23 On the Commons
Commons are not simply resources we share – conceptualizing the commons involves three things at the same time. First, all commons involve some sort of common pool resources, understood as non-commodified means of fulfilling peoples needs. Second, the commons are necessarily created and sustained by communities and third and most important, commons are always based on commoning – the social process that creates and reproduces the commons.

"Commons are a means of establishing a new political discourse that builds on and helps to articulate the many existing often minor struggles and recognizes their power to overcome capitalist society. One of the most important challenges we face today is to dissolve the distinctions between inside and outside the movement and promote a social movement that addresses the real challenges that people face in reproducing their own lives. How can we reproduce our lives in new ways and at the same time set a limit to capital accumulation?" (Massimo De Angelis)

July 2010
56 pages incl. leaflets, ill. b/w and color, english
download issue / leaflets pdf

issue includes:

Beyond Markets or States: Commoning as Collective Practice
Public interview with Massimo de Angelis (Political Economist, University of East London) and Stavros Stavrides (Architect, National Technical University of Athens)

with further texts by:
Stefan Meretz / Karl Marx / Garrett Hardin / Elinor Ostrom, Joanna Burger, Christopher Fiel, Richard Norgaard, David Policansky / Massimo de Angelis / Stavros Stavrides


and three leaflets on:

The Charters of English Liberties, Medieval England
including an interview with Peter Linebaugh (historian, University of Toledo); a text by Louis Wolcher (lawyer, University of Washington, Seattle); and a timeline on struggles over enclosure from 1100 till today

The Oaxaca Rebellion, Mexico 2006
including a text by Gustavon Esteva (writer and activist from Oaxaca); videostills from the film "A Little Bit of So Much Truth"; chronology of the events and maps

Navarinou Park, Athens 2009
including an interview with Katerina Chryssanthopoulou; maps and drawing


The interview with Massimo de Angelis and Stavros Stavrides was performed by An Architektur in cooperation with the Athens Biennial 2009 as part of “live”, curated by Dimitris Papaioannou and Zafos Xagoraris



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