Think Like a Commoner

A new world based on fairness, participation, accountability is closer than you thinkif you learn to think like a commoner

The biggest "tragedy of the commons" is the misconception that commons are failures-relics from another era rendered unnecessary by the Market and State. Think Like a Commoner dispels such prejudices by explaining the rich history and promising future of the commons-an ageless paradigm of cooperation and fairness that is re-making our world.

With graceful prose and dozens of fascinating stories, Bollier describes the quiet revolution that is pioneering practical forms of self-governance and production controlled by people themselves. Think Like a Commoner explains how the commons:

• Is an exploding field of DIY innovation ranging from Wikipedia and seed-sharing to community forests and collaborative consumption, and beyond
• Challenges the standard narrative of market economics by explaining how cooperation generates significant value and human fulfillment

• Provides a framework of law and social action that can help us move beyond the pathologies of neoliberal capitalism. We have a choice: Ignore the commons and suffer the ongoing private plunder of our common wealth. Or Think Like a Commoner and learn how to rebuild our society and reclaim our shared inheritance. This accessible, comprehensive introduction to the commons will surprise and enlighten you, and provoke you to action.

Autorentext

David Bollier, is an author, activist, blogger and independent scholar who has studied the commons as a transformative paradigm for fifteen years. He is co-founder of the Commons Strategies Group, co-director of the Commons Law Project, and a frequent speaker and strategy advisor. Bollier is an author and editor of six books on different aspects of the commons, including Green Governance, The Wealth of the Commons and Viral Spiral. He blogs at www.Bollier.org and lives in Amherst, Massachusetts.

Inhalt

Introduction

1. The Rediscovery of the Commons
2. The Tyranny of the "Tragedy" Myth
3. Enclosure and the Commons
4. Enclosures of Public Spaces and Infrastructure
5. Enclosures of Knowledge and Culture
6. The Eclipsed History of the Commons
7. The Empire of Private Property
8. The Rise of Digital Commons
9. Many Galaxies of Commons
10. The Commons as a Different Way of Seeing and Being

11. The Future of the Commons

    The Commons, Short and Sweet
    The Logic of the Commons and the Market
    Further Reading on the Commons
    Leading Websites on the Commons
    Acknowledgments
    Index
    About the Author