Why you don’t have to own everything
This is where the sharing economy becomes valuable. It starts to make tangible—even desirable—the notion that shared ownership can be a good thing.
the commons
CommonsFest in Greece: A Movement Expands
For a country suffering from economic devastation and political upheaval, Greece is not accustomed to bursts of optimism.
Michel Bauwens Invites Pope Francis to Help the Maker Economy
Following Pope Francis’ surprisingly blunt homily about capitalism in November 2013, my friend and colleague Michel Bauwens had the brilliant idea of proposing a practical way for the Pope and Catholic Church to help address economic inequality
Thoughts on Land Reform Summits in San Francisco
It’s hard to conceive a more un-American activity than thinking about an alternative to private property.
The New Economic Events Giving Lie to the Fiction That We Are All Selfish, Rational Materialists
Jeremy Rifkin’s new book, “The Zero Marginal Cost Society,” brings welcome new attention to the commons just as it begins to explode in countless new directions.
New Book Inspires Us to Think Like A Commoner
David Bollier, an award-winning policy strategist and international activist, is out with a new book that explains the rich history and promising future of the commons…
How the marginal cost revolution is aiding the emergence of post-capitalist commons economics
“The capitalist era is passing… not quickly, but inevitably. A new economic paradigm — the Collaborative Commons — is rising in its wake that will transform our way of life."
Why Green Growth Won’t Transform the Economy
In discussions of the future of economic growth, ‘business as usual’ is not an option.
The Tale of Two Sharing Cities: Part One
As the old saying goes, “God created the earth, but the Dutch created the Netherlands.” While the European masses were serfs in the feudal system, land ownership was relatively common in the low countries. That’s because much of the land was drained of the sea by ordinary people, and they owned what the drained.
Making the most of climate change?
Those who follow climate change in the news will know that the latest IPCC report on impacts, adaptation and vulnerability to climate change does not paint a very rosy picture.
The Commons and the Legal Left at Harvard Law School
Can the boundary-bursting categories of the commons penetrate the mighty citadel of Harvard Law School and its entrenched ways of thinking about property, markets and law?
Phyles and the new communalism
An illustrated history of the biggest changes in our time: the globalization of the small and the reemergence of empowered communities.