The promise of the commons – part I
The dichotomy between the private and the public forms the basis of theories of democracy. In recent years, this distinction has been challenged: examples include the erosion of the public sphere by private interests and the increasing control of the private domain by state authorities. New concepts and practices that move beyond this primary dichotomy are needed in order to face the contemporary crisis of democratic societies. Signifying a new social and economic space beyond government regulation and market control, the commons has been proposed as a feasible institutional alternative to both private and public arrangements. This special issue explores the openings that the concept of the ‘commons’ presents for democratic theory and practice.
Richard Stallman – The free software movement
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Free software changes the way value is produced, argues Richard Stallman, because the business or worker can make the software do what he or she wants it to do. It alters patterns of innovation by inviting everyone to participate |
Douglas Rushkoff – Commons: Creating an alternative value system
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How possible is it for us to create value for one another without the intervention of government or corporate interests? Douglas Rushkoff explains the commons as the rising of a set of behaviors that generate an alternative value |
Michel Bauwens – Peer production, peer governance, peer property
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Our current political economy is based on a fundamental mistake, points Michel Bauwens. It is based on the assumption that natural resources are unlimited, and that it is an endless sink. In a P2P-based society, this situation is reversed: the limits of natural resources are recognized, and the abundance of immaterial resources becomes the core operating principle. |
Christopher May – Openness, the knowledge commons and the critique of intellectual property
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The rediscovery of ‘openness’ does not mean the end of intellectual property, says Christopher May. It is rather the end of a period when intellectual property seemed to be the dominant paradigm for understanding how knowledge and information might fit into the contemporary information society. |
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Christos Bouras and Vagelis Kapoulas – Digital commons
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The idea of common ownership of knowledge and culture is very old and its application has proven to be as important as the air that we breathe. Christos Bouras and Vagelis Kapoulas analyse the extent to which this idea has been imprinted in the digital age. |
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Dionysia Kallinikou – The future of intellectual property
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Intellectual property needs in the future to motivate the artist for the creation and production of works, that benefit the cultural realm, and which promote polyphony and limitless diversity, argues Dionysia Kallinikou. |
Joep van Delft – Encapsulating the common: Tactical retreat as productive strategy?
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Against the operations of imperial agencies, the political project to enhance the common includes free expression of thought, and the enhancement of free dissemination of whatever one enjoys or finds relevant, argues Joep van Delft. |
Leslie Lopez – Recapturing the promise of alternative radio: Serving by letting others speak
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Focusing on Latin American participatory radio, Leslie Lopez highlights the promise that the commons hold for the reinvigoration of democratic values. Democracy requires not just a refraining from greed, but an ongoing, constructive effort to serve the greater good. |