hope-wiki.com - What’s the idea of that?
This is just my name for all the information about and links to the practices of holistic political economy that are happening all over, right now. Like Part 2 Assess – Examples of what good looks like – In concept it is bigger, better and as near comprehensive as its possible to get - but there are important caveats Note: hope-wiki July 2020 . The concept is still to get all the information that can be captured online – data and people loosely coupled by their experiences of just doing it.
Ok so why build it?
People need to know that there is an alternative and that it works so that they can be inspired by it and try things for themselves. Putting all this experience in one place means that it becomes part of the shared knowledge base that the human activity system draws from. One that will enable knowledge of the alternative to spread and gain support; it will encourage and inspire those who are starting out on all sorts of joint ventures, co-operatives and social enterprises.
It will be one of the foundations for a new counter culture that supports collaboration and contributions from everyone, that gives a sense of solidarity and confidence to all its practitioners (so that, coming back to Friedman, these are the ideas lying around and remembering Buckminster Fuller, we are building an alternative source of power not attacking an existing one. Friedman, Preface
This should be nothing less than the window into the alternative culture of the 2020’s, in historical terms it will provide the equivalent feeling of solidarity that unions, and other organisation represented when they set up the Labour Representation Committee in 1906. Sadly, with the 30-year defeat of the left and the destruction and weakening of its institutions and ideas we are just about starting from scratch. There are islands of good practice some of which I have pointed out in Examples of What Good Looks Like, but we have a long way to go when it comes to the strength of the ideas in the culture, a vision to inspire and the steadfast belief that an alternative is not just possible but will be better (because it can be shown to be so). After 30 years of neo-liberalism too many people have lost their belief in the alternative, we don't have the plain language, analytical tools or self confidence to articulate it.
This can be remedied by the use of information and network technology; activists with a shared vision can link together purposefully to gain critical mass, to build a powerful cultural base from which holistic political economy will grow. Knowing you are not alone is inspiring and empowering.
Remember, hyperspace is infinite, private companies may put a fence or pay wall round some of it and invite as many in as possible, but unlike the frontier there is always more available, we can set up camp and grow from there.