[OccupyComms] Fwd: Commons Various / Towards a European Charter of the Commons

[Mark Barrett]

  Four texts on Commons :)

(1)   http://s.coop/me9n

*Responding to the current wave of privatisations, European Alternatives
together with the International University College and its Institute for
the Study of Political Economy and Law together with the Municipality of
Naples, and the Institut international D’etudes et recherches sur les biens
communsare launching a process of forums and metings throughout Europe to
draft a European Charter of the Commons.*

***In May/June meetings will take place in Zagreb, Cluj-Napoca, Sofia,
Berlin, London, Paris, and Rome. More information coming soon!*
Why?

The dichotomy of private property and the state has proven incapable of
resisting the distortions produced by more than 20 years of neoliberal
order. The outcome has been a global and severe imbalance, favouring the
private sector and specifically corporate interests at the expense of the
people.

Massive transfers of common resources from the public to the private sphere
are occurring throughout the world, with total disregard of any
constitutional guarantees of the public interest, due process, and just
compensation. Our democracies are increasingly being jeopardized by
collusive state and market actors; government representatives that put the
short term profits of individuals and corporations ahead of the interests
of the common people.

>From Greece to Spain, from Tunisia to Egypt, from Italy to Bolivia,
Ecuador, rural India and China, the people are increasingly aware of the
need for a different model of globalisation. These activists are currently
engaged in acts of reclaiming commons all around the world. From those
resisting the privatisation of resources (for example in Italy with the
water referendum or in Romania with the attempts at health care
privatisation) to the recent occupations of public spaces against
neoliberalism (for example the Indignados in Spain and the people of
Greece). In solidarity with these movements, we initiate a campaign for the
European Charter of the Commons.
What are Commons?

Our approach to the commons is both about reclaiming access to fundamental
resources as well as guaranteeing the democratic process that governs their
distribution. Resources that are fundamental to human life include both
natural commons such as water, food, energy and the atmosphere, as well as
man made commons, like technology, health, the internet and culture.
Reclaiming the commons also requires a reshaping of the democratic process
as it stands today, offering an alternative to the model that has prevailed
under state and market models. Governing the commons demands a shift of
power from the centraliaed state and free market to local communities,
placing the power to satisfy the long term needs of these communities as
well as those of future generations back into the hands of community
membera through bottom up, local and direct democracy.
The Draft European Charter of the Commons

http://www.commonssense.it/emend/european-charter-of-the-commons-eng/
Here <http://www.commonssense.it/emend/european-charter-of-the-commons-eng/>
you
will find a draft of the European Charter of the Commons you can freely
comment on, thanks to a special participatory software. We aim to produce
an updated version of the Charter by early Summer taking into account all
inputs received.
 [image: Share]<http://www.addtoany.com/share_save#url=http%3A%2F%2Fblog.p2pfoundation.net%2Ftowards-a-european-charter-of-the-commons%2F2012%2F05%2F14&title=Towards%20a%20European%20Charter%20of%20the%20Commons&description=>


(2) http://s.coop/meeo


A new german book called “Commons – Für eine neue Politik      jenseits von
Markt und Staat” was published recently. It includes      articles from
members of the P2P Foundation.

The index        of the book is available and also the PDF        version
of it.

An english version of this same book will appear later this year,      in
September. This version is edited by David Bollier:


An English version of the book, which I have co-edited with
Helfrich, will be coming soon.  Levellers Press, a small        publisher
in Massachusetts with a deep commitment to the commons        and
innovative publishing, will release The Wealth of the        Commons:  A
World Beyond Market and State, in September.  The        English version of
the book will be about 90% the same as the        German version, with a
handful of additional essays and a few of        the German ones omitted.
Both books are being published under a        Creative Commons
Attribution-ShareAlike license.

This is a brief presentation:


 The commons live a renaissance given the current climate,        financial
and food crisis. This is the conclusion of the        500-page anthology
“Commons – Für eine neue Politik jenseits von        Markt und Staat” which
is published by the commons expert Silke        Helfrich and the Heinrich
Boell Foundation. More than 90 authors        from 30 countries make their
contributions in front of a modern        concept of the commons, the
traditional assumptions of economic        theory and goods into question
and may be a guide for a new        policy.

 Commons are more important than ever. They are not based on        the
idea of scarcity, but draw from the wealth. They are        productive
without producing primarily for the market. They        exist for and by
the people to solve concrete problems.

 The book is published under a Creative Commons license        (CC-BY-SA)
and may be reproduced, and modify without        restriction. The download
of the book is free.

(3) *12th May 2012 / **Political Economy and the        Inclusive Commons
      House of Commons Portcullis House
      London, 8 May 2012
*      James B. Quilligan

It is an honor to be a guest in this      august body, the House of Commons.

I’m sure that you don’t need a outsider      to come in here and tell you
about English history, but I would      like to remind you about the
meaning of this word, commons.

In the beginning was the common. People      hunted and gathered on the
common to meet their needs.

Like all species, human beings      inhabited familiar territories in their
vicinity, but these were      communal to their family or tribe, not owned
by particular      persons.

People took the commons for granted      because their was no reason not to.

Yes, many, many times people fought      over their spaces, but for the
most part, each person shared their      own little corner of the world
with friends and family.

We would not be here today if our      ancestors had been driven only by a
‘selfish gene’ — if they had      not shared their commons and destroyed
themselves.

For them, the commons were simply the      economics of human need and
replenishment.

Eventually, in areas like Egypt,      Persia, Phoenicia, Carthage and
Greece, a small private or      business sphere began to evolve alongside a
larger public or      governmental sphere.

By the time of Ancient Rome, society      was becoming differentiated
between private, public, and common      interests.

In the face of these private and      governmental sectors, the commons
needed legal justification to      remain relevant.

The Roman Justinian Code of 533 AD      declared, “The law of nature is
that which she has taught all      animals; a law not peculiar to the human
race, but shared by all      living creatures, whether denizens of the air,
the dry land, or      the sea”.

In Britain, King John signed the Magna      Carta in 1215, and in 1217 the
Charter of the Forest was signed by      his son, King Henry III.

It declared the royal forests as common      land that could be enjoyed and
used by all citizens, including      serfs and vassals.

But during the 16th and 17th centuries,      the English commons began to
be privatized or enclosed.

These enclosures began with the common      meadows used for hay, the
common land used to graze livestock, and      the arable farmland used to
grow food.

By the late 19th century, after 4000      acts of Parliament, over 98% of
the agricultural land in England      and Wales was owned by less than 1%
of the population.

During the past several centuries, the      privatization of common land
has become a familiar story across      the world.

What happens when private owners are      granted legal titles to common
properties and enclosure becomes a      primary driver of wealth creation
in the world economy?

Let’s make a brief review of the      enclosure of the commons.

• Commoners are forcibly displaced from      the forests, streams and
fields they had once considered      inalienable through customary law.

• Commodities become detached from      their real value as gifts beyond
price.

• The personal use value of things is      transformed into commercial
exchange value.

• Cooperation, altruism and mutuality      are displaced by reciprocity,
calculation and utility.

• The State emerges to protect private      property and defend the
homeland through legally sanctioned      violence against those who
challenge private ownership.

• Civil law replaces customary or moral      law.

• The world becomes increasingly      mechanical and decontextualized.

• Access to nature is restricted. •      Society is divided into creditors
and debtors. • Exchange takes      place through a currency based on bank
debt.

• Interest charges promote competition      and encourage perpetual growth.

• Commercial exchange expands.

• Alienability becomes marketability.

• Common faith and community bonds      deteriorate.

• The significance of tradition and      culture is diminished.

• Morality and natural law become a      matter of self- interest and
personal choice.

• Material wealth and poverty exist      side by side.

• The commons is no longer the      economics of sufficiency and
replenishment.

• The commons is now the economics of      scarcity and consumption.

Today, we vaguely recall this social      history of the enclosures of the
commons.

But how were these developments      rationalized by science, political
science and economic theory?

In classical physics and chemistry,      systems were regarded as the sum
of their component parts.

Applying this principle to human      beings, philosopher John Locke viewed
the person as a mental      substance and the body as its material property.

This created created a kind of atomism      or reductionism in liberal
social thinking, where individuals are      thought to be comprised of
preferences and assets.

Enlightenment thinkers began to teach      that these preferences and
assets are in constant interchange      among people through their social
relationships.

They applied this liberal version of      metaphysics to the liberal vision
of society.

In the political sphere, the mind of      government (through policies and
institutions) coordinates the      body politic (through votes and taxes).

Similarly, economics is conceived as a      mechanistic system — the minds
of producers coordinate the supply      (of property and material
resources) to meet the demand of      consumers’ bodies (through their
utility and happiness).

This should sound familiar. It’s the      basis of today’s consumer
society. We consume what we need. But      the economics of human need has
failed us.

By focusing on consumption, economics      has neglected the rest of the
cycle: we consume what we need, but      this also means that we consume to
be replenished.

Yes, as individuals, we are      replenishing ourselves through consumption.

But individual consumption is not      replenishing society.

And individual consumption is certainly      not replenishing nature. This
is the legacy of the enclosure of      the commons.

For generations our resources have been      under assault from global
market forces, regional and national      policy development, and
inadequate legal recognition of common      property rights.

We’re drilling for oil in the oceans,      releasing vast amounts of carbon
into the atmosphere, patenting      the genes necessary to cure diseases,
privatizing water, and      claiming seeds as its intellectual property.

The private sector now penetrates      segments of society that we had
previously considered off-limits      to commercial interests.

Public education, scientific research,      philanthropy, art, health care,
prisoner rehabilitation, roads,      bridges have ceased to be public or
commons spaces but are now      under private control.

Why? Because this is an expression of      individual freedom and creates
economic growth.

We’re told that we’re being      old-fashioned by clinging to the archaic
forms of the past — like      the commons — since modern society advances
only through growth.

Yet we are recognizing that the      benefits of perpetual economic growth
are not compensating for the      vast damages and risks they create — from
social insecurity,      global warming, ecological degradation and species
loss to hunger,      poverty, debt and financial meltdown.

We’re also realizing that neither the      private sphere nor government
provision and distribution — which      created these problems to begin
with — are capable of solving      them.

Business has adopted the idea that it      is meeting human needs by
selling private goods to individual      consumers.

Government has adopted the idea that it      is meeting human needs by
regulating and provisioning public goods      to individual citizens.

But who is responsible for preserving      our common goods?

Who is responsible for replenishing      what is consumed?

Who is creating the collective will for      sustainability?

The economics of human need must be      broadened to encompass the
sustainability of the commons.

But who is creating this new economics      of replenishment? Look at our
divisive political world.

We divided ourselves by ideologies that      focus upon the social good, or
ideologies which focus more on      individual rights.

But all of those who have chosen to      champion a particular view of
either the social good or of      individual rights have generated an
enormous political polarity.

This duality between the ideals of      social equality and political
freedom discourages personal and      social reconciliation, the
transformation of our communities and      the creation of a commons-based
economy.

When the individual is set in      competition with the whole of society,
the moral will and      creativity of the people are suppressed.

Mind and body are seen as separate      units. Our being is split from our
actions. Our common purpose is      lost. This is why Western Liberalism is
in crisis.

We have not fully understood that the      society which sees itself as an
inevitable polarity between the      social good and individual rights
destroys the forms of life that      are rooted in the commons.

Capitalism is failing because it does      not recognize the need for
creating and maintaining the commons.

This has left us starved for the      equality and freedom which express
the interrelatedness of human      life and which can arise only through
our commons.

Recall that the system of privitization      did not begin with Mrs.
Thatcher. It began in Ancient Rome.

If we take the long view of things, one      could say that the Roman
Empire was never really defeated until      the end of World War II and the
demise of the Nazi regime.

But Rome is reviving itself now through      the Market State.

This phenomenon called the Market State      has been defined by both
Philip Bobbitt and Phillip Blonde.

It is the confluence of business and      government that we have been
witnessing since the 1970s.
      Market State describes what seems like a role reversal over the
past forty years between the private and public sectors.

Indeed, the business community has now      taken up many of the social and
cultural responsibilities that      were formerly the concern of
government, such as policing power,      prisons, social problems,
environment, personal health, public and      adult education, and the
fostering of culture through finance.

And the state has embraced market      dynamics and corporate principles of
efficiency and management to      a greater degree than before,
marginalizing the role of      representative government.

Where is the voice of non-dualism      today? Who is speaking for a genuine
Third Way?

Unlike the Market State, the commons      cannot be coordinated by some
ultimate authority exercising      control through a unified command
structure, the social hierarchy      of private property, the division of
labor and the enclosure of      what belongs to everyone.

Rather, the commons express the      massive, heterogeneous forces of
society and the common      responsibility of people to protect and sustain
their valuable      common goods.

Without a sense of the indivisibility      of human existence, the modern
ideologies of collective rights and      individual rights are both devoid
of the realization that we take      part in a variety of commons which are
the source of our      livelihood and well-being.

The commons recognize the dichotomy      between individuals as the sum of
their desires and ends (through      the common good) and the individual
being who is free to make      choices independent of those desires and
ends (as in individual      rights).

The commons movement brings them      together as a consciously organized
third sector that can create a      more beneficial balance in economics
and society.

The commons are resources which people      self-organize through their own
production and governance.

These commons — involving social,      cultural, intellectual, digital,
solar, natural, genetic and      material resources — are now being
rediscovered and rapidly      becoming a potent counterforce to the Market
State.

The commons offer a unique form of      non-dualism — a way of integrating
the individual with the      collective, the self with the whole.

We are now recognizing that our Beloved      Commons are both the state of
individual being and the collective      state of the world.

But what happens to the liberal ideals      of freedom represented by the
invisible hand of the market, and      equality and justice represented by
our social contract with      government?

The self-organization and rule-based      production of a commons is a
grassroots application of the      principles of freedom and equality which
are idealized but      imperfectly expressed through modern free markets
and      state-enforced justice.

We are expressing freedom and equality      far more directly through the
commons.

This freedom and equality arise through      the production and governance
of the commons, which express the      principles of pluralism,
polycentrism, subsidiarity, checks and      balances, and horizontalist
decision-making.

This new social dynamic — arising from      the shared values and meanings
of people’s life-experiences in the      organization and production of
their commons —includes but      transcends the market and state, thus
bringing people a new form      of political power.

People across the world are creating      commons trust and social charters.

We’re developing new forms of      co-production and co-governance.

Open source models of self-organisation      and value creation are
inspiring communities in innovative ways.

We’re learning that the commons are not      just resources but the set of
relationships they create, including      the communities that use them,
and the cultural and social      practices and property regimes that manage
them.

Unlike Moses coming down from the      mountain with his tablet proclaiming
the laws of God, there is no      prophet of the commons holding a set of
immutable principles that      we can say are universal laws.

Yet there are some guidelines that many      of us are following which
seems to reflect the evolution of human      civilisation in the 21st
century.

• We are Co-creators of Nature

• By Creating this Shared Environment,      we Participate in our own
Culture

• Through this Creative Cooperation,      Resource Users become the
Producers of their own Resources

• Cooperation between Users and      Producers is the Practice of
Stewardship

• The Social and Political Expression      of Stewardship is Trusteeship

• Trusteeship of the Commons Transforms      the Ownership Structures of
Modern Society

• Co-produced and Co-governed Commons      Generate Sources of Value which
Transcend the Marketplace and      Government

• Commons Value is the basis of a      Debt-Free Monetary System

• A Commons-Based Society results from      our Collective Intentions for
Sustainability

• The Economics of the Commons is      Replenishment

What does this mean — that the commons      is the economics of
replenishment?

In our present view, we consume what we      need. But this economics of
human need has failed us.

By focusing on consumption, economics      has neglected the rest of the
cycle: we consume to be replenished.

As individuals, we are replenishing      ourselves through consumption.

But our consumption is not replenishing      society — and it is not
replenishing nature.

As I said earlier, business has adopted      the idea that it is meeting
human needs by selling private goods      to individual consumers.

Government has adopted the idea that it      is meeting human needs by
regulating and provisioning public goods      to individual citizens.

But who is responsible for preserving      our common goods?

Who is responsible for replenishing      what is consumed?

Who is creating collective intentions      for sustainability?

Friends, the House of Commons took its      name to remind the public that
civil law emerged from common law.

I understand this to be a promise by      the Government to honour the
people and their right to the      resources of this nation.

It’s time that our leaders broaden the      economics of human need to
encompass the commons, not just in the      United Kingdom and the Western
World, but in all nations.

What would this future look like?

The only institutions capable of      managing replenishment are commons
trusts.

The primary purpose of commons trusts      is the regeneration of resources
for future generations.

This will lead to a new global monetary      system, using commons
resources for its reserve assets.

The commons will lead to sustainability      rates that replace our present
interest rates.

They will lead to the development of      new ways of financing
replenishment, including the development of      Commons Wealth Funds which
invest in the commons trusts which      preserve our resources.

The commons will lead to peer-to-peer      job creation, in which the users
of resources become the producers      of those resources, creating
innovative forms of employment.

It is our collective responsibility to      replenish what is consumed.

The commons must be created and      sustained for the benefit of everyone.

Now is the time to manifest abundance      in our world, to manifest the
processes needed to ensure that our      commons are used wisely and
sustainably, so that everyone will get      their needs met today, tomorrow
and hundreds of years into the      future.

The non-dualism of individual rights      and the social good is teaching
us how to rebuild our commons,      create collective intentions for the
planet based on      sustainability and restore the peace and tranquility
of the world.

The liberal economics of consumption      has failed us.

The commons is the economics of      replenishment.

(4) -------------------------

Ethical Markets Review is delighted to publish this brilliant      original
paper by Deirdre Kent, author of Healthy Money, Healthy      Planet (2005).
Deirdre has been an activist for a better common      future and in New
Zealand politics since the Values Party was      founded in 1975. Many
members of this early futurist party visited      our editor, Hazel
Henderson, in the late 1970s and gave her the      rights to their
visionary manifesto, Beyond Tomorrow. Deirdre      continued her activism
in her local community, Otaki, and      co-founded the Otaki Transition
Town and the Otaki Timebank, the      brainchild of Edgar Cahn, a member of
Ethical Markets Advisory      Board. In 2011, Deirdre Kent founded New
Zealand’s New Economics      Party and wrote this immensely practical and
viable proposal for a      scaled-up, robust local currency which can be
issued in many      countries by local authorities and ratified by central
banks and      authorities as is now happening in Brazil, see articles
by      Ladislau Dowbor and Rose Marie Muraro in Ethical Markets
Review.      We welcome these innovative thinkers and activists. –
Hazel      Henderson, Editor.

http://s.coop/meer



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