Think Like a Commoner

A new world based on fairness, participation, accountability is closer than you think...if you learn to think like a commoner

A new world based on fairness, self-reliance and pride is closer than you think if you learn to think like a commoner!

"The Commons is among the most important and hopeful concepts of our time, and once you've read this book you'll understand why!" ---Bill McKibben, author Deep Economy

" Think Like a Commoner is a brilliant, accessible, practical, path-breaking intellectual tour de force. an essential read for everyone who cares about the human future." ---David Korten, author, Agenda for a New Economy , board chair YES! Magazine, and co-chair, New Economy Working Group

With graceful prose and dozens of fascinating stories, Bollier introduces the people, projects and vision now spawning a global movement. Think Like a Commoner explains how the commons:

• Challenges the standard narrative of contemporary market economics
• Provides a framework of law and social action that can help us move beyond neoliberal capitalism
• Is an exploding field of DIY innovation ranging from Wikipedia and seed-sharing to community forests and collaborative consumption, and beyond.

We have a choice: Ignore the commons and suffer the ongoing private plunder of our common wealth. Or Think Like a Commoner and learn how to rebuild our society and reclaim our shared inheritance. This accessible, comprehensive introduction to the commons will surprise you, enlighten you, and provoke you to action.

"Our world is in need of reviving an ancient wisdom if it is to survive. David Bollier has a beautiful, bold but practical vision for our commons future and lights the path forward."
I love this book!"---Maude Barlow, National Chairperson of the Council of Canadians; international water activist

David Bollier is an author, activist, blogger and independent scholar. He is cofounder of the Commons Strategies Group and an author or editor of six books on different aspects of the commons, including Green Governance, The Wealth of the Commons and Viral Spiral .

The biggest "tragedy of the commons" is the misconception that commons are failures-relics from another era rendered unnecessary by the market and state. Think Like a Commoner dispels such prejudices by explaining the rich history and promising future of the commons-an ageless paradigm of cooperation and fairness that is re-making our world. With graceful prose and dozens of fascinating stories, David Bollier describes the quiet revolution that is pioneering practical forms of self-governance and production controlled by people themselves. Think Like a Commoner explains how the commons: * Is an exploding field of DIY innovation ranging from Wikipedia and seed-sharing to community forests, collaborative consumption, and beyond * Challenges the standard narrative of market economics by explaining how cooperation generates significant value and human fulfillment * Provides a framework of law and social action that can help us move beyond the pathologies of neoliberal capitalism We have a choice: ignore the commons and suffer the ongoing private plunder of our common wealth, or Think Like a Commoner and learn how to rebuild our society and reclaim our shared inheritance. This accessible, comprehensive introduction to the commons will surprise and enlighten you, and provoke you to action. David Bollier is an author, activist, blogger, and independent scholar. He is the author of six books on different aspects of the commons, including Green Governance, The Wealth of the Commons, and Viral Spiral, and is a frequent speaker at conferences, colleges and universities, and policy workshops.