[P2P-F] Fwd: New From Pluto Press - Nature for Sale: The Commons versus Commodities

Fri Jul 19 18:33:52 CEST 2013

Hi again,
I am a rational optimist (Matt Ridley) but I believe also that in  
general people will behave well only out of personal interest or when  
there is some form of social controll that will make it likely that  
one will be found out when behaving badly.
Even the strongest forms of innate empathy (for babies and helpless  
children) are often put aside in war situations and other conditions  
where it's everyone for himself.
And caring about something like air pollution is simply not in the  
reach of most people, I think.

Most of our efforts to make the world a better place, will probably be futile.
But that shouldn't stop us of course.

Best regards,
Edu

Quoting Anna Harris <anna at shsh.co.uk>:

> Hi Edu,
>
> I gave the example of air to show that considering scale in looking after a
> given element really does not make sense. We have to find a way to protect
> what is essential for the benefit of all. If that involves some private
> property there would be no harm as long as the element was cared for in the
> interests of humanity as a whole, - what you refer to as 'lmanaging their
> property quite well'. I presume you don't mean just in their own interests
> to the exclusion of the interests of humanity as a whole. I believe that is
> the level which we have to consider. As long as that is priority I would
> agree with you that public or private is less relevant.
> Your point about survival being the primary motive force of evolution is
> also debatable. See eg Jeremy Rifkin 'The Empathic Civilisation, and Lynne
> McTaggart 'The Bond'. It is less a question of imposing a new moral regime,
> as allowing what is inherent to emerge.
>
> Anna
>
>
>
> On Fri, Jul 19, 2013 at 4:26 PM, <edubraat at dds.nl> wrote:
>
>> Hi Anna,
>>
>> There is a saying that we won't have peace untill the last king is
>> strangled with the innards of the last priest. If you update this to
>> the last capitalist strangled with the innards of the last bureaucrat,
>> we still will not be safe, I'm afraid.
>>
>> Although I agree that lots of problems come from private ownership,
>> there have always been many private owners who managed their
>> properties quite well, just as there have been many stewards who
>> didn't take care too well of what was trusted to them.
>> I think the point Hardin made was that it's foremost a matter of scale.
>> And there is a lot of evidence (from Jared Diamond and others) that so
>> called indigenous tribes didn't care about their surroundings (and
>> neighbours) at all.
>>
>> I do believe we are making some progress but it's a long haul as
>> humans did not evolve as moral animals but as very adaptable survivors
>> and opportunists. Perhaps we have to wait for the Singularity ;+)
>>
>> Best Regards,
>> Edu
>>
>>
>>
>> Quoting Anna Harris <anna at shsh.co.uk>:
>>
>> > The 'commons' is now seen as more than a piece of land which was used as
>> > shared grazing. The air we breathe is, or should be regarded as a
>> > 'commons', which needs to be protected for this and future generations,
>> as
>> > is a long list such as water, seeds, oceans, the internet, etc. Many
>> > elements which have become commodified, ie in private hands, and used for
>> > profit, should be available freely. Land too should come into this
>> > category. For many indigenous peoples the idea of land belonging to
>> someone
>> > is ludicrous.
>> >
>> > However that does not mean that they can be used to the point of
>> extinction
>> > as is happening now with private ownership. They do often require
>> > management, as in air pollution, so the recognition of status as a
>> commons
>> > implies stewardship, international agreements to protect for this and
>> > future generations. Such agreements may be difficult, but they are
>> > essential for a sustainable society.
>> >
>> > On Fri, Jul 19, 2013 at 3:14 PM, <edubraat at dds.nl> wrote:
>> >
>> >> Hi,
>> >> I happen to have read the original article The Tragedy of the Commons
>> >> by Garrett Hardin (Science, 13 december 1968) the other night (you'll
>> >> find it on the net) and it argues that the commons is only a good idea
>> >> as long as the community is small and everybody knows each other, so
>> >> ca. 150 people (the Dunbar number). Once it gets bigger, problems
>> >> arise which just can't be solved.
>> >>
>> >> Best regards,
>> >> Edu Braat,
>> >> founder of Workpatch, member of Share.nl, the Dutch P2P foundation
>> >>
>> >> Quoting Michel Bauwens <michel at p2pfoundation.net>:
>> >>
>> >> > ---------- Forwarded message ----------
>> >> > From: Jon Wheatley <jonw at plutobooks.com>
>> >> > Date: Fri, Jul 19, 2013 at 5:35 PM
>> >> > Subject: New From Pluto Press - Nature for Sale: The Commons versus
>> >> > Commodities
>> >> > To: Jon Wheatley <jonw at plutobooks.com>
>> >> >
>> >> >
>> >> >
>> >> > *
>> >> >
>> >> > **
>> >> >
>> >> >               P R E S S  R E L E A S E
>> >> >
>> >> > **
>> >> >
>> >> > -- Traces the erosion of the commons from the Industrial Revolution to
>> >> > today?s neo-liberalism, arguing that a new commons is needed today.
>>  --
>> >> >
>> >> >
>> >> >
>> >> >
>> >> > *
>> >> >
>> >> > *
>> >> > *
>> >> >
>> >> > *Nature for Sale:
>> >> > The Commons versus
>> >> > Commodities*
>> >> >
>> >> > * *
>> >> >
>> >> > *Giovanna Ricoveri*
>> >> >
>> >> > *Foreword by** Vandana Shiva*
>> >> >
>> >> > **
>> >> >
>> >> > *Out Now*
>> >> >
>> >> >
>> >> > PB / £14.99 / 9780745333700 / 215mm x 135mm  /  June 13
>> >> >
>> >> >
>> >> > *This book fills a gap, as it allows to understand the foundations for
>> >> > waging a survival struggle against an encroaching climate. It will
>> help
>> >> > readers to penetrate the systematic nature of the war against Nature
>> and
>> >> it
>> >> > can be a very useful tool in strengthening the movements to stop the
>> >> > assault.*
>> >> >
>> >> > *Saul Landau, Vice Chair of the Institute for Policy Studies,
>> Berkeley*
>> >> >
>> >> > **
>> >> >
>> >> > *An historical-philosophical inquiry into an alternative route to the
>> >> > current devastating economic and social order. Written by one of the
>> >> > leading intellectuals of the Italian left, among the first in Europe
>> to
>> >> > deal with political ecology issues.*
>> >> >
>> >> > *Grazia Francescato, leading environmentalist and previous leader of
>> the
>> >> > Italian Green Party*
>> >> >
>> >> > **
>> >> >
>> >> > Nature for Sale uncovers the rich heritage of common ownership which
>> >> > existed before the dominance of capitalist property relations.
>> Giovanna
>> >> > Ricoveri argues that the subsistence commons of the past can be
>> >> reinvented
>> >> > today to provide an alternative to the current destructive economic
>> >> order.
>> >> >
>> >> >
>> >> > Ricoveri outlines the distinct features of common ownership as it has
>> >> > existed in history: cooperation, sustainable use of natural resources
>> and
>> >> > decision-making through direct democracy. In doing so, she shows how
>> it
>> >> is
>> >> > possible to provide goods and services which are not commodities
>> >> exchanged
>> >> > on the capitalistic market, something still demonstrated today in
>> village
>> >> > communities across the global South.
>> >> >
>> >> >
>> >> > Tracing the erosion of the commons from the European enclosures at the
>> >> dawn
>> >> > of the Industrial Revolution to the new enclosures of modern
>> capitalism,
>> >> > the book concludes by arguing that a new commons is needed today. It
>> will
>> >> > be essential reading for activists as well as students and academics
>> in
>> >> > history, politics, economics and development studies.
>> >> >
>> >> >
>> >> > *Giovanna Ricoveri is a writer and activist. She is the author of a
>> book
>> >> on
>> >> > the commons in Italian, Beni comuni vs Merci (2010) and editor of Beni
>> >> > comuni tra tradizione e futuro (2005). She is the founding editor of
>> >> > Capitalismo Natura Socialismo, which is part of the international
>> network
>> >> > Capitalism Nature Socialism.*
>> >> >
>> >> > *
>> >> > *
>> >> >
>> >> > **
>> >> >
>> >> > *For further information, to request a review copy or to speak to the
>> >> > author please contact Jon Wheatley at jonw at plutobooks.com or on 0208
>> 374
>> >> > 6424*
>> >> > *
>> >> > *
>> >> >
>> >> > *
>> >> > *
>> >> >
>> >> >
>> >> >
>> >> >
>> >> > --
>> >> > P2P Foundation: http://p2pfoundation.net  -
>> >> http://blog.p2pfoundation.net
>> >> >
>> >> > <http://lists.ourproject.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/p2p-foundation
>> >> >Updates:
>> >> > http://twitter.com/mbauwens; http://www.facebook.com/mbauwens
>> >> >
>> >> > #82 on the (En)Rich list: http://enrichlist.org/the-complete-list/
>> >> >
>> >>
>> >>
>> >>
>> >>
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>> >>
>> >
>>
>>
>>
>>
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