JASecon - Just Alternatives for a Sustainable Economy

The commons historically doesn't grow. It gets better. It's easy to imagine the
air getting cleaner, the countryside more lush, and the fields more fertile with
care. Cultural life is another commons. It can develop and become more of a
vital part of all our lives.

Developing the commons has an ethic and ownership plays no part in it. The
concept that comes to mind is Stewardship. Open source software development can
be viewed as a stewardship practice.

To extend the concept of the commons to the productive economy adds depth to the
notion of a sustainable society. Just as scientists build on the work of those
who preceded them in their research, so too do workers become productive by
benefiting from the shared knowledge of those did their jobs before them. If we
wish to create a sustainable society it makes sense to see our work as the
current contribution in a chain of activities. In this way we become the
stewards of the manufacturing system as others are stewards of the agricultural
system.

This isn't as utopian as some may think. The cooperative economy is home to
these values though they are not often expressed in this manner. Credit unions
are a good example. Same for cooperative housing. The common wealth functions
through a cooperative economy.

The current economy shatters and collapses to reveal that which is substantial
and valuable but hidden by the pursuit of ephemera. Do we have the foresight to
build on that which exists to expand these values? Do we have a choice?