Patterns of Commoning | The Commons Strategies Group

Commoning as a Transformative Social Paradigm | David Bollier

Every so often I am invited to write a piece that in effect answers the question, “Why the commons?”  I invariably find new answers to that question each time that I re-engage with it.  My latest attempt is an essay, “Commoning as a Transformative Social Paradigm,” which I wrote for the Next System Project as part of its series of proposals for systemic alternatives.

New to the Commons? | David Bollier

If you’re coming to the commons for the first time, it can be difficult to grok the idea because there are so many different ways to understand the commons.  That’s because the commons is not so much a fixed, universal thing as a general concept describing durable, dynamic sets of social relationships for managing resources -- all sorts of resources:  digital, urban, natural, indigenous, rural, cultural, scientific, to use some crude categories.

Think Like a Commoner | A Short Introduction to the Life of the Commons

In our age of predatory markets and make-believe democracy, our troubled political institutions have lost sight of real people and practical realities. But if you look to the edges, ordinary people are reinventing governance and provisioning on their own terms. The commons is arising as a serious, practical alternative to the corrupt Market/State.

Commons

The commons are the cultural and natural resources accessible to all members of a society, including natural materials such as air, water, and a habitable Earth. These resources are held in common even when owned privately or publicly. Commons can also be understood as natural resources that groups of people manage for individual and collective benefit. Characteristically, this involves a variety of informal norms and values employed for a governance mechanism. Commons can also be defined as a social practice of governing a resource not by state or market but by a community of users that self-governs the resource through institutions that it creates.

Think Like a Commoner | A Short Introduction to the Life of the Commons

Like the printed book, this audiobook is released under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International license. 

Think Like a Commoner | A Short Introduction to the Life of the Commons

Think Like a Commoner, Second Edition was published by New Society Publishers. The print and audiobook versions are both published under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

CommonsCloud – Eines lliures tecnoètiques cooperatives

Eines lliures tecnoètiques cooperatives

The Commons, Short and Sweet | David Bollier

I am always trying to figure out how to explain the idea of the commons to newcomers who find it hard to grasp.  In preparation for a talk that I gave at the Caux Forum for Human Security, near Montreux, Switzerland, I came up with a fairly short overview, which I have copied below.  I think it gets to the nub of things.

Commoning as Relational Provisioning & Governance | David Bollier

This is the second section of an essay, "Relationalized Finance for Generative Living Systems and Bioregions," by David Bollier and Natasha Hulst. The remaining three sections of the essay will be published in the remaining days of this week. The full essay can be downloaded as a PDF here.

A Revised “Ostrom’s Design Principles for Collective Governance of the Commons

A Revised “Ostrom’s Design Principles for Collective Governance of the Commons” The traditional economic definition of “the commons” are those resources...

The tragedy of the commons is a false and dangerous myth | Aeon Essays

Far from being profoundly destructive, we humans have deep capacities for sharing resources with generosity and foresight

The Commons Explained in 15 Minutes | David Bollier

The Commons | Join Our Unique Community

Discover The Commons: A multi-generational Co-Housing community fostering sustainable living and connection in Santa Fe. Learn about our homes, lifestyle, and how to get involved.

Patterns of Strategy

Patterns of Strategy shows how the strategic fit between organisations drives strategic direction. It is essential reading for those who wish to understand how to manoeuvre their organisation to change its strategic fit to their advantage. The 80 ‘patterns’ of strategy help you explore options for collaboration and competition within your strategic ecosystem. A practical and authoritative guide, you can use it to plan and navigate your strategic future.

Workshop on Governing Knowledge Commons - PUBLICATIONS

Edited collections of knowledge commons case studies produced by the Workshop on Governing Knowledge Commons.