August 15, 2014December 7, 2015 by Stacco Troncoso

Latin American Deep Dive on the Commons

The Latin America Deep Dive on the Commons was held in Mexico City in November 2012. Jointly organized by the Commons Strategies Group and the Heinrich Böll Foundation, the event gathered a variety of researchers and civil society organizers from various parts of Latin America to reflect on the Commons in everyday practice.

General Themes To Be Discussed at the Latin American Deep Dive on the Commons

Prepared by Commons Strategies Group, October 2, 2012

In addressing the themes raised by economics and the commons, our workshop will deliberately use a flexible and open-ended format. We do not wish to present an fixed, structured agenda so much as elicit your special knowledge and perspectives on the topic. In previous gatherings on the commons, we have found this a highly effective way to surface ideas, identify points of disagreement and consensus, and develop a more coherent understanding of the challenges we face.

Having said that, we have assembled below a series of themes and questions that may be useful in spurring discussion. This is an incomplete draft of issues that will likely deserve attention (in this and further conversations). But this list should not be regarded as comprehensive or “correct”; it is merely a springboard for discussion. We urge you to bring your ideas, open questions and issues so that we can collectively decide how the discussions should proceed. We are confident that this process will help us highlight fundamental ideas and develop new narratives.

We would like to start our workshop by addressing the basic questions:

What does a commons-based economy consist of?
The very idea of “the economy” is a social construction, not a natural fact. Yet if we wish to transcend the familiar paradigm of “the economy” – the capitalist market and its logic – what are the handful of key principles that let us define a commons-based “economy”? What are its basic principles and how can we “know it when we see it”?
Does it require specific (infra)structures, principles and policy approaches?

Some commons scholars suggest that a commons-based economy is one that combines production, consumption and governance into a unified needs-based system, such that it is impossible to distinguish among them. Another definition is that production cannot be distinguished from reproduction because everything contributes to the reproduction of livelihoods. There are surely other salient features of a commons-based economy that we should identify and explore.

Some specific issues worth exploring:

THE ONTOLOGY AND THE VALUE PROPOSITION OF THE COMMONS

Why and how does a commons generate value? Let’s get down to some basics of the human condition and relationships (ontology) and knowledge categories (epistemology) to understand the value-proposition of the commons.
What is the purpose of a commons-based economy? How can we starkly differentiate the commons worldview and provisioning model from that of market economics?
How do the processes and social relationships of the commons differ from those of the market, and how does this matter? Can we consider this from an anthropological perspective?
Are there identifiable typologies of commons? Do these conform to types of resources, cultural patterns, or something else?
For political purposes, we may wish to assert a universal template of commoning (“principles of commoning”) and declare that the type of resource is a secondary matter. But is this entirely true?
Can any general statement be made about the ontological power of the commons – i.e., how and why it self-organizes, generates value and innovates? Or is a commons destined always to be a subsidiary form that is necessarily embedded in markets and the state and dependent on them?
Can we identify general differences between commons and commoning in the global North (which is “rediscovering” the commons) as opposed to the global South (where commoning has a long, deep and continuous history)?
How do commons protect themselves from free riders and abuse? What sorts of technological, legal or social innovations can work?
How can the yearning for collective management and participation be “locked in” and secured?
How do commons get started in the first place?
…

CIVIL SOCIETY AND THE COMMONS

How does the debate on commons-based economy relate to those of…

feminist economy, especially the care economy and the subsistence economy from a feminist perspective;
the solidarity economy;
the Transition Town movement
gift economies
the international degrowth-debate
buen vivir or other discourses present in the region…

What can we learn from these various economies? Where are the overlaps and where the differences?

THE COMMONS AND ECONOMIC GROWTH

What role can the commons play in arresting relentless economic growth, and how?
What are some practical, incremental scenarios for using the commons to reduce growth and internalize externalities, without falling into the trap of market-based mechanisms that favor monetization of the value of nature or reproductive work?
Is a commons-based economy and peer production a force for “de-materializing” the economy? If so, how?..

THE STATE AND THE COMMONS

How can the personal engagement and informal nature of the commons (in its canonical form) be preserved if the state is involved with it?
How might we conceptualize a State that “enables the commons”? What are the politics of such a scenario?
Does the formalization of a commons and external legal/financial support for it undermine the social practices and relationships that lie at the heart of a commons? If so, how can commons design themselves to be quasi-autonomous while securing support (or at least, non-interference) from the market/state duopoly?

MARKETS AND COMMONS

Tell us about a particularly stable or popular commons in your country or region. Explain why it has succeeded and what impact it has.

How does a commons interact with markets or not? (see also above)
If the commons is primarily a nonmarket form of provisioning, can it have any fruitful relationship with markets? If so, what sorts of limits or protections are needed to assure the long-term integrity of a commons? How can they be maintained?
What are the patterns by which commons and market activity can interact constructively? Or are they necessarily hostile and adversarial?
Given the structural economic and policy biases against recognizing the value of infrastructure-as-commons, how can commoners secure necessary infrastructure – roads, telecom, water, land, Internet – as commons?
…

On the Internet:

Can we make any useful generalizations about the differences and commonalities between open platforms (e.g., Facebook, Twitter) and digital commons (Wikipedia, open-access journals, collaborative archives)?
Are open platforms helpful to a commons-based economy or mostly a means for corporate co-optation of social sharing and collaboration?
Should we consider “open business models” a form of commoning (where open networked platforms are used to leverage social sharing) – or are they mostly a capitalistic form that seeks to exploit open networks?
Should commoners welcome open business models or regard them with suspicion? What factors might affect a determination?
If inalienability is important to preserving a commons – i.e., a community-managed resource that may not be monetized – then how can this be accomplished in reliable, lasting ways?
How can we link inalienability with the value proposition of the commons?
…

Localism and commons:

Is a commons necessarily local?
And if a commons can work at larger scales, how does subsidiarity actually work?
…

LAND, LABOR, MONEY and CULTURE

What does work, productive activity and labor mean in the context of a commons?
Can money and credit be converted into a commons?
Is it possible (and desirable) to de-commodify them? If so, why?
What are the viable alternative models?
…

SOCIAL IMPLICATIONS OF A COMMONS-BASED ECONOMY

Why and how does a commons foster social justice, stability and sustainability?
Does a commons necessarily reduce inequality or what circumstances are needed to do so?
What can make a commons socially regressive?
What about people who do not have the education or basic resources to participate in (some) commons (e.g., Internet commons)?
Doesn’t a commons reduce incentives to work hard and innovate?
Does the commons promote unsustainable live-styles? (e.g., a 3D printer for everyone!)
How can the social solidarity and cooperation of a commons persist as it scales (i.e, as coordination and communication becomes more difficult)? Or perhaps there are different “tiers” of commons that should be regarded differently – much as a “state trustee commons” will differ from a small-scale tribal commons for water?

THE COMMONS; POWER AND HIERARCHY:

We should not succumb to romanticized visions of happy egalitarianism within commons. Issues of power relations must be addressed.

Do commons empower people to break down predatory or hierarchical power relationships?
Are there certain structures of power and governance within a commons that are essential?
Can we imagine a typology of commons-based governance structures?
Workable commons seem to imply a different sort of culture than those associated with markets. But how and why do commons produce a different sort of culture?
Does a commons-based society entail a different form of spirituality or religion?
…

ALTERNATIVE ECONOMIC MOVEMENTS AND STRATEGIES FOR MOVING FORWARD

Who are the key thinkers and activists involved in developing alternative economic paradigms that work and are philosophically coherent?
What are some of the key alternative economic organizations and movements?
How to “bridge” with them?
How do we begin to develop actual projects to advance a commons-based economy?
What sorts of knowledge, networks of people and organizations, and experiences are needed?
…