The Commons

The paper discusses the concept, development and outcomes of the cartography project "Mapping the Commons" which took place in Athens and Istanbul in 2010 and 2012 respectively. It specifically presents the methodology and practices used, while also looking into the conflicts and difficulties met in the two different cities.

"(in English and Italian below; in italiano e inglese di sotto)

PDF: http://www.isaaccurtis.com/files/3313/8203/0950/Curtis_2013_Gens_sans_matres.pdf

Homepage: http://www.isaaccurtis.com/

Français :

Cet article tente de présenter l’histoire des Antilles coloniales du point de vue des gens sans maîtres. La narration qui suit est provisoire mais a l’avantage de montrer les mérites d’une telle démarche pour l’étude que les “acteurs informels” ont joué dans l’histoire plus généralement. En même temps, il présente un compte rendu de la transition au capitalisme dans le contexte antillais. Étudier le capitalisme par rapport aux circonstances qui ont précédé son avènement plutôt que du point de vue de ses conséquences permet d’analyser cette transition avec un œil neuf. Tout d’abord, cela permet de considérer les «extraordinaires possibilités manquées», d’après Césaire, en raison du développement du capitalisme et du colonialisme. Deuxièmement, cet article établit un lien avec d’autres études qui étudient d’autres enclosures qui pourraient profiter d’une perspective historique sur ces développements. Troisièmement, en traitant la conscription des gens sans maîtres comme intimement liée au projet colonialiste, ce travail soulève des questions quant à la mesure, évidemment variable, de la liberté dont ils jouirent. Finalement, en considérant que le commerce est en effet un rapport de production, cet article souligne que le commerce fait partie de la production matérielle et de la formation de la classe ouvrière, et fut, par conséquent, un processus violent et qui relevait fondamentalement de l’exploitation.

Mots-clés: masterless people, Caraïbes, capitalisme, colonialisme, commerce.

English :

This article presents the history of the colonial Caribbean from the perspective of masterless people. Though the narrative presents a preliminary account rather than a conclusive analysis, it shows some of the potential strengths of the so-called “informal actors” paradigm on display in this issue. At the same time, it presents a summary of the transition to capitalism in the Caribbean context. By approaching this transition from the perspective of the past that preceded it rather than the present that is its legacy, this transition emerges in a new light. First of all, this approach allows us to consider the «extraordinary opportunities lost», in the words of Aimé Césaire, as a result of the development of capitalism and colonialism. Secondly, it builds on studies of “enclosures” in other places and times. Thirdly, it considers the conscription of masterless people to the colonial project and the implications for their liberty. Finally, in analyzing what I call “the production of exchange”, this article intends to redirect the transition debate away from an either-or analysis of production and exchange. Instead, I argue that exchange was part of an inherently violent and exploitative material production process that shaped and was shaped by the emerging working class.

Keywords: masterless people, Caribbean, capitalism, colonialism, trade.

Italiano :

Questo articolo presenta la storia del periodo coloniale nei Caraibi adottando il punto di vista dei masterless people («persone senza padrone»). Sebbene il testo rappresenti un’indagine preliminare piuttosto che un’analisi conclusiva, mette in evidenza alcuni dei potenziali punti di forza del paradigma dei cosiddetti “attori informali”, oggetto di questo numero. Allo stesso tempo, propone uno studio sintetico della transizione al capitalismo nel contesto caraibico. Analizzando questa evoluzione con una prospettiva che si concentri sul passato piuttosto che sul presente che di esso è eredità, tale transizione apparirà sotto una nuova luce: primo, perché questo approccio ci permette di prendere in considerazione le «straordinarie opportunità perdute» (citando le parole di Aimé Césaire) come il risultato dello sviluppo di capitalismo e colonialismo; secondo, perché l’articolo si basa su studi dedicati alle enclosures, in altri spazi e tempi; terzo, perché lo studio considera l’arruolamento di persone senza padrone nel “progetto coloniale” e le implicazioni che questo ebbe per la loro libertà. Infine, analizzando quella che ho definito la production of exchange, questo articolo intende deviare il dibattito sulla transizione dall’attuale analisi dicotomica produzione/scambio: infatti, ritengo che lo scambio fosse parte di un processo di produzione intrinsecamente violento e sfruttatore, che formò e fu plasmato dall’emergente classe operaia.

Parole chiave: masterless people, Caraibi, capitalismo, colonialismo, commercio."

"(english will follow)
Dans cet article, l’auteur présente ce qu’est le logiciel libre et ce qu’il représente. Pour ce faire, il s’intéresse à différents éléments, tels que les concepteurs, les utilisateurs, le mécanisme de fonctionnement et les raisons poussant les individus à recourir à ce type de logiciel. Une fois l’objet défini et bien décrit, il examine les conséquences du logiciel libre dans d’autres domaines et relève les enjeux en matière d’administration publique. La dernière partie revient sur l’état d’avancement du logiciel libre au Québec et dans l’administration publique québécoise.

In this article, the author describes and explains open source software and what it represents. To this end, he examines various elements – such as designers, users, operating mechanism, etc. – and the reasons why people have turned to this type of software. Having defined and fully described the object of his research, he discusses the consequences of open source software in other fields and the issues that its use raises for public administrations. The last section of his article reviews the status of open source software in Quebec and in the province’s public administration.""

"In this interview, Jose Luis Vivero makes a strong case for a narrative shift in the way we all perceive food: from being merely a commodity whose utility has to be maximized by all means towards the valuation of all food dimensions and its consideration as a commons, a natural resource that is a vital element for each human being. This narrative shall be the basis for a transition to a glocalised food system which is not only more sustainable but also much fairer to the millions of hungry.
The industrial food system only values food by its price in the market: the lower the better. This “LOW COST” FOOD SYSTEM requires full mechanization and neglects the nutritional implications of healthy food or the social spill over effects of local sustainable food production undertaken by family farming. As food is cheap, it can be wasted with no net losses. Food Security is a Global Public Good that is within the mandate of every state but surely not within the mandate of every food corporation. Big Food companies are aimed at maximizing profit out of food instead of producing healthy food sustainably. That’s why we need to reclaim the citizens’ spaces where civic collective actions for food can be carried out by self-organized groups of producers and consumers, outside traditional market rules or state-driven policies.
We need a different power balance between the State, the market and citizen's collective actions. For instance, a Universal Food Coverage for every citizen could be established in the most progressive countries. In every European country there is a minimum standard of health or education that every citizen is entitled to and that standard is guaranteed by the State. Why don’t we imagine a similar scheme for food? Would it be possible a Universal Food Coverage for every citizen in Europe? What about an international binding Food Treaty to regulate those minimum standards, outside the absolute primacy of WTO rules applied to commodities? There are thousands of growing examples all over the world where alternative food initiatives are being developed by committed citizens. This narrative could provide an ethical basis to coalesce the practical actions under a counter-hegemonic discourse. Food is not a commodity, food is a vital resource for human beings, a human right, a cultural determinant, a natural resource and it shall thus be treated as a commons.        "

In response to economic hardships and the breakdown of traditional communities, some people have come together to create alternative economic systems at the local level. This study's convincing argument for alternative currencies is developed through an historical overview and contemporary case study examining the development of HOURS in Ithaca, New York. This introduction to alternative currencies, particularly scrips and LETS systems, within the framework of community development, raises issues and provides useful resources to guide trainers and community activists who seek to create alternative economic systems.

Hundreds of financial crises have destroyed economies, enterprises, and individual existences over the last decades. Financial reforms are due. One contribution could be complementary monetary systems that are around since long. This paper is descriptive; it introduces how alternative currencies operate and examines proven examples. It looks at theoretical foundations provided by traditional economics, Silvio Gesell, Rudolf Steiner, Bernard Lietaer, and others. The article argues about pro and cons of complementary currencies and questions if they can fulfil the many promises and hopes. It is concluded that the idea of alternative money merits further examining and experimenting, not least because of the opportunities of the Internet and interest from civil society.

""A Contribution to a Conceptualisation of the Common in Bio-Linguistic Capitalism

Abstract

The purpose of this text is to make a contribution to understanding the idea of the common in the existing historical framework. The author points out the wide range of meanings that must be taken into account when one attempts to conceptualise the common, or at least when one wishes to achieve a more or less comprehensive understanding of it. Specifically, this concept must not be understood only in association with common resources, fields or goods, that is, in the sense of that which is most commonly understood as common ownership or common »property«. The common is first and foremost a concept which cannot be conceived without the social relations that constitute an inseparable part of it. The narrow or limited approach mentioned above, which is particularly characteristic of a political economy perspective on the common, may of course provide one of the keys to understanding the diversity of the common and the techniques used to exploit it in the age of bio-linguistic capitalism; however, an exclusive focus on this meaning reduces the complexity of both the concept itself and the society in which it emerges, and thus presents a risk of naturalising certain parts of the social. The first part of the text is therefore dedicated to a clarification of the wide range of faces and approaches through which it is possible to observe the common; only in the second part is this followed by a tentative attempt at a political-economic typologisation of the common. In this part, two mostly »intangible« forms of the common which have become »victims« of new processes of enclosure and privatisation are highlighted. In both cases information itself, which is characterised by a non-rival logic and low subtractivity, is privatised, creating new monopolies on knowledge which directly impact the functioning of society as a whole. These processes are enabled through extra-economic interventions, in particular through the enforcement of intellectual property, which is expanding on the global level through new rigid ownership systems (such as the TRIPS system) and enabling owners to restrict access and thereby potentially accumulate »profit which is becoming rent«. The author approaches the common from the radical position of alternative modernity and posits the urgency of absolute democracy in the administration, establishment and understanding of the common.

Povzetek

Namen članka je prispevati k razumevanju ideje o skupnem v obstoječih zgodovinskih okvirih. Avtor opozarja na množico pomenov, ki jih je treba upoštevati, ko poskušamo poskušamo konceptualizirati skupno, vsaj če ga hočemo razumeti kar se le da celovito. Tega koncepta namreč nikakor ne smemo dojemati le v povezavi s skupnimi viri, področji ali dobrinami, torej v pomenu tega, kar se najpogosteje dojema kot skupna posest ali skupna »lastnina«. Skupno je namreč predvsem koncept, ki ga je nemogoče misliti brez družbenih odnosov, ki so njegov neizogibni del. Omenjeni ožji oziroma zamejeni pristop, ki je značilen predvsem za politično-ekonomski pogled na skupno, je sicer lahko eden izmed ključev za razumevanje raznolikosti skupnega in s kakšnimi tehnikami se v epohi biolingvističnega kapitalizma eksploatira, vendar bi ekskluzivno osredinjanje le na ta pomen reduciralo kompleksnost tako samega koncepta kot tudi družbe, v kateri nastaja, s čimer bi lahko tvegali naturalizacijo nekaterih delov družbenega. Zato je prvi del članka namenjen razjasnitvi množice obrazov in pristopov, iz katerih je mogoče opazovati skupno, čemur šele v drugem delu in s pridržki sledi poizkus politično-ekonomske tipologizacije skupnega ...

V Časopis za kritiko znanosti, številka 244, letnik XXXVIII (2011), str.: 23-47.""