commonterra:Commons Sense

This is just for starters. Stay tuned -- much, much more to come...

"Commons are resources that are owned in common or shared among communities. These resources are said to be "held in common" and can include everything from natural resources and common land to software. The commons contains public property and private property, over which people have certain traditional rights. In some areas the process by which commonly held property is transformed into private property is termed "enclosure". A person who has a right in, or over, common land jointly with another or others is called a commoner." (Wikipedia)

"An Information Commons is an information system, such as a physical library or online community, that exists to produce, conserve, and preserve information for current and future generations. Wikipedia could be considered to be an information commons to the extent that it produces and preserves information through current versions of articles and histories. Other examples of an information commons includes Creative Commons and Facebook, though the latter has come under criticism for preserving private information on users." (Wikipedia)

The global commons movement is gathering again

by George Pór on Sat, 10/20/2012 - 16:37

After the highly successful 1st International Commons Conference, there will be a second and even larger international gathering focused on the Economics of the Commons, in Berlin, May 2013.

Organized by the Commons Strategies Group (with support of the Heinrich Böll Stiftung and the FPH – Fondation pour le Progrès de l’Homme), there was a preparatory meeting in Bangkok, October 12-14. You can find a text and and series of essential questions prepared by the Commons Strategies Group for the Bangkok meeting, in our Community Knowledge Garden, and in the Commons Rising community forum, where you can engage in the conversation about them and suggest yours.

The 49 questions are organized in the following sections:

   * THE ONTOLOGY AND THE VALUE PROPOSITION OF THE COMMONS
   * CIVIL SOCIETY AND THE COMMONS
   * THE COMMONS AND ECONOMIC GROWTH
   * THE STATE AND THE COMMONS
   * MARKETS AND COMMONS
   * LABOR AND MONEY IN THE COMMONS
   * SOCIAL IMPLICATIONS OF A COMMONS-BASED ECONOMY
   * ALTERNATIVE ECONOMIC MOVEMENTS AND STRATEGIES FOR MOVING FORWARD
   * Miscellaneous

Although the questions represent an incomplete discussion draft, engaging with them in depth, reflecting on what may be missing, and sharing your thoughts and questions, will help building momentum for Berlin 2013 and help you becoming clearer about the issues at stake.

'Common-Sense Commons' as a guiding vision for a Self-Caring System & Thrivable World

by Helene Finidori

After two years of discussions with many groups involved in social change, I believe the approach of the commons as complex living system and embodiment of the change we want to see could constitute the guiding vision we need to face the challenges ahead and generate the driving force for the system to heal itself.

This reflection is inspired from a group discussion addressing the question from UN Secretary General on an Economic Model for survival, in discussion since Feb 2011 on the LinkedIn "Systems Thinking World" forum. 7200+ posts, and many other discussions around the Commons, P2P, collaboration and technology.

It is a work in progress written with the collaboration of Jessie Henshaw. I welcome your comments and suggestions. Here is a tool where any of us can make suggestions and additions to this text. We are also working with the Commons Action group at the UN to develop a People's Sustainability Treaty based on these ideas. read more...

Commons Sense Resources

• The Commons (Wikipedia)

• Information Commons (Wikipedia)

• The Future of Ideas: The Fate of the Commons in a Connected World (2001) (Wikipedia) A book by Lawrence Lessig

• The Commons Comanaging Commonly Owned Resources (pdf) by the Green European Foundation (GEF)

Commons Sense Organizations

• "Creative Commons (CC) is a non-profit organization headquartered in Mountain View, California, United States devoted to expanding the range of creative works available for others to build upon legally and to share. The organization has released several copyright-licenses known as Creative Commons licenses free of charge to the public. These licenses allow creators to communicate which rights they reserve, and which rights they waive for the benefit of recipients or other creators." (Wikipedia)

• The School of Commoning is a growing worldwide community of people participating in the global and local commons. We support the developing commons movement, as well as interested organizations and individuals, with well-organized knowledge resources and educational programs on commoning and the commons.

• Commons Rising for the emergence of a commons-based society. We define commons as "people self-organizing to co-produce & co-govern resources essential to their livelihood and/or well-being." This community is a nascent social, cultural, and knowledge commons for the Commons, helping commons-builders & activists learning by doing. We're an action platform, not a place of general conversations about the commons, for which we recommend the message board. We are open to commoners around the world, who are engaged or want to engage in commons building.

Commons Case Studies

Knowledge Commons

+ Wikipedia/Wikimedia

1. "When Peer Production Succeeds: How Wikipedia Works"

+ Guilds as Commons

1. http://p2pfoundation.net/Occupy_Wall_Street_Screen_Printing_Guild
2. http://p2pfoundation.net/Global_Guild_of_Evolutionary_Architects
3. http://p2pfoundation.net/Green_Guild_Biodiesel_Coop
4. http://p2pfoundation.net/Free_Technology_Guild

+ P2P Value Networks as Commons

1. Prototyping and manufacturing network

Material Commons

+ Fisheries as Commons

1. Community-Driven Sustainable Fisheries
2. Fish Trap Commons - Thailand
3. Fisheries Trust
4. Ocean Fisheries Commons
5. Sustainable Fisheries Trusts
6. Owning Our Future by Majorie Kelly. "Chapter 8 describes the North End Lobster Coop, an initiative supported by changes to laws, easement hacks and a commons being governed locally by stakeholders, and Coastal Enterprises, a Community Development Corporation that puts social and ecological covenants into their loans." (Kurt Laitner)