P2P and New Socio-technological Frameworks

This chapter sheds light on how different interests can use P2P dynamics. It considers the various potentials of new technologies, how various social groups can take advan­tage of these potentials and to what degree the new networking technologies are useful in the context of a transition towards a commons-centric society. Taking the Internet as the starting point the authors consider generic models influential in the design of specific networks and aspects of systems that are variously centralized or distributed, global or local. Considering four future scenarios – netarchical capitalism, distributed capitalism, localized commons and global commons – the chapter outlines these in the context of contemporary (or ‘cognitive) capitalism. The chapter concludes with consideration of the extractive model of cognitive capitalism versus the progressive potential of the generative model of commons-based peer production.