From an important life-force of early civilization and an ancient crafter of community, beer was, like many things under our current economic system, disfigured and twisted by the forces of the market and the drive for profit. In their latest episode, Upstream takes a close look at this story, starting in ancient Mesopotamia and tracing… Continue reading
Date archives "May 2017"
Patterns of Commoning: Farm Hack: A Commons for Agricultural Innovation
Dorn Cox: In 2011, a community of farmers, designers, developers, engineers, architects, roboticists and open source thinkers came together in Boston, Massachusetts, to explore a simple yet radical idea – that great improvements in agriculture could be achieved by reducing barriers to knowledge exchange. They were convinced that transforming agricultural technology into a commons would… Continue reading
Sharing the global commons
Guaranteeing access to essential goods and services for all people would go a long way to establishing a global economy that serves the common good, but it falls short of ensuring that the overarching economic framework is inherently fair and environmentally sustainable. New economic arrangements also need to reverse decades of privatisation, corporate control and… Continue reading
Thriving communities & the solidarity economy
A green economy is not an end in itself. Rather, […] it is a means towards a shared and lasting prosperity. But what exactly does prosperity mean? We propose a definition of prosperity in terms of the capabilities that people have to flourish on a finite planet. It is clear that a part of our… Continue reading
What Quebec Can Teach Us About Creating a More Equitable Economy
Cross-posted from Shareable. Jay Walljasper: Welcome to everyday life in Quebec — Canada’s second largest province with 8.2 million people. Here: Business owners gather at an elegant Montreal event center to celebrate the 20th anniversary of a large-scale economic partnership. The former chief of Quebec’s largest bank is the guest of honor. Sidewalks bustle with people walking… Continue reading
Nine Key Political Propositions for Building the Commons
The following piece is extracted from a series of reviews on Common: An Essay on Revolution in the 21st Century, a book by Pierre Dardot and Christian Laval, from which Martin O’Shaughnessy summarizes the authors´ nine political propositions: In an earlier post (here), I summed up Dardot and Laval’s position on how we should think the common…. Continue reading
Creativity and the Commons
Max Haiven: French realist painter Gustave Courbet is, at first glance, the quintessential modern artistic persona: arrogant, iconoclastic, moody, brilliant and individualistic. He was also an anarchist who, in 1871, served as the short-lived Paris Commune’s de facto Minister of Culture, developing programs that empowered artists and opened museums and galleries to the public. It… Continue reading
Yochai Benkler (Harvard University) – Closing Remarks OuiShare Fest 2016
While working on our recent article, From Platform to Open Cooperativism, I recalled this memorable closing speech given by Yochai Benkler at the the 2016 OuiShare Fest in Paris. In these closing remarks, Benkler exhorts those present to work together on integrating the commons into the business models and practices. “For cooperatives…there’s a real temptation… Continue reading
Degrowth in Movements: Climate Justice
By Tadzio Müller; translated by Kate Bell. Originally published on Degrowth.de Global Resistance to Fossil-Fuelled Capitalism 1. What is the key idea of the climate justice movement? We are not all in the same boat: The climate crisis as a crisis of justice What is climate change about? First and foremost, justice! The best symbol… Continue reading
Patterns of Commoning: The Ten Principles of Burning Man
Larry Harvey: Burning Man is a self-organized week-long gathering of more than 60,000 anarchists, technologists, artists, urban designers and other creative people that has convened in the desolate Nevada desert since 1995. It is notable for its massive and daring artworks, flamboyant performances and radical self-expression, and for its influence on many “real world” activities… Continue reading
ROI: Return On Intention
We believe in trust more than we believe in the truth. We trust in the ways things used to be, so we keep on trampling over blooming flowers while chasing dying leaves to get us there. Innovations to provide for everyone, arrives exponentially everyday, yet they are less and less accessible to a frustrated population… Continue reading
3 Steps to Building Just Transition Now with a Permanent Community Energy Cooperative
By Subin Varghese, Community Renewable Energy Director Step 1. Start now Don’t wait. That’s rule #1 for living in a world where we’re already feeling the impacts of climate change; millions of lives and livelihoods are at risk — or stand to benefit from solutions — in this and future decades. We needed a just… Continue reading
Commons Transition and P2P: a Primer
The Commons is a concept and practice that has been steadily gathering increased attention and advocates. Deeply rooted in human history, it’s difficult to settle on a single definition that covers its broad potential for social, economic, cultural and political change. The Commons is now demonstrating its power as a “key ingredient” for change in… Continue reading
What Makes an Empty Building in Naples a Commons?
Marta Cillero: The Neapolitan Administration defines common goods as “the tangible and intangible assets of collective belonging that are managed in a shared, participatory process and which is committed to ensuring the collective enjoyment of common goods and their preservation for the benefit of future generations.” Behind any “rebel city” there is an active structure of… Continue reading
Book of the Day: Lean Logic: A Dictionary for the Future and How to Survive It
Five years ago I obtained an extraordinary 736 page book called Lean Logic: A Dictionary For The Future and How To Survive It. Written over a thirty year period by the English ecologist David Fleming, the book had been published in a limited edition after the author’s untimely death. Now, thanks to an heroic, expert… Continue reading
International Labor Office releases report on future of work
Cross-posted from Platform.Coop The International Labor Office has released a proposal for “a three-stage implementation plan” for a cooperative future of work. You can find the summary of their report on The Future of Work Centenary Initiative here, and the report in full here. Cooperative responses to technological changes Technological change is recognized as a… Continue reading