Developing the Meta Services for the Eco-Social Economy

= on developing a framework for an eco-social economy - includings its arrangements to manage natural commons

Text proposed by Feasta, Ireland. By Brian Davey with the assistance of John Jopling.

The full paper can be obtained via Brian Davey <briadavey@googlemail.com>. (An shorter version of this paper, edited by Ranjan Chaudhuri is to appear in the Indian newspaper, The Hindu)

Introduction

Excerpt:

"This paper is to open a discussion about how civil society organisations can make themselves more effective in addressing environmental and developmental issues. What are the keys to unlock our potential for bringing about change on the scale needed to reverse current global trends? The focus of much of the work of NGOs and civil society organisations is on what government and inter-governmental policy should be – as well as campaigning for private corporations to clean up their act. In both these cases we find ourselves up against systems with systemic limitations on their freedom to respond positively - the necessity to promote economic growth in the case of governments and in the case of private corporations the necessity to promote shareholder value above all other considerations. However, there is also a growing sector that directly engages in social and environmental entrepreneurism in its own right, effectively subsidised by the self sacrifice and determination of their members. These organisations and movements pioneer new approaches, provide models for citizen engagement and are vehicles to acquire the skills that will be needed in the future. The question we ask here is how can these movements become the dominant global system?

Examples of the kind of projects that might network together and evolve into a new eco social economy are Transition Initiatives, Permaculture projects, Eco-Teams, the Slow Food Movement, Community Energy Companies, Community Gardens and City Farms, Community Transport schemes, eco-villages and the like. In his book Blessed Unrest, author Paul Hawken suggests that there are anything between one half to two million organisations on the planet active on environmental issues, indigenous rights and social justice. Evolved to respond to local conditions with locally developed ideas many organisations have emerged under conditions of political indifference or hostility. While some organisations start off campaigning in reaction to what they oppose, many then pro-actively pioneer DIY model projects to demonstrate alternative ideas in practice. These are often small - but seedling projects can grow, cluster and network. Such exemplary projects are a vital part of the solution – but together with the campaigning NGOs they will not be enough either. What is suggested here is that a third component is needed. The suggestion is that there is now, in addition, a compelling case for developing institutions to hold in trust and manage collective commons resources that are being over-used, depleted and/or polluted to the point of collapse, like the earth's atmosphere, the earth's oceans, fresh water resources and land masses. This is not a role for the state, for states were not established to protect these resources and are usually captured by powerful self-interested actors. What is missing at the moment is a set of institutional frameworks to independently manage commons resources in stewardship, to limit the use of these resources, restore them to health and ensure that, to the extent they are used, they are used to the benefit of everyone equally – including future generations who have a right to receive these resources in good health."