Insight and inspiration in turbulent times.
Ann Marie Utratel The Commons is maturing politically, its methods and principles becoming more visible and its participants winning municipal elections in a variety of European cities. How did this happen, and what happens next? First, a look at our present political context, and then some observations on the birth and trajectory of this new wave of commons politics.
The jury is still out on my 2017 gardening season, but I can definitely attest to the fact that vegetables will grow in round hay bales. This looks like my best gardening year ever, using raised “lasagna” or “keyhole garden” beds, cardboard/mulch/hay for potatoes, and the 4 X 6 round hay bales.
Over the last few months I have been working with my co-director of the Simplicity Institute, Simon Ussher, collecting together provocative and inspiring quotes and excerpts from our favourite thinkers and writers, related to the themes of simple living, frugal abundance, money and wealth, crisis, mindfulness, nature mysticism and sacred activism.
The storm last week was a whirling dervish that came through with such force that the windows and walls shuddered, the trees swayed, and at least one neighbor was left looking for the roof of his barn. It arrived as an unexpected guest, late last Saturday night.
With his novel Retrotopia, John Michael Greer seeks to challenge the perceptions most people have of technology. His aim is partly to spur awareness about what “technology” actually is, since we’re so used to seeing it equated with electronic gizmos that we tend to have a limited sense of it.
A lot has been written these last several days about the meaning, motivation and consequence of Trump’s decision to pull the U.S. out of the Paris Climate Accord; much more will be. The decision is unfortunate at many levels–not, however, at all levels.
When the refugee crisis reached its zenith in 2016, it was these communes that took the first steps toward providing housing for refugees. They occupied abandoned houses in the nearby area, cleaning up and restoring plumbing, and creating enough space to house hundreds of people, mostly women and children.
In San Juan, Puerto Rico, government, residents, and technical professionals created a Community Land Trust (CLT), known locally as Fideicomiso de la Tierra, to preserve and develop informal communities along the Martín Peña Canal.
We face a profoundly uncertain future, but all we really need for the road ahead is our moral compass and our deep and abiding love. I am asking you—I am begging you—to think about what that means to you, and what you can do rise to the challenge. My life, and your life, and all the life around us—they’re worth fighting for.
All too often, critics speak of neoliberalism as a coercive, external force lying somewhere ‘out there’ in the political landscape. But many of us increasingly and voluntarily govern our lives in a manner mirroring the logic of the market. Is it any wonder, then, that this ideology has become so naturalised, and the alternatives so hard to see?
There’s a lot of agitated Facebook chatter among my political friends locally about the labyrinthine tactical voting logics and ways of trying to stop Brexit in its tracks, while others claim to feel politically homeless and unrepresented by the political parties. What, only just now? Ah well, let’s get an election post out of the way…
Read between the lines. “Make America Great Again” roughly translates to: “Don’t look to Washington for examples, guidance, inspiration, or help—especially now. It’s up to you. Get to work!” Thanks for upping our dedication and zeal, Mr. President.
