Why We’re Launching Growing the Commons
A collaborative blog sharing stories, tools, and strategies for a community-led future.
Originally published on LowImpact.org (August 20, 2025), with minor edits.
Last week we launched Growing the Commons, a new Substack blog developed and maintained collaboratively by a group of individuals and organisations that share a common interest in the Commons movement.
Today, I would like to share a bit more about why we’ve started this initiative, what we hope to offer, and how you can get involved.
At its heart, Growing the Commons exists to promote, support, and strengthen the Commons: a diverse ecosystem of community-driven systems, tools, and practices for producing, governing, and sustaining life’s essentials.
Why This, Why Now
We recognise that today’s interlinked crises—ecological breakdown, economic inequality, social fragmentation, democratic erosion—are symptoms of a deeper systemic failure. Dominant responses in public discourse range from top-down reform and radical overturn to abstract utopias. But neither offers a practical, timely, or realistic solution.
Instead, we believe there is another, under-appreciated path: bottom-up transcendence.
This is the gradual construction of parallel economic and social systems—rooted in community ownership, local governance, and mutual provisioning—that deliver tangible benefits now, without relying on state-led reforms or market-driven solutions. These alternatives, what we call the Commons Economy, are already operating in practice across finance, housing, energy, food, care, and more.
The problem is that these efforts remain under-recognised, misunderstood, and siloed.
Our vision for this Substack is to introduce the Commons to a wider public as a viable, scalable, and immediately actionable alternative to our dominant system. Our mission is to make this emerging ecosystem visible, accessible, and compelling—not through theory or ideology, but through solutions-oriented storytelling. By showing how it works in practice we aim to restore belief in the possibility of meaningful change and inspire more people to take part.
This publication has three main objectives:
Introduce the Commons as a viable, bottom-up response to our polycrisis;
Show it in action through real tools, stories, and communities; and
Grow the movement by inviting broader participation and connecting practitioners.
Note: While this blog is not specifically about the “Commons Economy”, we recognise that economic transformation, facilitated by a range of defensive economic, legal, and governance tools/frameworks, is one of the most powerful entry points and critical strategic levers for systemic change. It is where the crises are most keenly felt and where transformation has the greatest impact. People need housing, food, care, energy, money, and savings. By addressing these needs through commons-based approaches, we begin shifting economic life toward more cooperative, localised, and resilient forms.
What This Publication Is (and Isn’t)
Growing the Commons is a shared publishing platform developed and maintained collaboratively by a group of individuals and organisations committed to strengthening the Commons. It is not a new organisation, and not a competitor to existing efforts. Instead, it will serve as a single communications channel designed to amplify what already exists, reach beyond our current networks, and offer readers a coherent, hopeful, and practical alternative vision.
This initiative will not replace or centralise the diversity of voices within the Commons. It is simply a shared space—a “front door”, if you will—that allows contributors to speak with a single, coherent voice to a wider public while preserving and respecting the diversity of perspectives within.
Our tone will be welcoming, solutions-oriented, and inspiring, with a focus on practical action. Special series may occasionally explore the root causes of systemic issues, but our main focus will always return to what can be built now, by whom, and how.
Who We’re Trying to Reach
Our primary audience is not (only) convinced and active commoners, but the much larger—and growing—group of people who:
Sense that something is deeply wrong with our current economic, financial, and political systems;
Struggle to articulate the root causes or see viable alternatives; and
Have grown disillusioned with reform or change, yet remain open to hopeful possibilities.
Many are disillusioned reformers, quiet quitters, or cautious explorers. What unites them is a combination of latent desire for change, lack of exposure to realistic alternatives, and healthy scepticism towards new solutions. We aim to reach this group and offer the Commons as a credible and compelling alternative worth considering—and ideally, worth contributing to.
Within this broader audience, we are particularly (but not exclusively, of course!) focused on strategists, builders, and practitioners from diverse backgrounds: finance, law, public policy, social sciences, governance, economics, technology, software development, systems design, and more. Many of them have the skills and motivation to help grow the Commons but haven’t yet found a meaningful outlet for their creativity and talent.
Editorial Approach: What We’ll Publish
We intend to structure the publication around four content dimensions that together offer readers a rich, layered understanding of the Commons:
The Big Picture: Explainers and framing pieces about the Commons as a whole—what it is, where it came from, why it matters, and how it can scale.
Components & Tools: Deep dives into the how—the economic, monetary, financial, legal, governance, and social/cultural frameworks and tools that underpin the sectoral models of the Commons.
Implementations: Real-world case studies and features on working examples (past, present, and imminent) around the world—stories of success and learning.
People & Projects: Interviews, profiles, and organisational spotlights showcasing the thinkers and builders of the Commons—giving the ecosystem a human dimension and face.
Content will be drawn from a mix of sources:
Original writing created specifically for this Substack (by editors and contributors);
Repurposed materials from contributors’ existing articles, blogs, and publications;
Adapted reposts from allied platforms, with permission and added context; and
Reader-submitted guest posts and articles—please get in touch if this speaks to you!
We also plan to experiment with other content types:
Long-form essays and opinion pieces: offering a place for deeper analysis, measured critiques, balanced debates, or visionary perspectives.
Roundtables: bringing together people or organisations with multiple perspectives (e.g. complementary, conflicting).
Curated digests: compiling updates, resources, and links relevant to the Commons.
Community-submitted stories: opening the platform to first-hand experiences and ideas from a growing audience.
Multimedia: incorporating formats such as infographics, annotated diagrams, or short video explainers.
There are some potential recurring series that we are exploring as well:
“Commons Builders”: profiles of organisers, communicators, and custodians building the ecosystem.
“Voices of the Commons”: personal narratives and interviews with everyday participants in Commons projects.
“Commons in Action”: spotlights on active projects and their impact.
“The Commons Toolbox”: accessible explainers and deep dives on major tools such as liquidity savings mechanisms, use-credit obligation, nondominium, viable system model, sociocracy, and others.
“How to Start a Commons”: practical, reader-facing guides on initiating Commons-based initiatives locally (and links to potential partners/supporters).
“The Commons Digest”: a regular roundup of news, tools, and resources from the broader Commons world.
“Ask a Commoner”: potentially interactive formats including glossary entries, myth-busting, and community Q&A.
“Common(s) Myths”: regular articles about what the Commons are not.
Please let us know if you have any suggestions, ideas, or general feedback—we’d love to hear from you!
A Launch Series for Introducing the Commons
We know that for many (especially new) readers, the Commons might be unfamiliar or feel broad, abstract, or hard to pin down. That’s why we’re beginning with an initial Sunday series of five articles to offer an accessible introduction from a few different angles. These posts will lay a shared foundation: explaining what the Commons is, why it matters, how it works in practice, where it’s already taking root, and how people can get involved.
Whether you’re completely new or just looking for a clearer picture, this series is here to help you get oriented and explore at your own pace.
We kicked off the series just a few days ago on Sunday, 31st August—see below.
We’re Surrounded by Crises. What’s Stopping Us from Acting?
Tl;dr: We are facing an overlapping set of crises that our dominant institutions seem unable to address. While many have withdrawn in disillusionment, their latent desire for change can be redirected toward the Commons: a real, actionable alternative grounded in community-driven systems of provisioning.
The second part arrives this Sunday, 7th September. Make sure to subscribe to get it straight to your inbox!
How to Get Involved
This publication is only as strong as the network it serves. Here are a few ways to contribute:
Subscribe to receive new posts by email and follow along.
Share the publication with others who may be curious or looking for alternatives.
Join the conversation—leave comments on posts or join the discussion via Notes and threads on Substack.
Send us your stories—tell us about your Commons-based projects and experiments.
Contribute an article—we welcome guest writing and co-authored pieces.
Suggest topics or questions you want us to explore
Introduce tools or resources that others should know about
We especially welcome collaborators—writers, editors, practitioners, curators—who want to help shape this space. If you’re building or documenting community-led alternatives, we’d love to hear from you!
Final word
The Commons grows when we grow it together. If you’re ready to explore a more collaborative, resilient, and community-led future, we hope this space can support your journey. We look forward to hearing your stories, your questions, and your ideas. Let’s see where this journey will take us!