The Desktop Regulatory State - Chapter 1

Written by Kevin Carson Read by Tony Dreher Edited by Tony Dreher C4SS Senior Fellow Kevin Carson’s book The Desktop Regulatory State: The Countervailing Power of Individuals and Networks, a project of five years work, is now in print(http://www.amazon.com/Desktop-Regulatory-State-Countervailing-Individuals/dp/1523275596/). It’s also available online here (http://desktopregulatorystate.wordpress.com/). Here’s a description C4SS Senior Fellow Gary Chartier — who’s also responsible for the beautiful interior and cover design — wrote for the back cover: Defenders of the modern state often claim that it’s needed to protect us — from terrorists, invaders, bullies, and rapacious corporations. Economist John Kenneth Galbraith, for instance, famously argued that the state was a source of “countervailing power” that kept other social institutions in check. But what if those “countervailing” institution — corporations, government agencies and domesticated labor unions — in practice collude more than they “countervail” each other? And what if network communications technology and digital platforms now enable us to take on all those dinosaur hierarchies as equals — and more than equals. In The Desktop Regulatory State, Kevin Carson shows how the power of self-regulation, which people engaged in social cooperation have always possessed, has been amplified and intensifed by changes in consciousness — as people have become aware of their own power and of their ability to care for themselves without the state — and in technology — especially information technology. Drawing as usual on a wide array of insights from diverse disciplines, Carson paints an inspiring, challenging, and optimistic portrait of a humane future without the state, and points provocatively toward the steps we need to take in order to achieve it. Support Kevin Carson on Patreon (https://www.patreon.com/KevinCarson?ty=h) Raw Feed: http://c4ss.jellycast.com/podcast/feed/2 Stitcher: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/smash-walls-radio/c4ss-media?refid=stpr Bitcoin tips welcome: 1N1pF6fLKAGg4nH7XuqYQbKYXNxCnHBWLB