Menzies - Reclaiming the commons for the common good : a memoir & manifesto

Praise for

Reclaiming the Commons for the Common Good

Its an admirable, even noble, vision, and expresses very eloquently what will have to be done if humanity is to escape the current race towards disaster. Theres not much time, and its a huge task. I hope that this book has the impact it deserves.

Noam Chomsky, linguist, philosopher, political theorist, MIT

When the great Crash, ecologic or economic, comes, Heather Menzies brilliant critique, provides an understanding of why it came about and a path towards a truly sustainable way for humanity to live on the planet.

David Suzuki, author, Wisdom of the Elders and The Sacred Balance

A book made for today. Menzies marks the trail for deep participation in the healing of soul, community and creation, drawing from ancient wisdom, fine scholarship and contemporary practices of hope. An inspiring and pragmatic contribution toward meeting the greatest spiritual challenges of our time.

Mardi Tindal, former moderator, United Church of Canada

This is a splendid, lyrical book exciting, well-written, scholarly and inspirational all at once Grounded in practical experience and sound scholarship, this book is a welcome addition to commons literature.

Susan J. Buck, Ph.D., past president,

International Association for the Study of the Commons (IASC),

Associate Professor of Political Science,

University of North Carolina - Greensboro

The constitutional principle of compelling national interest that is invoked by governments to ensure progress and development has invariably been at the expense of local-communities and local environments. As a result, the fabric of reality is damaged and torn. This damage and tearing is known by many names and phrases; climate change, war, genocide, colonization, environmental degradation, and perhaps most appropriately as the tragedy of the commons. Reclaiming the Commons for the Common Good represents, for me, a first baby-step toward repairing the breach to wholeness and toward restoring ancient pathways supported both by a scientific theory of common ancestry and indigenous story of creation held-in-common.

Eugene Richard Atleo (Umeek)

Like most thoughtful post-2008 observers, Menzies is a trenchant critic of the neoliberal version of capitalism for its destruction of community life, degradation of the environment and accelerating inequality. Unlike most, however, she presents a seamlessly argued alternative vision. Drawing on her Scottish roots, Aboriginal history, current movements like Idle No More, environmental and social justice activist practices in many countries, and Google-friendly networks, she calls upon individuals to change the world by engaging locally within this complex matrix. She contends that its possible, if not easy, to re-establish communities whose prevailing ethic is the common good. This would allow for markets; but instead of continuing to dominate, they would be subordinated to societys local and national priorities. A powerful challenge to the to the still prevailing ideology.

Ed Broadbent, chair, Broadbent Institute, and former leader,

New Democratic Party of Canada

Copyright 2014 by Heather Menzies.

All rights reserved.

Cover design by Diane McIntosh.

Cover image: A grazing common land behind Ben Lawrs in the Tay River Valley of Scotland where Heathers ancestors would have pastured their sheep and cows for the summer. Photo: Heather Menzies

First printing March 2014.

New Society Publishers acknowledges the financial support of the Government of Canada through the Canada Book Fund (CBF) for our publishing activities.

Paperback ISBN: 978-0-86571-758-9

eISBN: 978-1-55092-558-6

Inquiries regarding requests to reprint all or part of Reclaiming the Commons for the Common Good should be addressed to New Society Publishers at the address below.

To order directly from the publishers, please call toll-free (North America)

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Any other inquiries can be directed by mail to:

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(250) 247-9737

New Society Publishers mission is to publish books that contribute in fundamental ways to building an ecologically sustainable and just society, and to do so with the least possible impact on the environment, in a manner that models this vision. We are committed to doing this not just through education, but through action. The interior pages of our bound books are printed on Forest Stewardship Council-registered acid-free paper that is 100% post-consumer recycled (100% old growth forest-free), processed chlorine-free, and printed with vegetable-based, low-VOC inks, with covers produced using FSC-registered stock. New Society also works to reduce its carbon footprint, and purchases carbon offsets based on an annual audit to ensure a carbon neutral footprint. For further information, or to browse our full list of books and purchase securely, visit our website at: www.newsociety.com

Library and Archives Canada Cataloguing in Publication

Menzies, Heather, 1949-, author

Reclaiming the commons for the common good : a memoir & manifesto / Heather Menzies.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Issued in print and electronic formats

ISBN 978-0-86571-758-9 (pbk.).ISBN 978-1-55092-558-6 (ebook)

1. CommonsScotlandHighlands. 2. CommonsAnecdotes. 3. Highlands (Scotland)Biography. 4. Highlands (Scotland)Description and travel. 5. Menzies, Heather, 1949-. 6. Menzies, Heather, 1949- Family. 7. Menzies, Heather, 1949-TravelScotlandHighlands. 8. Authors, Canadian (English)20th centuryBiography. I. Title.

For all our relations, human and non-human, and the ancestral spirits that sustain them, in loving memory of my father, Donald Menzies, and what he had inscribed on a rock, and for my son, Donald, with love

Table of Contents

I GREW UP ON PHRASES LIKE COMMON AS DIRT. When I was young and eager to go out on dates, my mother warned me to be careful lest I be considered common, meaning cheap, available, readily used and then discarded. I didnt know that common originally meant a way of living on the land. Nor did I know that my ancestors in the Highlands of Scotland lived that way, in self-governing commons where they farmed and pastured their sheep together. The word common originally meant together-as-one, shared alike and bound together by obligation. This togetherness was not only with each other, but with the land itself