FileSharing to P2P - shaping politics through interactions

 A Short History
File Sharing has come a long way since it's humble beginnings in physical Exchange (through Punch Cards,Magnetic Tapes, Floppy Disks,etc,.).Tim Burners Lee originally envisioned the internet to be a network of users actively creating, editing and linking content to form a interconnected 'web' of links. This idea is very close to the P2P(peer-to-peer) ideal of computing which is an application architecture comprising of a distributed network of Computers where each node(computer) plays an active and equal role in the tackling of the workload or in other words where each 'peer' contributes a part of their processing power, Storage Space and Bandwidth to the other peers on the network without the need for a centralised and stable Host.


This methodology of Computer interaction (and consequently human interaction via computers) moves away from traditional Central Client-Server Architecture where Servers Supply and Clients consume.

The earliest examples of P2P implementation are the File Sharing systems where computers shared documents, music and Video content across networks which made it easier to share proprietary content.An inordinate amount of lawsuits against these systems followed in an attempt to regulate this.Ironically, however, this lead to the total elimination of any remaining centralisation in the systems and lead to what can be called the truly first P2P system - BitTorrent and the like.

Breaking Ground

With the rise of Torrent systems, sharing of content was released from control and regulation on the internet which lead to a more free and fluid exchange of media and ideas.Infact, some estimates by 2003 had reached the conclusion that distribution of Music through the torrent method using applications such as bittorrent and the like had already surpassed distribution through CDs - the primary file sharing method until then.

The Realisation of the P2P had thus led to the freedom of distribution of content,and ultimately has dealt a considerable blow to the idea of royalties or right to distribute.Thus P2P has shown itself to be a successful method of interaction,sharing resources and distributing the workload without a central, external regulator.

The potency of P2P interaction has been increasingly recognized in the recent years and can be seen in collaborative community projects such as Wikipedia and Free and Open Source Movements such as Linux.

P2P has evolved from the early file sharing days and has come to broadly covers three main concepts or ideas:
Peer Governance - where the organisation of the work and decision making processes are not centralised    but managed by community decisions.
Peer ownership - This refers to the idea of recognition of authorship of content generated by an individual but not the exclusive right to the content.
And finally Peer distribution.

What's Politics got to do with any of this?
 Since it's beginnings as a technological design, P2P has come a long way - it is now increasing being viewed more as a methodology rather than a technology. The Principles of P2P being independent from specific hardware and software constraints are helping shape interactions among people all over the world through removing the entry requirements for interaction across continents - A Computer with internet connection will do.

The P2P format has lent itself to political movements wherein people all over the world with different sets of views and expertise in different fields can combine and work towards the same goal under a common platform even though they may not share all their ideals and beliefs.Thus, P2P method has been successful in mobilizing a rather large number of people from every continent towards causes without traditional methods of information dissemination such as newspapers, television and relying instead on the internet media.

The P2P format has also resulted in a different kind of economic system where conventional Market based regulation is not the driving force but depending instead on the voluntary participation in creation of a common good for all(once again an example is Wikipedia).Thus P2P is quickly emerging as an alternate means to organisation and uniting people and could prove to be better in dealing with issues which affect people on a large scale,in other words political issues, through a truly collective and open decision process. Translation from Technology to Methodology is the true Achievement of this Artifact,changing the way politics is done - A shift from Power,Authority and centralisation to Community,Co-operation and decentralisation

By Barath A

References:
[1]
[2]
P2P and Human Evolution, pg 32-39 by Micheal Bauwens