How the commoners built a digital republic of their own 2009, describes the rise of free software, free culture, and the commons. Its narrated by david bollier, a brilliant longtime activist and writer, and its produced by the media education foundation in northampton. Founded as a project of the tamales bay institute and edited by author david bollier, the website contains links to a number of blogs and activists groups. This collection of essays, drawn from excerpts in commons magazine, is intended to improve our understanding of the commons and placemaking movements that aim to restore a sense of place in communities, while promoting public space and engagement. Senior fellow david bollier the norman lear center. Coedited by david bollier and silke helfrich, the book chronicles many ongoing struggles against the private commoditization of shared resources while documenting the immense generative power of the commons. Or think like a commoner and learn how to rebuild our society and reclaim our shared inheritance.
David bollier author of think like a commoner activist. The great virtue of reclaiming the commons for the common good is its willingness to probe into the deep personal and spiritual dimensions of. The commons is among the most important and hopeful concepts of our time, and once youve read this book youll understand why. Reclaiming the american commons in an age of market enclosure david bollier on. Confronting the challenges of this moment demands all the moral and deliberative clarity we can muster. I am an author, activist, blogger and consultant who spends a lot of time exploring the commons as a new paradigm of economics, politics and culture. A manifesto for sharing public wealth pelican books.
Bollier has written a very useful little book, of particular interest to liberals, greens, and libertarians, as well as the broader public. The commons is a practical means for reinventing society in ways. Reclaiming the commons for the common good july 8, 2014 no comment david bollier read with so much scholarship focused on commons as resource management and the measurement of externals, its refreshing to encounter a book that plumbs the internal dimensions of a commons that is, commoning. In 73 timely essays by a remarkable international roster of activists, academics and project leaders, this book chronicles ongoing struggles against the. The books thesis holds that the commons understood as our collectively owned assets, natural resources being one example are under steady threat of enclosure privatization by an increasingly aggressive commercial sphere in search of expanding profits. On the commons promotes activism on behalf of the commons in all its variety. Michel bauwens, silke helfrich and david bollier are all prolific writers.
David bollier is an influential american activist, writer, and policy strategist who. Wealth of the commons a world beyond market and state. David bollier is a senior fellow at the norman lear center and cofounder of public knowledge, an advocacy group dedicated to defending the commons of the internet, science and culture. The commons has had a recurring role in the deep history of the united kingdom, but generally it has been treated as something over and done with. The book features 73 essays by a remarkable roster of activists, academics and project leaders from around the world. Reclaiming the american commons remarks by david bollier. Patterns of commoning by david bollier, silke helfrich. David bollier is a leading writer and advocate for all those reallife commons what we own, from the public lands, public airwaves, online information and local civic assets.
People are reclaiming bits of nature and of culture, and saying this is going. I am an avid user of libraries in particular, the amherst college library and the jones library, in amherst, massachusetts. Patterns of commoning ebook written by david bollier, silke helfrich. Why we need to protect our public resources from private encroachment. David bollier a senior fellow at the norman lear center at the usc annenberg school for communication, cofounder and board member of public knowledge, a washington policy advocacy organization dedicated to protecting the information commons, and author of three books on the commons, david bollier further explores issues regarding the commons. David bollier david bollier is an influential american activist, writer, and policy strategist who focuses on democratic culture, promoting citizen action and reclaiming the commons. In this land is our land, acclaimed author david bollier, a leading figure in the global movement to reclaim the commons, bucks the rising tide of antigovernment extremism and free market ideology to show how commercial interests are undermining our collective interests.
Patterns of commoning 2015, edited by bollier and helfrich. We talk about the benefits of reclaiming public space and institutions and the growing sharing economy. Our goal in assembling the essays in the wealth of the commons has been to showcase the great diversity of voices, types of resources and geographic circumstances related to the commons and the great political relevance of the commons for our time. Green governance, and the wealth of the commons, among other books. Wealth of the commons a world beyond market and state david bollier, silke. Net platform and ebooksindividual companies are seeking to capture the standards and effectively own the information commons. Produced by commons champion david bollier, the film combines a stinging critique of neoliberal market fundamentalism with a concise introduction to commons thought and practice. This accessible, comprehensive introduction to the commons.
This land is our land trailer available on dvd youtube. Or think like a commoner and learn how to rebuild our society and reclaim our. David bollier, coauthor of the wealth of the commons. Discover delightful childrens books with prime book box, a subscription that. Though this concept may seem alien to modern eyes, managing commons is a longheld tradition that has included forests, water, air, and other natural resources that technically dont belong to anyone. The fight to reclaim the commons is a fastmoving introduction to the emerging global movement to name and claim the commons.
David bollier is an american activist, writer, and policy strategist. Yet if we are intent upon reclaiming the commons, these complexities should not divert us from immediately tackling the many egregious and expensive enclosures of public assets now underway. Reclaiming the american commons remarks by david bollier sirsi superconference 2004 st. A read is counted each time someone views a publication summary such as the title, abstract, and list of authors, clicks on a figure, or views or downloads the fulltext.
Bollier reminds us that many aspects of our society and economy, of great significance to individual and community life, serve us less well when operated to maximize profit for private owners. The first book in mit presss history for a sustainable future series and written by english green party politician derek wall, the commons in history is aimed less at scholars, i expect, than at a general audience of people who want to change the world by embracing. Kudos to bollier and helfrich for assembling this astonishing tool kit. Naomi klein, reclaiming the commons, nlr 9, mayjune 2001. This means you will always be able to read us without roadblocks or barriers to entry. With graceful prose and dozens of fascinating stories, bollier describes the quiet revolution that is pioneering practical forms of selfgovernance and. In some cases, ebooks may be available for only a specified number of readings or period of time. Media consolidation is another way that companies are. They hang the man and flog the woman that steal the goose from off the common, but let the greater villain loose that steals the common from the goose. 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 remaking our world. How the rich are taking our common inheritance new press, 2008.
David bollier news and perspectives on the commons. The book also seeks to show the range of enclosures of the commons now underway, theoretical. We are committed to staying free for all our readers. See patterns of commoning and the digital library on the commons. David bollier, a leading figure in the global movement to reclaim the commons, shows how commercial interests are undermining our collective interests. This land is our land the fight to reclaim the commons. A defining contribution to the new economy movement and an essential read for everyone who cares about the human future. Bollier explains the myth of the tragedy of the commons which is widely taught as truth. A selection of books on the commons by csg members michel bauwens, silke. A short introduction to the commons commons as a paradigm for social transformation next system project, april 2016.
The spirit they share is a radical reclaiming of the commons. Bollier describes his work as focused on reclaiming the commons. David bollier s reclaiming the commons offers us at least two significant contributions. As our communal spacestown squares, streets, schools, farms, plantsare displaced by the ballooning marketplace, a spirit of resistance is taking hold around the world. How the commoners built a digital republic of their own. Download for offline reading, highlight, bookmark or take notes while you read patterns of commoning. A world beyond market and state, talks about the commons, which can be almost anything as long as there is public action and governance around it.
The wealth of the commons 2012, edited by bollier and helfrich. A guide to reclaiming the commons berrettkoehler, 2006. The focus is on enclosures, but the point of the book, its manifesto, is to reclaim the commons, chiefly understood, in this context, as public assets and services. The fight to reclaim the commons dvd northampton, massachusetts. The wealth of the commons explains how millions of commoners have organized to defend their forests and fisheries, reinvent local food surrounded by centralized hierarchies on the one hand and predatory markets on the other, people around the world are searching for alternatives. A senior fellow at the norman lear center at the usc annenberg school for communication, cofounder and board member of public knowledge, a washington policy advocacy organization dedicated to protecting the information commons, and author of three books on the commons, david bollier further explores issues regarding the commons on his new website. He is cofounder of the commons strategies group, and the author of think like a commoner, green governance, and the wealth of the commons, among other books. This land is our land the fight to reclaim the commons for more than three decades, transnational corporations have been busy buying up what used to be known as the commons everything from our forests and our oceans to our broadcast airwaves and our most important intellectual and cultural works. And one excellent way to start is to get hold of an insightful new dvd called this land is our land. The wealth of the commons explains how millions of commoners have organized to defend their forests and fisheries, reinvent local food systems, organize productive online communities, reclaim public spaces, improve environmental stewardship and reimagine the very meaning of progress and governance. Weve also gone one step further and become completely adfree. Commons is about reclaiming, sharing and selfgoverning resources that belong to everyone.
Patterns of commoning and millions of other books are available for amazon. Rethinking the social welfare state in light of the commons. A short introduction to the life of the commons bollier, david on. He is cofounder of the commons strategies group, 2 senior fellow at the norman lear center at the usc annenberg school for communication, 3 and writes technologyrelated reports for the aspen institute.
Since 1984, he has been a collaborator with television writerproducer norman lear on a wide variety of projects. Bollier was founding editor of on the commons 20032010, and now blogs at his own website. This land is our land is a 46minute documentary, written by david bollier and jeremy earp, in which bollier himself one of the best known scholars and activists of the global movement to reclaim the commons narrates the historical development of the process that has led to the market enclosure of a large part of the world common. And why are so many people embracing the commons as a powerful strategy for.