I've been thinking about starting up a computer collective/co-op. So many of us easily trade freedom for security in our day-to-day jobs. I know personally that I make a (tiny) fraction of what I'm billed out for. I've been listening to a lot of anarcho-socialist stuff lately (lots of Utah Phillips and Ani DiFranco's combos) and being generally disgruntled about that disparity. I mean, sure, my boss started out risking his own personal worth, and ultimately he owns the capital resources, but aren't we both intimately entwined in this whole venture? Who needs who more? The risk is entirely his. I can more easily find new work than he can find new capital. Should this all fail, I'm looking at a job hunt, while he's looking at bankruptcy. I'm in a strong muddle about all this.

I feel that there is a better way. Sometimes it seems that the key to being a successful freelancer is akin to being a remora, and finding a successful external company to latch onto as the "consultant".

I would like to be a part of something like Garp's Mom's place. I want to form a "Zac's Home for Wayward Sysadmins/Programmers". A big old antebellum house wired with ethernet everywhere, a big fat SDSL line, and lots and lots of servers. I want a place where programmers on the lamb (or just exploring) can stop by for a few nights or weeks. Where they can learn one-on-one with other programmers. Oh, hell. It'd be great for fiction, I guess. Not very realistic, though.

Mostly, I just want something different. I suppose we all have dreams of working independently from the sea shore with our wirelessly networked laptops, guzzling Rum drinks while collaborating with fellow hackers across the globe. All while getting a fat check in the (albeit slow) Caribbean post...

Personally, I think that Anarchy can work on a local level. Where everyone knows everyone. I can imagine that a tight group of dedicated individuals can make a distributed profit-generating co-op feasible today.

Anyone interested?