Back in the 1970s, with unemployment rising and British industry contracting, workers at the arms company Lucas Aerospace came up with a pioneering plan to retain jobs by proposing alternative, socially-useful applications of the company’s technology and their own skills. The ‘Lucas Plan’ remains one of the most radical and forward thinking attempts ever made by workers… Continue reading
Creative workers in the so-called ‘passion industries’ are likely to have no control other their artistic work, experience precarity, and be poorly paid. While artist co-operatives have a long history, Stocksy, a multistakeholder co-operative, are combining an inclusive legal structure with a globally distributed membership. Jonny Gordon-Farleigh: Stocksy United is a stock photography multistakeholder co-operative launched… Continue reading
Cross-posted from Shareable. Adrien Labaeye: Here’s the problem: The internet was initially built as a peer-to-peer network, but commercial interests changed it into a highly market-driven system over time. Domains are one reason for this change. Top-level domains such as .com and .net became resources that were used to make a profit. In the past couple… Continue reading
In my previous post, I explained why we need to change incentive structures if we want to build companies that are a force for good in society. There are several ways to do this. At Sharetribe, we’ve opted for a structure called steward-ownership. In this post, I’ll dive into the background of the model, how… Continue reading
In this extract, from a text originally published in Truthdig, Chris Hedges examines why the Silicon Valley elite is so keen on installing a Basic Income… while never questioning their power, privilege or toll on the Earth. For more opinions on this subject (good and bad) please check out our special category page on UBI…. Continue reading
These 9 experiences have been selected after an evaluation process of all the initiatives that applied to our Open Call. 32 of them are portrayed in the Atlas of Utopias. The evaluation was carried out by a multidisciplinary and multinational team of evaluators. The goal of the voting is not to put one experience above others; there… Continue reading
Finally, a designated global event to celebrate the commons and explore it in serious ways! The International Association for the Study of the Commons – the academic body founded by the late Professor Elinor Ostrom and other scholars – is helping organize World Commons Week from October 4 to 12. At many locations around the world, commoners will host… Continue reading
This article, the latest installment in the Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion Series co-sponsored by YNPN and NPQ, was originally published by NPQ online, on January 5, 2018. Used with permission. Megan Hafner and Elizabeth Ramaccia: Far too many young people in the United States today are growing up without tangible examples of people impacted by a… Continue reading
Introduction Sam DeJohn: Recently, Pablo Soto Bravo, Madrid City Council Member, computer programmer and the city’s lead for public engagement, spoke at an event in New York on “Restoring Trust in Government” on the occasion of the United Nations General Assembly. “Why should we trust government,” he asked, adding “the people don’t trust governments…they’re right not… Continue reading
We talk about making ‘communities stronger’ and creating a ‘fairer economy.’ But these approaches are still struggling to significantly impact our society and economy — 80% of the UK’s freelancers are living in poverty, Black African women earn 19.6% less than White British Men, 27 pubs are closing every week as part of a wider… Continue reading
Rob Hopkins tells the great story about the Belgian city of Liege, with an exemplary series of food transition projects. It was originally published in Rob’s blog: Imagination Taking Power. Rob Hopkins: Something really amazing is happening in Liége in Belgium. I was last there 4 years ago, where I gave talks and did meetings in… Continue reading
This is a draft section for our forthcoming paper on “The Continuing Promise of the Noösphere and Noöpolitik — Twenty Years After. Republished from Materials for Two Theories: TIMN and STA:C Notes about the noosphere and noopolitik — #7: new hope for the noosphere and noopolitik — the global commons UPDATE — May 4, 2018:… Continue reading
In Barcelona, high-tech data platforms generate demand for old-fashioned community development. Adrian Smith: Residents living around Plaça del Sol joke that theirs is the only square where, despite the name, rain is preferable. Rain means fewer people gather to socialise and drink, reducing noise for the flats overlooking the square. Residents know this with considerable… Continue reading
The councilor for Citizen Participation, Transparency and Open Government of the City of Madrid, Pablo Soto, explains the municipal participation model Decide Madrid in a round table discussion, “Open Government to renew democracy and rebuild the confidence of citizens.” This talk was included in the Open Government Partnership day, held in parallel to the 72nd… Continue reading
Della Duncan: Here’s the problem – According to a 2012 report by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development, 40 percent of the world’s population will be “living in river basins experiencing severe water stress” by the year 2050. While most of these areas will be responding to a reduction of both surface and groundwater, others… Continue reading
In Europe and beyond, the hegemonic liberal vision that has hitherto dominated global politics is being challenged. This impetus is not emerging from nation-states themselves, but from new alliances and constellations of power that fight the inertia of the nation-state. Today it is especially in cities that new conceptions of citizenship, development and sovereignty are… Continue reading