Free, Fair, and Alive: The Insurgent Power of the Commons - Softcover

Bollier, David; Helfrich, Silke

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0865719217 ISBN 13: 9780865719217

Publisher: New Society Publishers, 2019

Synopsis

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.

About this title

Book Description:

The power of the commons as a free, fair system of provisioning and governance beyond capitalism, socialism, and other -isms.

From the Back Cover:

The power of the commons as a free, fair system of provisioning and governance beyond capitalism, socialism, and other -isms.

An expansive, thorough, and deeply thoughtful guide to a possible future politics.
― Raj Patel, author, The Value of Nothing and Stuffed and Starved

A truly exciting glimpse into what the world after this one might look like.
― Bill McKibben, author, Falter and founder, 350.org

FROM COHOUSING 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 rethinking 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.

Authored by two leading commons activists, 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
• The role of language in reorienting our perceptions and political strategies
• Seeing the potential of commoning everywhere.

Written for a popular, activist-minded audience, Free, Fair, and Alive 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.

An inspiring treatise for our troubled times.
― J.K. Gibson-Graham, Jenny Cameron, and Stephen Healy, authors, Take Back the Economy

A handbook for tackling seemingly intractable problems.
― Ward Cunningham, inventor of the wiki

DAVID BOLLIER is Director of the Reinventing the Commons Program at the Schumacher Center for a New Economics, and author of Think Like a Commoner . He blogs at Bollier.org and lives in Amherst, MA.

SILKE HELFRICH is an independent activist and author who cofounded the Commons Strategies Group and Commons-Institut. She blogs at commons.blog, and lives in Neudenau, Germany.

About this edition

• Publisher: New Society Publishers
• Publication date: 2019
• ISBN 10: 0865719217
• ISBN 13: 9780865719217
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 448