What do we have in common?
Organic food. Local food. Sustainability. Renewable energy. Global warming. Social networking. So many terms and activities run their course as the “hot” new trend.
In recent years, I increasingly hear about “the commons”–drawn from the concept of the village green or village commons, the place where a community gathers, this term is now being applied to much larger spaces–like the “commons” of the shared oceans and atmosphere, or virtual gathering places. One of the blogs I follow comes from Raj Patel, who has focused a lot of his writing and thinking on local food and community control of critical resources.
Check out this exerpt from his recent book, The Value of Nothing, which ran in Utne online this week.
Where does our common ground begin…and end? Raj cites the notion of “the commons” as it applies to broadcast airwaves. What else should we treat as part of the commons, in terms of resources or geographies?
And here’s a short video about the “creative” commons:
Tags: raj patel, the commons
Ellen,
I had mixed feelings watching the video. We all copy. We all share even without meaning to do so. The problem comes in when trying to determine where to draw the line.
I am all in favor of copyrights but the concept can get out of control because in point of fact, none of us actually create. What we actually do is recreate. Example: we all use the same words to speak or write but change the order and come up with what we call the “new.”
As one who insists upon being an individual, I tend to be suspicious of the word “community.” The problem I have with it is how it implies sameness and group think. Another way to put it – you can’t see the trees because the forest gets in the way. But without the individual trees, you wouldn’t have a forest.
Maybe it’s the American in me that causes me to reject common anything, including the concept of common sense. I tend to prefer uncommon sense.
Aren’t words fun?
Pete,
I don’t disagree with you. I, too, feel some ambivalence about “joining” and certainly about “group think.” But I believe there is a place where we can share as a community and still leave room and a welcome mat for those who think and create differently than the majority. John Mills talked about the importance of the minority–even a single voice that differs from the majority has something of value to add to the conversation or the creative process or political interaction. Sadly, in recent years, we are all segregated into impenetrable cohorts and those cohorts act rigidly within the confines of their agreed upon common ground–to the exclusion of all other cohorts. This variety of “joining” or community becomes counterproductive.