On Commoning
We transform the very meaning of public and private by daring to proclaim the communal sphere as existing, real, and growing, evolving, and necessary.
the commons
Stone Age Economics
By examining the lives of ancient peoples, Stone Age Economics questions the Western paradigm of ‘economic progress’ because, in terms of the individual, things may not have improved so radically after all.
Foraging
But I’d like to be able to take what I need out of the garden and then, rather than fretting over all the veg that will go to waste because I can’t eat it or store it, just open it up to the neighborhood.
Ruangrupa Introduces the Spirit of ‘Lumbung’ to International Art
This 15th edition of documenta (“documenta 15”) confirms that commoning is surging as a way to re-imagine the political economy of art-making.
How private corporations stole the sea from the commons
My new book, ‘The Blue Commons’, argues that the only way to stop – and reverse – the destruction and depletion of marine resources and ecosystems is to revive the ethos of the sea as a commons, managed for the benefit of all by those whose lives and livelihoods depend on it.
The Charter of the Forest inspires our future
Unlike the Magna Carta, pertaining to the rights of barons, the Charter of the Forest addressed the rights of common people; it restricted the amount of land that the king could claim for private use and restored common rights to common natural resources.
Lord of the Swans: The Tragedy of the Enclosure of the Commons (Episode 52 of Crazy Town}
The “tragedy of the commons” is an idea that has so thoroughly seeped into culture and law that it seems normal for people and corporations to own land, water, and even whole ecosystems. But there’s a BIG problem: the “tragedy” part of it has been debunked – it really should be the triumph of the commons.
Farewell to Christopher Alexander, Edgar Cahn, and Gustavo Esteva
In recent weeks, we commoners have lost three great visionaries. Each spawned robust institutions and movements to carry their visions forward; the continuing vitality of their projects confirm that their spirits remain very much with us. We should pause to reflect on and celebrate their towering contributions.
Common Knowledge: Big tech and the digital commons
The development of the digital commons, with its denial of the exclusive rights of the owner to appropriate its value privately and exclusively, was seen as either exciting or frightening, depending on one’s perspective.
The Radical Open Access Collective: Building Better Knowledge Commons
The Radical Open Access Collective is one of the key forces trying to show how commoning in scientific and scholarly publishing can actually work.
Tragedy of the Uncommons (Part 1)
What the “property as investment” people never seem to learn is that you don’t need to earn money if you have a good life…
Because investors? They’re only chasing after some future dollar that will never buy them a home.
The Significance of Emancipated Neighborhoods for the Project of Direct Democracy
When the inhabitants of a certain neighborhood or complex of buildings manage to institute a radically different mode of collective co-existance, then the self-managed units, of which Castoriadis speaks, begin to emerge.