Economy

“Project Cybersyn was a Chilean attempt at real-time computer-controlled planned economy in the years 1970–1973 (during the government of president Salvador Allende). It was essentially a network of telex machines that linked factories with a single computer centre in Santiago, which controlled them using principles of cybernetics.

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Project Cybersyn was a Chilean attempt at real-time computer-controlled planned economy in the years 1970–1973 (during the government of president Salvador Allende). It was essentially a network of telex machines that linked factories with a single computer centre in Santiago, which controlled them using principles of cybernetics. The principal architect of the system was British operations research scientist Stafford Beer.“

Country computing: a real-time feedback loop

Interestingly, Cybersyn design has been heavily influenced by the architect of this system, Stafford Beer, a cyberneticist specialized in feedback loops of management in corporations. The idea was basically to design a system for capturing, processing and presenting economic information to be managed in real time. A sort of feedback loop with the population, based on various organizations models better described here or in this lecture called “Fanfare for Effective Freedom: Cybernetic Praxis in Government” [PDF]. Some examples below of the underlying model of Cybersyn:

David Birch, director at Consult Hyperion is a specialist of electronic business and banking. In his presentation, he gives his perspective on the future of digital currency by addressing the disadvantage of cash, the raising importance of cell phone services (especially in developing countries) and its benefits.

David Birch, director at Consult Hyperion is a specialist of electronic business and banking. In his presentation, he gives his perspective on the future of digital currency by addressing the disadvantage of cash, the raising importance of cell phone services (especially in developing countries) and its benefits.

Web 2.0 meets Marxist (Foucaultian?) economic theory in the latest video from Austrian subversive art collective http://www.monochrom.at/english/

Sorry it is not possible to embed content, so you´ll have to leave the site
http://tv.boingboing.net/2008/02/15/monochroms-marxist-s.html

Go see for yourself. The are pretty good. And smart. And on-topic.
Enjoy!