Peer Production and Prosumerism as a Model for the Future Organization of General Interest Services Provision in Developed Countries

Based on the examples of two collectives preparing lunches and giving them for free with an option of donation at Montreal universities, this article considers how services of general interest could be organized in an alternative way—namely how the combination of paid and unpaid work, spontaneous work involving high number of volunteers, and the dissociation of annual income from sale of output can serve as a model for providing needed public services. The probable expansion of such services in the future is supported by several current trends in the developed countries: for example, underemployment of human resources, a new work ethos, and the democratic deficit inherent in the current system of service provision by state or market providers. This article applies the case study method to illustrate citizens’ attitudes and to consider what structural and organizational changes may be needed to set up an alternative form of service provision potentially applicable to other venues.