A Deep Commons conference took place wholly online on 27–29 October. The key theme was Cultivating Ecologies of Solidarity and Care beyond Capitalism, Patriarchy, Racism and the State. The conference was hosted by the Department of Government and Politics, University College Cork, Ireland, and La Terre Institute for Community and Ecology, Mississippi, US. Ashish Kothari was a key speaker along with Marina Sitrin and Richard J. White. Friederike Habermann, Terry Leahy and Anitra Nelson offered a workshop ‘Beyond Money: Visions and Strategies for Deep Commoning‘ introduced by three short talks but focused on engagement over money-free futures based on commoning. Please find the session recording HERE
As the series editor, I am always looking out for proposals which might fit the Palgrave Macmillan book series AlternativesAre activities and initiatives, concepts, worldviews, or action proposals by collectives, groups, organizations, communities, or social movements challenging and replacing the dominant system that perpetuates inequality, exploitation, and unsustainabiity. In the GTA we focus primarily on what we call "radical or transformative alternatives", which we define as initiatives that are attempting to break with the dominant system and take paths towards direct and radical forms of political and economic democracy, localised self-reliance, social justice and equity, cultural and knowledge diversity, and ecological resilience. Their locus is neither the State nor the capitalist economy. They are advancing in the process of dismantling most forms of hierarchies, assuming the principles of sufficiency, autonomy, non-violence, justice and equality, solidarity, and the caring of life and the Earth. They do this in an integral way, not limited to a single aspect of life. Although such initiatives may have some kind of link with capitalist markets and the State, they prioritize their autonomy to avoid significant dependency on them and tend to reduce, as much as possible, any relationship with them. and Futures: Cultures, Practices, Activism and Utopias. This book series explores 21st century movements challenging the economic and political order of global capitalism through new cultures, new practices and campaigning for alternative futures. The focus of the series is on the ideas and imaginaries that drive such movements. Food Resistance Movements: Journeying through Alternative Food Networks by Ferne Edwards will be issued soon, late 2022, in the short Palgrave Pivot format (under 50,000 words). Two of its five chapters are on topics especially relevant to GTAGlobal Tapestry of Alternatives — one on Venezuela's's food sovereignty movement and another on autonomous food spaces in Catalonia. Organizing Occupy Wall Street: This is Just Practice by Marisa Holmes will be out around mid-2023.