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David Bollier - Think Like a Commoner

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The biggest tragedy of the commons is the misconception that commons are failuresrelics 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 commonsan ageless paradigm of cooperation and fairness that is re-making our world.With graceful prose and dozens of fascinating stories, David 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, 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 capitalismWe 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.David Bollier is an author, activist, blogger, and independent scholar. He is the author of six books on different aspects of the commons, including Green Governance, The Wealth of the Commons, and Viral Spiral, and is a frequent speaker at conferences, colleges and universities, and policy workshops.ReviewThe Commons is among the most important and hopeful concepts of our time, and once youve read this book youll understand why!---Bill McKibben, author Deep EconomyThink Like a Commoner is a brilliant, accessible, practical, path-breaking intellectual tour de force. A defining contribution to the New Economy movement and an essential read for everyone who cares about the human future. I expect to return to it as a basic reference for years to come.---David Korten, author, Agenda for a New Economy, board chair YES! Magazine, and co-chair, New Economy Working GroupForeword Review Spring 2014, Anna Call February 27, 2014Straightforward political and business models for a reconciliation of natural resources opens the door for social activists and common armchair readers alike.Think Like a Commoner is a brief history and explanation of the commons, which are mutually held, collectively managed property. Though this concept may seem alien to modern eyes, managing commons is a long-held tradition that has included forests, water, air, and other natural resources that technically dont belong to anyone. David Bollier describes the history of the commons and projects its future as a possible fixture of modern life. His ultimate aim is to educate, but this extremely clear and fascinating work may serve just as well to galvanize.This book stresses enclosure, which some economists might recognize as resource grabbing, as both a critical attack on resources and a primary cause of poverty. Resources once held in common, like British forests and California water, are attractive enough to perpetrators of business ventures that they tend to be unilaterally claimed, which is not necessarily fair to the people who once relied on them. The most strident example cited in this book is the British woodlands, which had supported a nation of peasants with free wood and food but were eventually claimed for the exclusive use of British aristocracy.Bolliers statements against the destruction of common property are particularly effective in that they are backed up by facts, examples, rational argument, and compromise. Even dyed-in-the-wool capitalists may find themselves intrigued. Though he criticizes large-scale political and commercial structures for their role in the erosion of the commons, Bollier presents a number of useful ideas, as well as his own opinions, on how to reconcile the commons with current business and government models in such a way that everyone wins. This perspective is refreshing in activism, where even leaders are often all-or-nothing absolutists.Think Like a Commoner is extraordinarily well structured. Though the concept of common property is hardly simple, Bolliers explanations, well supported by multiple examples, are so straightforward that even high school students will find this book easy to understand.As an introduction to a massive topic, this book serves admirably as a quick review, an informative tract, and an appetizer all at once. While Think Like a Commoner wont make or break any experts, it certainly opens the door; interested readers will find plenty to fill their time with in the extremely comprehensive reading list included in the back matter.The commons is truly the new paradigm, the missing third link for the reform of civilization. But the commons is not a thing, but above all the expression of a cultural revolution and of subjective changes. David Bollier has done a great job of explaining the importance of this great cultural shift.---Michel Bauwens, Founder, Foundation for Peer-to-Peer AlternativesOur world is in need of reviving an ancient wisdom if it is to survive. David Bollier has a beautiful, bold but practical vision for our commons future and lights the path forward. I love this book!---Maude Barlow, National Chairperson of the Council of Canadians; international water activistIt probably surprises you to know that the wealth we own together as a commons is far more valuable than the wealth that we and corporations own separately. Corporations know this and have commercialized or taken control of what we the people own such as the public airwaves, the public lands, our genes and trillions of dollars of knowledge (eg. research and development) paid for by taxpayers for starters. For this and more you must read Bolliers brilliant distillation of the huge variety of commons and how we can take control of what we own in order to transform our economy for us, our posterity and the planet. Once you pick it up, youll tremble with the excitement of what we all own in the form of the commons that somehow escaped our notice in our years of formal education.---Ralph Nader, Consumer advocate and author, Unstoppable: The Emerging Left-Right Alliance to Dismantle the Corporate StateFrom the Back CoverA new world based on fairness, self-reliance and pride is closer than you thinkif you learn to think like a commoner!The Commons is among the most important and hopeful concepts of our time, and once youve read this book youll understand why! ---Bill McKibben, author Deep EconomyThink Like a Commoner is a brilliant, accessible, practical, path-breaking intellectual tour de force. an essential read for everyone who cares about the human future. ---David Korten, author, Agenda for a New Economy, board chair YES! Magazine, and co-chair, New Economy Working GroupWith graceful prose and dozens of fascinating stories, Bollier introduces the people, projects and vision now spawning a global movement. Think Like a Commoner explains how the commons: Challenges the standard narrative of contemporary market economics Provides a framework of law and social action that can help us move beyond neoliberal capitalism Is an exploding field of DIY innovation ranging from Wikipedia and seed-sharing to community forests and collaborative consumption, and beyond.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 you, enlighten you, and provoke you to action.Our world is in need of reviving an ancient wisdom if it is to survive. David Bollier has a beautiful, bold but practical vision for our commons future and lights the path forward.I love this book!---Maude Barlow, National Chairperson of the Council of Canadians; international water activistDavid Bollier is an author, activist, blogger and independent scholar. He is cofounder of the Commons Strategies Group and an author or editor of six books on different aspects of the commons, including Green Governance, The Wealth of the Commons and Viral Spiral.

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Praise for Think Like a Commoner

The Commons is among the most important and hopeful concepts of our time, and once youve read this book youll understand why!

Bill McKibben, author Deep Economy

Think Like a Commoner is a brilliant, accessible, practical, path-breaking intellectual tour de force. A defining contribution to the New Economy movement and an essential read for everyone who cares about the human future. I expect to return to it as a basic reference for years to come.

David Korten, author, Agenda for a New Economy, board chair YES! Magazine, and co-chair, New Economy Working Group

The commons is truly the new paradigm, the missing third link for the reform of civilization. But the commons is not a thing, but above all the expression of a cultural revolution and of subjective changes. David Bollier has done a great job of explaining the importance of this great cultural shift.

Michel Bauwens, Founder, Foundation for Peer-to-Peer Alternatives

Our world is in need of reviving an ancient wisdom if it is to survive. David Bollier has a beautiful, bold but practical vision for our commons future and lights the path forward. I love this book!

Maude Barlow, National Chairperson of the Council of Canadians; international water activist

It probably surprises you to know that the wealth we own together as a commons is far more valuable than the wealth that we and corporations own separately. Corporations know this and have commercialized or taken control of what we the people own such as the public airwaves, the public lands, our genes and trillions of dollars of knowledge (eg. research and development) paid for by taxpayers for starters. For this and more you must read Bolliers brilliant distillation of the huge variety of commons and how we can take control of what we own in order to transform our economy for us, our posterity and the planet. Once you pick it up, youll tremble with the excitement of what we all own in the form of the commons that somehow escaped our notice in our years of formal education.

Ralph Nader, Consumer advocate and author, Unstoppable: The Emerging Left-Right Alliance to Dismantle the Corporate State

Copyright 2014 by David Bollier All rights reserved This book is licensed - photo 1

Copyright 2014 by David Bollier All rights reserved This book is licensed - photo 2

Copyright 2014 by David Bollier. All rights reserved.

This book is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 license. See creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/deed.

For more information, including citations and recommended readings for each chapter, go to thinklikeacommoner.com

Cover design by Diane McIntosh. Illustration iStock (ARTQC).

First printing January 2014.

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

should be addressed to New Society Publishers at the address below.

To order directly from the publishers, please call toll-free (North America) 1-800-567-6772, or order online at www.newsociety.com

Any other inquiries can be directed by mail to:

New Society Publishers

P.O. Box 189, Gabriola Island, BC V0R 1X0, Canada

(250) 247-9737

LIBRARY AND ARCHIVES CANADA CATALOGUING IN PUBLICATION

Bollier, David, author

Think like a commoner : a short introduction to the life of

the commons / David Bollier.

Includes index.

Issued in print and electronic formats.

ISBN 978-0-86571-768-8 (pbk.).ISBN 978-1-55092-559-3 (ebook)

1. Public goods. 2. Commons. 3. Capitalism. I. Title.

HB846.5.B64 2014 306.3 C2013-907692-1

C2013-907693-X

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% postconsumer 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

For Jonathan Rowe 19462011 whose beautifully insightful writings about the - photo 3

For Jonathan Rowe (19462011), whose beautifully insightful writings about the mysteries of the commons remain an inspiration.

CONTENTS W HEN MY SEATMATE on the airplane turned to me and abruptly - photo 4

CONTENTS

W HEN MY SEATMATE on the airplane turned to me and abruptly asked So what do - photo 5

W HEN MY SEATMATE on the airplane turned to me and abruptly asked, So what do you do? I replied that I study the commons and work as an activist to try to protect it.

Polite bewilderment. Say what? It was not the first time. So I cited the familiar references the Boston Common and medieval pastures and moved on to the so-called tragedy of the commons, the meme that brainwashed a generation of undergraduates.

Sensing a quiver of interest, I ventured further, mentioning open source software, Wikipedia and Creative Commons licenses. At the risk of overwhelming my captive seatmate, I ticked off a list of commons that are rarely seen as commons: the vast public lands containing minerals and forests, the broadcast airwaves that TV stations use for free, urban spaces, the human genome. I mentioned the wonderful community festivals in my hometown, the gift economies of blood donation systems and the commons of language itself a resource that is free to anyone to use, but whose letters and words are fast becoming proprietary trademarks. Then there are the fisheries, farmland and water that an estimated two billion people around the world manage as commons to meet their everyday needs.

I half expected my new friend to turn back to her book or gaze out the window at the fleecy clouds over the Great Plains. Instead she brightened. Oh, I get it! The commons are things that no one owns and are shared by everyone.

Well put.

She mused that the park where she walks her dog and mingles with strangers is a commons and so is the online listserv about parenting that she belongs to. She cited a lake near her home, and the downtown plaza where all sorts of public events are held.

In the modern industrialized countries of the world, the commons tends to be a baffling, alien idea. The word may be invoked to make faux-genteel allusions to Merrie Old England (Coxswain Commons Apartments), but otherwise it has scant currency. We dont really have a language for naming commons real commons and so they tend to be invisible and taken for granted. The commons is not a familiar cultural category. Anything of value is usually associated with the free market or government. The idea that people could actually self-organize durable arrangements for managing their own resources, and that this paradigm of social governance could generate immense value well, it seems either utopian or communistic, or at the very least, impractical. The idea that the commons could be a vehicle for social and political emancipation and societal transformation, as some commons advocates argue, seems just plain ridiculous.

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