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Characteristics of Peer Production

Peers support each otherSummary of the characteristics of peer production, first part using Meretz’s work [1], the second part from my own studies:

A. The social logics of peer production

It is important to see the value inversion that occurs in peer production. Though it is integrated in the dominant economic model and embedded in the strategies of business firms, there are numerous inversions in the logic of value and production:

However, none of these social logics operate in isolation from the larger economy. The participating companies operate in a commodity (I. exchange) economy and seek to create strategies based on market scarcity within the field of abundance created by their commons. These companies pay salaries to their developers or freelancers sell their labor and generate monetary income. These corporations are still generally owned by shareholders hence operating within the classic class dynamics. Meritocratic selection has its own exclusion biases, and many open source companies use dual licensing and other strategies to protect their property. Hence, every non-market social logic operates in relation to market dynamics.

B. Innovative Aspects of Peer Production Practice

Peer production carries with it many different fundamental innovations, that are starkly different from traditional business practice. Here are a number of these practices, contrasted with the practices of the market and the business firm: