The power of the commons as a free, fair system of provisioning and governance beyond capitalism, socialism, and other -isms.
From co-housing and agroecology to fisheries and open-source everything, people around the world are increasingly turning to 'commoning' to emancipate themselves from a predatory market-state system.
Free, Fair, and Alive presents a foundational re-thinking of the commons — the self-organized social system that humans have used for millennia to meet their needs. It offers a compelling vision of a future beyond the dead-end binary of capitalism versus socialism that has almost brought the world to its knees.
Written by two leading commons activists of our time, this guide is a penetrating cultural critique, table-pounding political treatise, and practical playbook. Highly readable and full of colorful stories, coverage includes:
Internal dynamics of commoning
How the commons worldview opens up new possibilities for change
Role of language in reorienting our perceptions and …
The power of the commons as a free, fair system of provisioning and governance beyond capitalism, socialism, and other -isms.
From co-housing and agroecology to fisheries and open-source everything, people around the world are increasingly turning to 'commoning' to emancipate themselves from a predatory market-state system.
Free, Fair, and Alive presents a foundational re-thinking of the commons — the self-organized social system that humans have used for millennia to meet their needs. It offers a compelling vision of a future beyond the dead-end binary of capitalism versus socialism that has almost brought the world to its knees.
Written by two leading commons activists of our time, this guide is a penetrating cultural critique, table-pounding political treatise, and practical playbook. Highly readable and full of colorful stories, coverage includes:
Internal dynamics of commoning
How the commons worldview opens up new possibilities for change
Role of language in reorienting our perceptions and political strategies
Seeing the potential of commoning everywhere.
Free, Fair, and Alive provides a fresh, non-academic synthesis of contemporary commons written for a popular, activist-minded audience. It presents a compelling narrative: that we can be free and creative people, govern ourselves through fair and accountable institutions, and experience the aliveness of authentic human presence.
I liked the way this book presents both social ideas with copious amounts of studies into the different patterns followed by the hugely diverse range of examples of Commons covered in their research
I'm active in a number of different Commons, and found this book to be very practically useful on a daily basis. I'd pair it with Nonviolent Communication by Rosenburg to help with conflict resolution, and I think it's a great basis to start organising well in cooperatives/grassroots organisations
