The events and challenges of the past 10 to 20 years of my life led me to the desire to set up my environment like a library. A library almost perfectly symbolizes the image I have of a peaceful, voluntary society that can stand against totalizing dynamics that surround it. I will call this idea here Deschooling Library.
A cultural peak in the field of libraries for me are private libraries and archives. For these are not institutions but simply start with a few boxes or shelves.
Deschooling, on the other hand, does not fully fit the basic premise of my idea, because it is not just about school. The term was coined by Ivan Illich, who with his most famous publications ultimately achieved the opposite than what he wanted to achieve with it - at least as far as it is freely visible to the public. For it was and is not about school alone. It is about institution. But the Internet didn't exist back then. We were not as well networked as we were only with railroads, books or telephone lines. I want to hold on to the term, however, because it is less unwieldy than talking about deinstitutionalization, and because schools masterfully perform an essential characteristic of institutions: imparting faith.
Institutions are areas of life that become independent of the initiators and actors. What this means for politics, religion and medicine alone - to name just a few examples - everyone can form their own picture of this. The Internet is a good example. And the idea here is exactly that: everyone is invited to form their own picture, to form their own library, and to invite people to use those resources, as far as they appreciate it.
In my opinion, library is a good term, because public libraries can usually be visited permissionless. Even if borrowing is only possible for a select few, on-site inventories can often be used completely anonymously, regardless of the duration or frequency of use. And libraries often offer special ancillary areas that for long offer much more than books:
- There are occasional "jumble sales" where inventory items are discarded. Digitization here means more space on the one hand, but on the other hand also that it is easier to "purge". That's not all bad, because minimalization ultimately also means dealing with life and death, and what's left after death. I'll get to that in a moment.
- There are archives that are not spontaneously accessible. Many such archives are operated as museums, which in turn often have their own libraries and archives or are supplied from private collections.
- There are rental areas, some of which even offer machines or vehicles. DIY stores and rental companies are their competitors. But if it's just a drill, a stroller or roller skates, a neighbor, a cycling store or a second-hand dealer is often a better address.
- More and more is being offered online, albeit often licensed and limited. But the scattering effect to use existing knowledge or experience is enormous. And often just a little knowledge or experience in dealing with research networks helps to find a suitable outpost, to simply try out a book, an instrument or a game for yourself.
- Traveling exhibitions complement the spectrum, in which artifacts of concrete themes are put together and housed for a time in museums, libraries, or foyers. Isn't that lobbying altogether?
- And last but not least, events take place in all places that attract users to the places and thus ultimately also cultivate supporters and relationships.
All this exists not only in the so-called public space, but also in private. For each of us more or less. And for each of us more or less well organized. What we leave behind when we leave our own bodies is ultimately a question of organization - and perhaps also institution.
Many public libraries, however, also bring with them a much crucial disadvantage, as far as Deschooling is concerned, which is widely known but seldom noted: they are financed by coercive means. This would probably not be particularly remarkable if schools, prisons, and ultimately wars were not financed from the same coercive funds. For then the burden of such coercive funds, and the inflation and despotism that accompany them, would surely be noticeably less.
My approach to Deschooling, however, is not to complain about unlovable contexts, but to better organize lovable contexts. Because if coercive means are not necessary to run libraries, prisons, schools and ultimately war, ultimately everyone has the choice to join in or leave it alone. And not only a few times a year but every day. Even every day several times.
As a side note, this also means that everyone is allowed to make their own mistakes instead of bleeding for the mistakes of others or despairing over them. I recently came across an enlightening remark:
I am not interested in the destructive aspects of anger, but in the liberating and transformative ones.
Emphasizing such a remark or putting it in new light is also something that is done in libraries, as well as museums and concert halls. In the context of unschooling, it is often called strewing. In institutions, it's called curating. This is particularly noteworthy to me here because it is an important part of publishing at Hive. If you have an account, you're able to curate other people's creations and comments, whether it's through an upvote or a comment, and in turn receive curation.
If you are interested now, from whom this remark comes, I may come up immediately with a further example which is relevant to me here. Because for me it is not important who does something, but what someone does, and whether someone can imitate it in order to make it their own. Libraries make it possible to trace or research this in equal measure.
The example I have in mind vividly is grown out of the culture or cult around Satoshi Nakamoto, and is expressed in the example of Craig Steven Wright. Satoshi Nakamoto has undoubtedly created an institution. In the meantime even inspired many institutions. Things and events take on a life of their own. But in the end, it doesn't even matter who initiated the relations that are becoming everyday life for us today. Craig Wright is a welcome example of how events can take on a life of their own - not to mention far more disgusting political examples. If a Mr. Wright is really Nakamoto and published the programming in 2009, then this could be proved with confirmation of private keys. All arguments are superfluous and merely costly. In this respect I wonder very much, to stay with the example, why a Bitcoin Satoshi Vision, BSV for short, is not called Bitcoin Wright Vision, BWV for short. In the end, however, I'm sure it just doesn't matter when it comes to using Bitcoin. It no longer needs Satoshi to be useful, no matter in what flavor. And it is, in a fascinating way, both free to copy and copy-protected at the same time. Simply put, permissionless.
I welcome anyone and anything that cares enough to abolish itself. Hive is currently the perfect place for this, because Hive works permissionless. That means no one has to ask permission to do anything with it themselves. As a Hive community, what is written here now is also open to permissionless additions. And if there is reason not to add anything here, then that is also possible without permission.
And now let's go: What is written here may be freely copied, modified and used, whether privately or publicly. Everybody do this under their own name or pseudonym. I will enjoy everything that follows, no matter if it is translations into all languages of this world or if it is simply passed on unnoticed. What is not desired or overtaxes me, is first explored, observed or simply ignored.
Another Deschooling Library is hereby opened. Actually, it has always been, but now consciously and hopefully soon more organized. I am already looking forward to visiting others and browsing through them. Financial as well as intellectual recognition is welcome here and will hopefully be applied within Hive or archived for the benefit of the network.