Town Hall's website described our topic this way:
"The April edition of Penny U will focus on the idea of the commons as it is reflected in our politics, environment, and social life. This discussion will explore where the commons is practiced today and whether this form of collective practice presents a solution to society's problems."
A little more information was circulated in advance:
Our
exploration of the idea and reality of the commons can take many possible
directions:
We could continue
themes from last month's discussion of climate change by pursuing the ideas of
David Bollier and others, who believe that, "one of the most compelling,
long-term strategies for dealing with the structural causes of our many
ecological crises is to create and recognize legally, alternative systems of
provisioning and governance." That system already exists, he says.
"It's called the commons."
Or we could pursue ideas from Jeremy Rifkin, who began his Town Hall talk last year
with a despairing picture of our economic future. But he had an answer: add
another economic system. Beyond government and private enterprise, which most
economists assume are the only two ways to organize an economy, is the social
commons, he said, which is older than either and already used everywhere.
Or we could consider the thinking of Matthew Crawford, who will present at Town
Hall immediately after Penny U on April 8, when he says, "There are many
causes for the increasing concentration of wealth in a shrinking elite."
And he wants to throw one more cause into the mix: "the ever-more
aggressive appropriation of the attentional commons," the effort to
"monetize every bit of our head space."
