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The following words and illustrations are from *Made With Creative Commons,* a guide to sharing your knowledge and creativity with the world, and sustaining your operation while you do. You can download a free pdf or other versions of the publication if you’d like to read more.
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Using the commons to manage resources is part of a long historical continuum. However, in contemporary society, the market and the state dominate the discourse on how resources are best managed. Rarely is the commons even considered as an option. The commons has largely disappeared from consciousness and consideration. There are no news reports or speeches about the commons…
For centuries, indigenous people and preindustrialized societies managed resources, including water, food, firewood, irrigation, fish, wild game, and many other things collectively as a commons. There was no market, no global economy. The state in the form of rulers influenced the commons but by no means controlled it. Direct social participation in a commons was the primary way in which resources were managed and needs met.
This is followed by a long history of the state (a monarchy or ruler) taking over the commons for their own purposes. This is called enclosure of the commons. In olden days, “commoners” were evicted from the land, fences and hedges erected, laws passed, and security set up to forbid access. Gradually, resources became the property of the state and the state became the primary means by which resources were managed.
Holdings of land, water, and game were distributed to ruling family and political appointees. Commoners displaced from the land migrated to cities. With the emergence of the industrial revolution, land and resources became commodities sold to businesses to support production. Monarchies evolved into elected parliaments. Commoners became labourers earning money operating the machinery of industry. Financial, business, and property laws were revised by governments to support markets, growth, and productivity. Over time ready access to market produced goods resulted in a rising standard of living, improved health, and education.
However, the world today is going through turbulent times. The benefits of the market have been offset by unequal distribution and overexploitation…
Economists have focused almost exclusively on scarcity-based markets. Very little is known about how abundance works...
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A commons has 3 essential parts:
~ Jess Steele, Hastings Commons
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… a commons arises whenever a given community decides it wishes to manage a resource in a collective manner, with special regard for equitable access, use and sustainability.
There is no commons without commoning
~ David Bollier
The Commons, Short and Sweet | David Bollier
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All members of a community have access to the commons and participate in it. In this sense, commoners – those who are part of the commons – share responsibility for its governance.
Commoning can be understood as the practice of creating commons, whereby the members of a community come together to meet their needs through self-governance and collaborative care. These practices will generally be guided by a set of community agreements, co-created by the commoners themselves.
At the centre of commons and commoning is the joy and wellbeing fostered by participation and collaboration.
Cooperation, conviviality and coordination enable commoners to support each other’s needs and desires to be met, supporting life to thrive sustainably and without exploitation.
~ The Bristol Commons
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