Undermining abundance: counter-productive uses of technology and law in nature, agriculture, and the information sector

Abstract: Technology and law are increasingly used to undermine processes of abundance intrinsic to nature, agriculture and the information sector. A number of examples are reviewed here; the relationship between such counter-productive use of technology and law and corporate profit-seeking is revealed; the phenomenon of abundance is linked with the related concepts of scarcity and commons, and an approach is proposed that harnesses abundance for the human good.

Roberto Verzola is a convenor and member of the Philippine Greens. He is active in information, environmental and agriculture issues. He may be reached at rverzola@gn.apc.org.