Commoning and collective sufficiency go hand-in-hand. A much used – and, therefore, abused – word, what do we mean by ‘commoning’?
Commoning is about relations of respect and sharing between people and between people and Earth.
In a practical sense commoning refers to co-governance of the shared use of, responsibility for, and benefits from defined elements of the living world, think sharing land, a building or knowledge. Associated collective activities express principles of ecological and social sustainability and regenerability.
Commoning is based on real values, i.e. social and ecological values, and on nonmonetary forms of production and exchange. Commoning is centred on the principle of autonomy so commoners try to avoid compromises with the state (government) or market as authorities and regulators.
Commoning is a way of being in the world that can be ‘prefigurative’ – a cluster of self-governing principles and practices that can inform a socially just and ecological sustainable future. So we self-consciously engage in commoning observing how we can do better and sharing our reflections with others.