michel on transition ness
What do we do, right now, at this moment in the transition ? – Suggestions for a commons-based strategy of social change
michel bauwens on transition ness (michel on crisis/transition et al)
adding page same day as michel on aeon ness (where article quoted here was linked to tweet)
notes/quotes from michel’s (june 2025) article:
What do we do, right now, at this moment in the transition ? – Suggestions for a commons-based strategy of social change
to me.. need: unjustifiable strategy ness for legit common\ing ness
findings from on the ground ness:
1\ undisturbed ecosystem (common\ing) can happen
2\ if we create a way to facil the seeming chaos of 8b legit free people
ie: the thing we’ve not yet tried/seen: the unconditional part of left to own devices ness.. so we keep perpetuating the same song.. the whac-a-mole-ing ness of sea world.. of not-us ness.. of myth of tragedy and lord ness
Let’s first recapitulate the situation today, as we are faced with a triple crisis of all human institutions..
skimming lots.. because michel bauwens ons et al.. ie: michel on crisis/transition et al
Every cycle has its own agenda as it were, a particular ‘problematic’ that it needs to solve before it can move on to a new positive cycle.
aka: any form of m\a\p.. otherwise we’ll keep perpetuating the same song.. the whac-a-mole-ing ness of sea world.. of not-us ness
But let’s get practical. What needs to be done today ?
What would a Commons-centric strategy of social change look like ?
Here is a very general outline of thinking about strategies and tactics towards commons-based transformations.
The first thing to consider is to start thinking about society, no longer as a binary arrangement between market and state institutions, with civil society as a rest category, but as *a triarchic arrangement. This means that when we are faced with solving complex problems, we should start thinking in arrangements that combine the three institutions that humanity has developed. So now we have a set of market practices and institutions, a set of public or state institutions, AND a set of commons-based institutions, and this at all levels of geography and virtuality. **Neither markets nor public authorities responsible for the common good are going to disappear, but they are going to be embedded differently in a new form of meta-governance that will involve the three institutions. If you count tribal forms of organizations, both on kinship and the new ones based on infinity, we can also see the three former forms of hegemonic governances, Tribes, Institutions, and Markets, to use David Ronfeldt’s language, will be co-existing and embedded in larger structures that are organized around cosmo-local ‘networked commons’.
*to me.. makes no diff how commons ish you think you are .. if still market/state ing.. (aka: any form of m\a\p ing)
**only because we keep not letting go enough to see that happen.. ie: myth of tragedy and lord ness et al.. again.. the thing we’ve not yet tried/seen: the unconditional part of left to own devices ness
*With this as a given, each institution transforms already:
Commoners must work at every level of scale
exactly.. which nothing to date has.. again.. because we keep not letting go enough to see that happen.. ie: myth of tragedy and lord ness et al.. again.. the thing we’ve not yet tried/seen: the unconditional part of left to own devices ness
nothing to date has gotten to the root of problem
legit freedom will only happen if it’s all of us.. and in order to be all of us.. has to be sans any form of measuring, accounting, people telling other people what to do
Nevertheless, as argued above, I am quite convinced that one of the ‘waves’ that is crashing as we transition, is the model of mass political parties that act as representatives of broad public interests. The model that was born in 1789, and replaced earlier religious divisions, is now itself on life support. Therefore, the key vehicle today is that of cosmo-local constructive networks.
The overall political and policy priority of commoners must in my opinion be:
- The systematic mutualization of provisioning systems at the bioregional level
This means moving from economies of scale to economies of scope, ‘doing more with less’, but essentially, I believe this is the only way to maintain the *benefits of modernity: general literacy, longer life spans, democratic deliberation, health outcomes, welfare, at a much lower thermo-dynamic cost.
to me.. rather.. cancerous distractions to the dance
Ultimately, we will be constructing a new global interconnected network of life-protecting commons-based infrastructures, that can act in a regulatory capacity towards the excesses of the extractive institutions, i.e markets and states. I have called this ‘Magisteria of the Commons’.
to me.. infra we need: as infra ness; org around legit needs ness; ..
Once more: where are we today in such a scenario ?
In 1993, with the web and the browser, we created a new digital commons of shared knowledge, software and designs, which allows for the global coordination of human labor, outside of the full control of market and state (though the use it, abuse it , influence it, and attempt to control it to some extent.
cancerous distraction
In 2009, we established the possibility of the creation of a globally scalable social sovereign currency that was not controlled by large corporations or states, and which has created many new financing capabilities for commons-centric projects.
cancerous distraction
At the same time as Bitcoin was established, we developed the first universal accounting system, the blockchain and its derivatives, which now allows for contributory, flow, and thermo-dynamic shared accounting in open ecosystems. Web 3 is rebuilding a more robust peer to peer internet with in-built capacity to self-finance common infrastructures.
cancerous distractions
At the same time, at the local level, many regenerative projects have been initiated at local and urban levels, a tenfold increase in the decade after 2008, and these movements are now converging into bioregional alliances. Starting in the sphere of mutualized consumption, an emergent sector is experimenting with mutualized production facilities, see our Cosmo-Local Reader for examples of productive cooperation.
But we are, of course, still missing many pieces of that puzzle. Local regenerative initiatives and global post-national capital and knowledge flows, as well as productive alliances, are still making baby steps.
rather.. not getting at root of problem
In the coming decade, I recommend focusing on acquiring both common capital at the local level, and to scale up cooperation at the level of planetarity.
I have of course not even touched the more personal and spiritual aspects of the transformation! That may be the topic of another article to come.
need first/most: means (nonjudgmental expo labeling) to undo hierarchical listening as global detox so we can org around legit needs
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be you. 