, the Daily Kos political weblog, the Debian free software project, and Wikipedia, O’Neil shows that leaders must support maximum autonomy for participants, and he analyses the tensions generated by this distribution of authority.

Publisher Pluto Press, 2009
ISBN 0745327974, 9780745327976
242 pages

publisher
google books

PDF (updated on 2013-3-3)

Derek Wall: Babylon and Beyond. The Economics of Anti-Capitalist, Anti-Globalist and Radical Green Movements (2005)

Babylon and Beyond provides the first clear and accessible guide to the economics of anti-capitalism. Anti-capitalism is a diverse movement: critics accuse it of knowing what it is against, but not knowing what it is for. Anti-capitalists want radical change, but what shape should that change take? The truth is that different sections of the movement advocate distinct—sometimes complementary, sometimes contradictory—programmes for change. This book concentrates on perhaps the most divisive issue of all in the anti-capitalist struggle: how to transform the economy. There are greens who think we must hold back economic growth and Marxists who believe the economy must move forward along capitalist lines before there can be revolutionary change; there are those who remain faithful to notions of collective or state ownership of all aspects of the economy, and those who think various kinds of reform or regulation of capitalist practice is more appropriate. Babylon and Beyond is a modern guidebook to the complicated terrain of alternatives to global capitalism. Derek Wall explains and summarises the rich variety of theories available within the anti-capitalist movement. Chapters cover Marxism, Autonomism, Anarchism, Ecosocialism, Capitalist reformers (like George Soros and Joseph Stiglitz), Green localists (like Colin Hines), and others. Unique in its coverage, clear and accessible, the book is ideal for activists, and anyone who is trying to find a useful way forward. This book is published in association with the Green Economics Institute.

Publisher Pluto Press, 2005
ISBN 074532391X, 9780745323916
232 pages

publisher
google books

PDF (updated on 2014-8-28)

Autonomy Project Newspaper, 1-3 (2010-2012)

Autonomy Project Newspaper, 1: Positions, 2010

The Autonomy Project is an international collaboration between art/education/research institutes and organisations, practitioners and thinkers. The project began in 2010 and seeks to redefine and redress the issues around autonomy in the fields of art, design, theory and cultural policy today. From a multi faceted geographic and political context, the project will facilitate a number of events, exhibitions and publications in an ongoing discussion, which brings the notion and practice of autonomy back into debate.

The first edition is entitled ‘Positions’ and maps the ground work of the last months from the perspectives of established educators, thinkers and practitioners in the field.

Contributions by Becky Shaw, John Byrne, Jeroen Boomgaard, Juan Cruz, Sven Lutticken, Thomas Lange, Steven ten Thije, Freek Lomme, and Clare Butcher.

Edited by Clare Butcher, John Byrne, Steven ten Thije
Publisher Onomatopee, Eindhoven, 2010
Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommerial-Share Alike 3.0 Dutch License

PDF (4 MB, updated on 2017-12-2)

Autonomy Project Newspaper, 2: Frameworks, 2011

Contributions by Derk Alberts, Laurie Cluitmans, Jasper Coppes, Martine Derks, Charles Esche, Michelle Franke, Marijke Goeting, Sean Harvey, Brian Holmes, Tobias Karlsson, Joanne McClellan, Joana Ozorio de Almeida Meroz, Emilio Moreno, Kerstin Niemann, Hannah Pierce, Sarah Pierce, Charlotte Rooijackers, Jennifer Smailes, Paul Sullivan, Jort van der Laan.

Editorial team: Steven ten Thije, John Byrne, Clare Butcher
Publisher Onomatopee, Eindhoven, 2011
Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommerial-Share Alike 3.0 Dutch License

PDF (9 MB, updated on 2017-12-2)

Autonomy Project Newspaper, 3: At Work, 2012

Editorial team: Steven ten Thije, John Byrne, Clare Butcher
Publisher Onomatopee, Eindhoven, 2012
Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommerial-Share Alike 3.0 Dutch License

PDF (10 MB, added on 2017-12-2)

Project website