The Power of the Commons with David Bollier
"People are stepping up to invent new systems that function outside of the capitalist mindset, for mutual benefit, with respect for the Earth, and with a commitment to the long term" - David Bollier and Silke Helfrich, Free, Fair, and Alive : The Insurgent Power of the Commons
Join HowlRound Theatre Commons, Center for Economic Democracy, Emerson College's MA in Media Design, and the Engagement Lab @ Emerson College on Monday 30 September at 7 p.m. EDT (New York, UTC -4) as we present the "The Power of the Commons" with author David Bollier (co-written by Silke Helfrich).
We're inviting artists and activists from across the greater Boston area to come together to discuss "the insurgent power of the commons" and meet others people working at the intersection of art, design, community organizing, and the commons. There will be a reception with dessert and wine following the event.
Commons scholar and activist David Bollier will introduce the paradigm of the commons as a living social system for meeting needs, accenting its growing role in the arts and culture world. Working outside of markets and the state, commons are self-organized, participatory, fair-minded systems for managing shared wealth. They are widely used by software programmers and scholars, indigenous peoples and farmers, and countless others as ways to ensure fair, inclusive use of resources while protecting them over the long term. These themes are especially pertinent to creative sectors today as markets increasingly privatize and commodify flows of culture, to the detriment of artistic freedom and innovation. Bollier's presentation will draw upon his new book with co-author Silke Helfrich, Free Fair and Alive: The Insurgent Power of the Commons.
Date:
Monday 30 September 2019 at 7 p.m.
Schedule of events:
06:30pm - Doors Open
07:00pm - Talk Begins
08:00pm - Q+A
08:30pm - Reception and Book Signing (copies of Free, Fair, and Alive: The Insurgent Power of the Commons will be available for cash purchase only)
Location:
The Greene Theater is located on the sixth floor of the Tufte Building at 10 Boylston Place, Boston, MA 02116.
Boylston Place is a brick pedestrian walkway off of Boylston St, halfway between Tremont St and Charles St, across from Boston Common. When you walk down the alley, the Tufte Center will be on your left. Go through the doors and down the stairs straight ahead. An usher will give you a ticket in the lobby. You will then take the elevators to the sixth floor, which will let you out in the theatre lobby.
Can't make it in person? Don't worry! We will also be livestreaming this event.
About the speaker:
David Bollier is Director of the Reinventing the Commons Program at the Schumacher Center for a New Economics. He is an independent scholar, activist, and author or editor of six books on the commons. He blogs at Bollier.org and lives in Amherst, MA.
More on Free, Fair, and Alive:
Bollier & Helfrich describe commoning as a free, fair system of provisioning and governance that can move us beyond capitalism, socialism and other -isms. A landmark book that explains the insurgent power of the commons!
Free, Fair, and Alive provides a fresh, non-academic synthesis of contemporary commons written for a popular, activist-minded audience. It presents a compelling narrative: that we can be free and creative people, govern ourselves through fair and accountable institutions, and experience the aliveness of authentic human presence.