Have a look at what the Allianza Solidaria housing coop in south Quito is doing, looks very much like what you propose.

That’s a tall order – and it also implies a commitment to politics as it would involve major policy changes. I wouldn’t say that won’t happen, and if you could win political power, change could be pretty quick. But I would not be optimistic about that especially since, as you recognise in your piece, the current efforts haven’t even come to terms with the necessary internal processes or ideology to sustain them.

However I am optimistic about a different approach.

Rather than basing your strategy on political power and on a superhuman committement from now exhausted apostles, there’s a massive cohort with abundant energy which even rights wing governments would love to motivate – the unemployed.

This group is a real worry for the current system when you consider the growing imact of robots & the globalisation of UNemployment. Furthermore many in this group already live on ‘commons’ in the form of public housing which makes them a double liability for taxpayers.

So here is an idea that would not threaten “the system” with systemic restructuring, an idea it would resist and therefore delay with all its might.

What if public housing & its tenants could become a social, economic & environmental asset in exchange for the security which the state is already finding too expensive to maintain?

To encourage tenant participation & voluntary community work are in line with current government thinking – it might be easier to push this a little further than to embark on a campaign for systemic restructuring. (see http://landrights4all.weebly.com/change-centrelinks-activity-test.html)

Through this tenant participation could be recognised, “commoning” could begin on a sustainable level & be an attraction to neighbourhoods. (see http://landrights4all.weebly.com/neighbourhoods-that-work.html)

For further ideas on why govrnment would do it, see http://landrights4all.weebly.com/why-would-government-do-it.html

Regards
Chris Baulman
@landrights4all (Twitter)