Patterns of COMMONING

What accounts for the persistence and spread of “commoning,” the irrepressible desire of people to collaborate and share to meet everyday needs? How are the more successful projects governed? And why are so many people embracing the commons as a powerful strategy for building a fair, humane and Earth-respecting social order?

Patterns of COMMONING

What accounts for the persistence and spread of “commoning,” the irrepressible desire of people to collaborate and share to meet everyday needs? How are the more successful projects governed? And why are so many people embracing the commons as a powerful strategy for building a fair, humane and Earth-respecting social order?


In more than fifty original essays, Patterns of Commoning addresses these questions and probes the inner complexities of this timeless social paradigm. The book surveys some of the most notable, inspiring commons around the world, from alternative currencies and open design and manufacturing, to centuries-old community forests and co-learning commons—and dozens of others. Margaret Thatcher once championed neoliberal capitalism with the harsh ultimatum, “There is no alternative!” Patterns of Commoning shows in vivid detail that there are plenty of alternatives! We need only understand the robust power of commoning. Read more about the book.

Patterns of Commoning is a companion volume to an earlier anthology of essays on the commons, The Wealth of the Commons:  A World Beyond Market and State, published in 2012 in English and German editions.  About this earlier collection, Bill McKibben declared:  “This fine collection makes clear that the idea of the Commons is fully international, and increasingly fully worked-out.” Patterns of Commoning shows how much farther the world of the commons has come in only three years!

Patterns of Commoning is a companion volume to an earlier anthology of essays on the commons, The Wealth of the Commons:  A World Beyond Market and State, published in 2012 in English and German editions.  About this earlier collection, Bill McKibben declared:  “This fine collection makes clear that the idea of the Commons is fully international, and increasingly fully worked-out.” Patterns of Commoning shows how much farther the world of the commons has come in only three years!

 
Patterns of Commoning