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the commons

August 3, 2026

Protecting Our FLOSS Commons from LLMs

The widespread use of LLMs in FLOSS is becoming a multidimensional attack on the trust between contributors and the very idea of convivial collaboration itself.

July 13, 2026

English Land Commoners and Their Folk Culture

Our modern mental maps of commons are woefully inadequate, in part because we have forgotten the history of commons and its once-flourishing folk culture. 

June 8, 2026

New Forms of Rural Resurgence Through Commoning and Care

I interviewed Bianca Elzenbaumer for my latest podcast of Frontiers of Commoning (Episode #75) to learn more about the group’s very different vision of development.

October 13, 2025

Chris Smaje's Vision of a Post-Capitalist Eco-Localism that Works

What might the world look like if climate change is not stopped? What if societies refuse to, or cannot rein in capitalism and its relentless growth and exploitation of nature? 

September 29, 2025

From Capital to Commons: A Review

In his From Capital to Commons, Hannes Gerhardt introduces us to an exploration of a world beyond capitalism.

June 23, 2025

How the Commons Can Reach Working-Class Communities

We need to shift to a new system, so that we can be fed, watered, housed, cared for, and enjoy our lives as best as possible in a more environmentally-unstable future.

June 2, 2025

From Inner Change to Systemic Change

Recently, the Garrison Institute invited me to write a short essay about the interconnectedness of all living beings and how commons can serve as vehicles for manifesting that idea.

December 5, 2024

The Commons Economy Reloaded

The Commons are a set of resources and places that are accessible to all members of society (parks, libraries, air). When we say 'the commons' we are referring to things and places that are held collectively, not owned privately.
 

November 7, 2024

An Atlas for Urban Commons of the World

Stefan Gruber, a Carnegie Mellon professor of architecture and urbanism, sees cities as a prime site of struggle between capitalism and commons, and at the same time more accessible than most national or international policy venues.