The five levels of the global commons

This is excerpted from a proposal by alice khatiba:

“As everything else the organigram of the impending global commons will not be an invention of especially clever social engineers, but merely an emerging structure, something that is already here, has been around for ages, and just has to be found and picked up. Following Ockham’s advice, the social forms would be of a minimal number. What we find are, as far as I can see, just five organisational social modules, which can articulate a functioning commons.

1 – synergetic neighborhoods (villages, city-blocks etc.) of about 500 individuals, providing lodging, food (via a partnership in the country – 90 ha under European conditions), media, social spaces, free guest rooms etc. These synergems (or bolos (9), as I called them in an older text) can be as culturally diverse as we wish, but must be open, democratic and respecting ecological limits (1000 W per capita). They’re echos of those premodern village communities that were dismanteled by capitalism.

2- democratic communal areas (small towns, city boroughs: politems) of ten to twenty synergems (or tega, in bolo’bolo). This is the area of public services, smaller regional industries (organized as common enterprises of synergems), local politics (an echo of the Greek polis), “good governance”.

3 – agrourban regions (metropolitem) of hundreds of thousands or millions of inhabitants, depending on historical conditions: New York City or Zurich. These regions provide such vital metropolitan services as operas, universities, museums, luxury shops, world class restaurants, stadiums etc. The region (up to 200 km circumference) contains most of the agricultaral partners mentioned under 1.

4 – autonomous territories of roughly 40’000 km2, and 10 million inhabitants (in the case of NY, this would coincide with the metropolitem). This is the area of public services for transportation, emergency aid, regional industries (breweries, building materials, energy, water etc.). The AT can combine on subcontinets for train systems, high tech industries, pharmaceutical industry etc. The ATs make those big nations, that cause so much trouble, redundant.

5 – one planetary organisation to manage what’s left: mainly the distribution of ressources, problems between territories, emergency aid, global transportation networks, scientific research etc.”

1 Comment The five levels of the global commons

  1. AvatarFranz Nahrada

    Of course this reiterating of bolo’bolo has a weak point, and thats the 1000 watts rule. I am still convinced that its mechanistic and not aware of natures true potential.

    The autonomous territories mirror Christopher Alexanders first pattern in “A pattern Language” – and should really be taken serious.

Leave A Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.