2009 - the year of the Pirate Party

:) - I've never did this before - but now I think I have something to bet. My prediction for the next year is that the elections to the European Parliament will be the tipping point for the Pirate Party. They have two main advantages: the revolutionary brand that would appeal to all the young and rebelious and the politically dissapointed and a ring of very enthusiastic and media-active supporters. With that they can easily become the next 'political fashion' if only they reach the critical mass to become a real option in the minds of the public. And it seems that this is just happening in Sweden - if the Swedish Pirate Party gets into the European Parliament - this will be a big story in all EU countries - and will validate PP as a 'real party'.

Guest blogged at the P2P Foundation blog

An extended version of my previous blog note here was published by the P2P Foundation.

Flat structure

Another factor worthy of more research is the role played by ritual in mediating mimetic rivalry within organizational contexts. We might tentatively suggest that in general ritual seems to direct symbolic and actual violence in directions that further the goals of the organization and which prevents the outbreak of acquisitive mimetic rivalry. For example Ackroyd & Crowdy (1990) offer examples to show that the targets for "practical jokes" in the slaughterhouse that formed the basis of their study were usually hose who were slower and less efficient at tasks than the perpetrators. Discussing the general role of insults in organization Gabriel (1998), argues that this is a political process
that establishes a kind of "pecking order", thus restricting rivalry to the next slot available in the hierarchy. These arguments support the view that mimetic behaviour is ever present in
organizational contexts but that this rarely escalates to acquisitive mimetic rivalry.

from: Organization as containment of acquisitive mimetic rivalry: the contribution of Rene Girard

Compare with 'The Tyranny of Structurelessness'
by Jo Freeman.