Burnaby

Tragedy of the Market: Crisis to Commons

A community gathering - January 6th-8th 2012

10:00am
Friday January 6 2012

A crisis in capitalism is stalking the world. Ecological plunder, famines, displacement off the land and greed increasingly mark the battle lines between the rich and everyone else.  Enforced homelessness, social service cuts, and environmental disasters are daily occurrences. But today we also see people in every corner of the world are rising up against these injustices, and we are inspired by this “indignant” moment.  But we want to understand what lies beyond our collective “no!” to a future foreclosed by dispossession, debt and ecocide.

Communities around the globe have common cause, fighting for of safe food and housing, decent health, clean air and undeveloped spaces in nature.  But these “commons” have either been captured by the market or are at risk.  The commons refers to relationships based on shared resources, collective management, networks of mutual aid, respect and dignity.  Taking back the commons means reclaiming community control over the parts of our lives that have been colonized by governments, markets, and corporations.

Can we recognize, reclaim and create alternative social realities that the elite tell us cannot possibly exist?  A gathering is being organized to help us answer those questions. This gathering will cover the themes of land, food, water, health, education, media,  decolonization, migration & the history of the commons. Stay tuned for more details.

CEOs are dreaming of owning everything on the planet – what are we dreaming of?