Learning to see commons as relational social systems, and not primarily as creatures of property law and standard economics, can help us understand how commons arise and maintain themselves. In this panel, David Bollier and Johannes Euler will cohost a discussion about the ""patterns of commoning,"" a framework developed by Bollier and Silke Helfrich in their 2019 book, 'Free, Fair and Alive.'
Inspired by Christopher Alexander's methodology for creating ""pattern languages,"" 'Free, Fair and Alive' identified more than twenty-five patterns of social, economic and governance practices that animate and sustain commons. The patterns are not a universal blueprint, but rather a flexible meta-template that names intersubjective experiences and dynamics of commoning while taking account of unique histories, landscapes, and other contextual factors. This approach to commoning is useful in explaining how relational dynamics are creative and resilient, helping to generate diverse forms of (mostly nonmarket) value.
The panel will also introduce a deck of oversized ""playing cards"" depicting more than thirty patterns of commoning that have been identified to date. The cards are used to help people reflect on the governance and provisioning practices of their commons, and as didactic tools for helping people learn about commoning.
