Bologna, a Laboratory for Urban Commoning. Anarchist anthropologist David Graeber argues in his recent book, The Utopia of Rules, that bureaucracy is the standard mechanism in contemporary life for coercing people to comply with the top-down priorities of institutions, especially corporations and government.
Anyone concerned with the commons, therefore, must eventually address the realities of bureaucratic power and the feasible alternatives. Is there a more human, participatory alternative that can actually work? The Rise of Anti-Capitalism. Photo WE are beginning to witness a paradox at the heart of capitalism, one that has propelled it to greatness but is now threatening its future: The inherent dynamism of competitive markets is bringing costs so far down that many goods and services are becoming nearly free, abundant, and no longer subject to market forces.
While economists have always welcomed a reduction in marginal cost, they never anticipated the possibility of a technological revolution that might bring those costs to near zero. Reflections on Art of Hosting and the Commons. Link between Art of Hosting and Commons - The Art of Hosting. Education and research for a commons culture & social renewal. Reclaiming the Great Lakes as a Commons. A new approach to protecting water for everyone--including future generations By Alexa Bradley & Julie Ristau Alexa Bradley and Julie Ristau chronicle the historic gathering On the Commons co-hosted at the University of Notre Dame this fall, where leaders from all around the lakes met to reestablish a cooperative approach to governance—one based on community-driven decision making, ecological stewardship, and equitable use—in the watershed of the Great Lakes.
This article originally appeared in Kosmos: the Journal for Global Citizens Creating the New Civilization , a publication that aims to inform, inspire and engage individual and collective participation in a global shift of a higher-order consciousness toward the transformation of our political, economic, cultural and social structures. Kosmos describes itself as “a conduit of hope, inspiration and solutions for the common good.”