ECC2013

DRAFT—MAY 16, 2012, Submitted by David Bollier.

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THE COMMONS: FROM SEED FORM TO REAL PROVISIONING SYSTEM

An Overview of The Economics of the Commons Conference (ECC)

May 22 – 24 2013,

and Three Preparatory Workshops

One of the most significant impediments to change is the entrenched power of the neoliberal economic and political paradigm. The prevailing economic dogma is that individual self-interest, expansive private property rights and globalized free trade can solve most social and environmental problems. Social democrats and other reformers challenge this view, of course, and continue to decry the dysfunctionalities of the market economy, the inadequacies of the welfare state and threats to the biosphere from climate change and resource depletion. But their visions for the future are neither plausible, compelling, or enthusiastically supported. Despite the important work of many heterodox schools of economic thought, few political thinkers and players seem interested in or capable of developing a new political/economic philosophy based on practical alternatives. We are stuck at an impasse.

“The Commons: From Seed Form to Real Provisioning System,” seeks to fill this void in political and economic discourse by exploring the economics of the commons as an alternative provisioning system, worldview and vision for the future. Commons-based principles and models have the potential to build a rich array of stable, equitable and ecological alternatives to conventional markets while strengthening communities and networks. Indeed, the proliferation of commons-based models – for natural resources, digital spaces, civic life and many other arenas – suggests the feasibility of a new Commons Sector. This conference seeks to expand and empower this work by helping crystallize the economics of the commons as a coherent field of inquiry and action. The conference will showcase key actors, discuss theoretical analyses, identify conflicting schools of thought, and visualize new action-plans for moving forward.

Any inquiry into this topic is challenging because the very idea of the commons demands that we expand standard economic definitions of “value.” especially at they apply to land and nature, culture and knowledge, labor, money, infrastructure, and everyday human life. To understand the commons in these areas, we must understand how different types of social exchange and cooperation create different forms of wealth, much of it non-quantifiable social and ecological in nature. The commons also requires that we address structures of power and control in a political economy, and develop better understandings of how collective governance regimes work.

Building on the work of those who criticize the mechanistic models of conventional economics, we must consider the complexities of human agency, collective organization, and human relationships with nature. We must move beyond the standard definition of economics as the allocation of scarce resources because this category assumes a priori scarcity, and confuses quantitative and qualitative value and meaning. In a sense, commons-based provisioning implies a profound redefinition of “the economy.” The commons helps us re-connect with the original meaning of “economy,” which derives from the ancient Greek word, oikos, for “household,” the most basic unit of social, economic and governmental action.

This conference will explore the foundations of a commons-based economics: What makes a commons so generative? What core principles of commoning can be identified across different resource domains? In what circumstances can commons-based provisioning models substitute for conventional markets, or interact constructively with markets?

To probe these and other questions, the Heinrich Böll Foundation in cooperation with the Commons Strategies Group will organize and host a major international Economics of the Commons Conference (ECC) to be held from May 22 to 24, 2013. The event will be preceded several months earlier by three two-day workshops, each held on different continents in the fall and winter of 2012-2013: for Europe in Paris, in cooperation with the Charles Meyer Foundation and Vecam; for Latin America in Mexico City, in cooperation with the regional office for central America and Mexico of the Heinrich Böll Foundation; and for Asia in Bangkok, Thailand, in cooperation with the Böll Foundation’s South-East Asia office.

The Commons Strategies Group

The Commons Strategies Group and Heinrich Böll Foundation are the joint organizers of this conference, which is an outgrowth of the landmark International Commons Conference in Berlin in November 2010. That event brought together about 180 commons activists, academics and project leaders from 34 countries, and for the first time started a cross-disciplinary political and policy dialogue about the commons in diverse international settings.

Building on the energy from that conference, CSG has just completed a major book anthology of 73 essays on the commons that has been published in German; the English edition will be published in September. CSG has also participated in strategic planning for the Rio+20 environmental conference in Brazil in June 2012, and its principals have made dozens of presentations about the commons at various conferences, universities and public events. This Economics of the Commons Conference (ECC) is a logical next step in advancing the CSG’s movement-building agenda.

Objectives

We need to formulate a plausible and compelling vision for the future by showing the breadth and feasibility of commons-based provisioning and by forging a coherent public narrative and analysis about it. This conference aspires to speak to the need by:

• Convening key researchers, practitioners and advocates from around the world to discuss shared concerns; • Consolidating their knowledge into a common field of inquiry; • Reconceiving our economy as a constellation of commons-friendly provisioning systems; • Developing practical plans for moving a commons provisioning agenda forward; and • Deepening and broadening relationships among key individuals and institutions, including after the conference itself.

Substantive discussion at the conference will focus on several key themes:

• The commons as a way to move beyond economics • Alternative economic/provisioning models • Macro-economic transformations: making the transition to a new type of economy

A number of specific sub-themes will also be emphasized:

• Economics of physical commons: What can we learn from the governance and economics of local physical-resource commons? • Economics of digital and cognitive commons: What can we learn from the economics of digital and knowledge commons? • Financial and credit commons: from local credit commons to transnational monetary reform. • Natural resource commons: How can they help solve the biospheric crisis? • Justice and equity in commons: How does a commons re-conceive the role of labor and its entitlements and responsibilities? • Spiritual (traditional and religious) commons • Issues of governance and power

The Plan for the Conference

More than fostering an exchange of information, the conference is intended to help build new working relationships, personal commitments, and a group ethic of listening to each other and caring for each other. Active participation by everyone and commoning will be vital. This will be facilitated by an online wiki and listserv, which will include a bibliography of resources, profiles of participants, and other resources to be determined.

Day One: What Does the Economics of the Commons Mean?

9:00 am – 10:30 am Keynote remarks + two short talks

Special care will be taken to avoid a “sectoralization” of commons discussion. CSG believes it is important to develop a “general narrative” of the commons that applies cross-sectorally. Even with differences in the rivalrous/nonrivalrous nature of resources, certain principles and ethics of commoning can be seen in each case.

Rest of day: details to follow

Day Two: From Stocks to Flows, and from Market Assets to Commoning

9:00 am – 10:00 Recap the principles of commons and core design principles.

10:15 am – 1:00 Begin two sets of sectoral discussions focused on these resource domains: Land & Nature Money & Value Labor Culture, Science & Knowledge Infrastructure Life, Meaning & Spirituality

Task force hosts will facilitate breakout groups to discuss specific action steps for synthesizing knowledge, convening key players, publishing strategic documents, organizing institutions and/or the public, etc.

Self-organized Break

11:45 am – 1:00 pm

1:00 – 2:15 Lunch

2:15 – 4:30 Reconsidering Provisioning Systems

An un-conference format where participants divide up into specific commons sectors of their own choosing. A key question for each group: What does it mean to reconceptualize that domain (labor, knowledge etc.) as commons? How exactly does needs-based production work?

4:30 – 5:15 Groups report back to plenary session with five minute reports.

Day Three (for task force leaders and participants who choose to stay)

How Do We Get There from Here?

9:00 am – 1 pm