New tools for growing the commons, part 4: what life in a commons town might be like

Photo by Hakim Menikh on Unsplash

This is the final part in a series of 4 articles about new tools being developed to help build the commons.

• Part 1 – how I discovered these tools, and why they excited me.

• Part 2 – how they protect the commons from co-option, purchase or cancellation.

• Part 3 – how they can help build a movement to challenge the status quo.

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We’re only going to build a commons world if it brings benefits to a lot of people. That’s how systems change – not by lecturing, begging, inconveniencing, shaming or alienating. This benefit-led approach seems to indicate that most people care more about themselves than about the state of the world, but nevertheless, apart from violence, it’s the way the world changes. And a commons world will be maintained by reinforcing those benefits, as capitalism has done over the last two centuries, but whose by-products – destruction of community, nature and democracy, precarity, homelessness, rising substance abuse, mental illness, crime, loneliness, civil unrest and war – now outweigh its benefits. So what might living in a commons rather than a capitalist world look like, and will it be an improvement for most people? I’m going to have a go at describing what a commons town might look like - let me know what you think.

Imagining your town in a commons world

This exercise is entirely speculative of course, because new things will emerge, and I don’t have a crystal ball. As the commons economy grows, and geopolitics reacts, some things will become more possible, and as capitalism crumbles, some things will become less possible. This is just my attempt – it’s fantasy, but not unachievably utopian. I show how it’s possible in the previous three articles.

I’m also going to imagine that it happens quickly enough to avoid most of the horrors associated with societal collapse, by building commons safety nets in time, rather than having to build from scratch in a ravaged system. We have a precarious relationship with technology. A few big shocks and it doesn’t work any more, so we have to be prepared to live more simply, and to gain a few basic skills to provide for ourselves. Not as isolationist ‘preppers’ – in a commons world, we look after each other.

Humans evolved to live in little bands, sharing resources and child care, working, eating, playing, singing, dancing and negotiating together, with elders providing wisdom and kids learning from adults by observation and participation. The further away we get from that, the more psychologically-damaged we become. Commons can bring those things back, incrementally. People need community, autonomy and meaningful work – all of which are destroyed by the current economy. Our problems are social and political at root – around how we relate to one another, how we own things, and how we make decisions. If we only try to solve social problems with technology, we’ll make them worse, by enabling corporations to suck even more wealth out of our communities than they do already.

Housing: a roof over everyone’s head

Before anything else, people need to be housed and fed. A housing commons can be created even in a town with little existing community, because people still need homes, and people coming together for housing commons meetings can sow the seeds of community. As trust and familiarity grow, other commons become possible.

Everyone in the town is housed, as tenant-members of the housing commons. Private landlords are not banned, but find no takers, as the commons gives a better deal, as well as protection from notices to quit. Commoners don’t evict each other. The same goes for Blackstone and other extractive asset management corporations, who can’t provide the benefits that the commons does, and slide into irrelevance.

Each housing commons (every town has several) collaborates with local energy and water commons to provide electricity, heating and sewage treatment via solar panels, micro-hydro, wood stoves, heat pumps and reed beds. Again, commoners support each other and corporate utility companies bite the dust.

Older people can put their homes into the commons, with the proviso that they can live there for the rest of their lives, with maintenance taken care of, some basic care thrown in, and some cash freed up for home comforts and holidays.

Work & money: making a living

As long supply chains break, large corporations fail, and the state increasingly lacks the capacity to bail them out, corporate vacancies in marketing, sales, admin, driving and shelf-stacking shrink dramatically. Most people are self-employed, working in small businesses, or stewarding commons institutions. Town markets and High Streets thrive again, and uniqueness returns as corporate chains disappear.

People retrain to do useful work again: building, plumbing, farming, repair, maintenance, crafts, care. In my local farmers’ market, I meet people who produce vegetables, fruit, juices, eggs, cheese, meat, bread, beer, milk, yoghurt, mushrooms, honey, cakes and chutney – and there will be more of them as land commons provides affordable, secure tenancies for food producers. Prices come down and incomes rise, to meet in an affordable middle. Local bars and restaurants serve these local products, and locals eat superb food. But food isn’t all – there are leatherworkers, potters, jewellers, soapmakers, candlemakers, knitters, spinners, weavers, dyers, woodworkers, basketmakers, blacksmiths, cooks, builders, plumbers, electricians, tinkerers and repairers.

Commons institutions provide stewarding jobs, maintaining and administering housing, energy, water, transport, broadband, leisure and care infrastructure. People build a portfolio of work around commons, small businesses and self-employment, and can choose to be paid in mutual credit, commons vouchers or fiat, via a simple app that reduces the need to interact with commercial banks – closing yet another conduit for extraction.

Stewards are paid properly. That matters, because it makes local products affordable without squeezing producers, who are no longer undercut by corporations, and wealth stays in communities. The essentials of life become more affordable, and the working week shorter. This, along with community, security, autonomy and meaningful work, reduces stress and mental health issues.

Pensions and savings are held in vouchers for housing, energy, water, food and care, rather than in financial instruments, providing real security and community resilience.

Community: looking out for each other

Communities have been devastated in the UK. Small pubs, markets and shops have gone, replaced by giant supermarkets, chain stores and shopping centres. People hardly walk, so don’t meet people in the street. Front gardens are paved for parking cars. Evenings are spent watching TV.

Commons can help rebuild community as local people get to know each other via commons meetings, by working together on commons projects and through commons events in the town. Good people come together, and new possibilities emerge. Commoners organise film nights, picnics, knitting groups, child-friendly events, music, dancing, open mic evenings, games, book clubs etc. that are more fun than TV or bland chain pubs.

People chat with passers-by from front porches, and outside bars and cafes. You don’t need to plan your social life – social connections happen naturally. It’s no longer rude to knock on someone’s door. Food from allotments and gardens is swapped, old people are checked on and cared for as part of daily life, not as a marginalised service. ‘Friendly societies’ make a comeback, building community even more. Even the local football club is owned by the community, not a wealthy individual.

Towns become more walkable, with transport commons providing buses and connecting towns with trains and bike paths. There are far fewer cars, which is safer for cyclists and pedestrians. Kids can play in the street again and pets are safe. Front gardens make a comeback. People are fitter, healthier. Surrounding each town is a belt of commons land with small farms, market gardens, orchards, dairies and beekeepers. Beyond that lies woodland and rewilded land, up to the farm belts of neighbouring towns. People feel less need to escape from interesting, fun, friendly communities surrounded by beautiful countryside, and so have more ‘staycations’ rather than damaging nature by driving or flying elsewhere.

The state has realised how many people are part of the commons, and how much their lives have changed for the better. So governments become ‘partner states’ that remove legislative barriers and tax burdens for commons, and stop subsidising corporations. Citizens’ assemblies bring more people together, and influence local authorities, so that they no longer think it’s a good idea to direct a dual carriageway through the centre of the town, or demolish small shops and terraced housing to make way for supermarkets.

And more work is generated for local food producers, energy commons, care commons, broadband commons and other local businesses via contracts with public bodies as Community Wealth Building bills make their way around the world from Scotland.

There’s a good mix of ages in the town too, as commons provides jobs and affordable housing for young people, who no longer have to move to big cities to work for corporations and enrich private landlords.

Culture: being commoners

As the commons provide more secure housing, meaningful work and stronger communities, the culture changes. Success is defined not by how much you have, but how enjoyable your life is and how safe you are from environmental destruction, crime and civil unrest.

People no longer aspire to become landlords, bosses or corporate shareholders. Those roles lose social prestige, as useful work regains it. Commons change attitudes in many ways – away from competition, climbing corporate ladders and materialism, as people are proud to do useful work again, rather than rely on others’ work for their passive income.

We’re social animals, and we can change ourselves, our communities and the world via commons social relations. The word commoner comes to matter again – embodying a quiet blend of humility and strength. We relate to each other not as bosses-employees, landlords-tenants or creditors-debtors, but as commoners who commit to look after each other, make democratic decisions together, socialise together and own essential infrastructure together. No-one seeks authority over others, unless it’s explicitly asked for.

This is a culture of commons solidarity. Housing commons members commit to help small tenant farmers of the land commons, by using restaurants and shops selling locally-produced food, textiles and household goods. Global brands and franchises quietly disappear as supply chains fragment and local alternatives provide affordability and higher quality.

Conclusion: transformation by participation

Commons are not built through grand speeches, charismatic leaders, or singular historic events, but through millions of small acts of kindness, care, commitment, and collaboration – acts that will never appear in history books, but provide the basis for a movement in which no-one is a means to make money for anyone else; where no-one has authority over anyone else unless it’s invited; and where no-one is homeless, hungry, or alone.

I don’t believe it’s a utopian vision. It’s just a society organised around human needs rather than capital accumulation. And under conditions of collapse, it may be the most realistic future we have. This isn’t revolution. It’s transformation by participation.

Did this post resonate with you? Are you working towards creating a more commons-based society? Let us know about your projects or ideas.