I’ve been working on the growth, enclosure, and monetization ideas that are central challenges addressed by the Sustainable Commons image. In short, capitalism is constantly on the prowl for new ways to grow and new things to enclose, monetize, and sell.
Enclosure is the process that began several centuries ago in which previously public land becomes privatized – think of the peasants can no longer hunt what became the King’s or the nobility’s lands. Today you might think of previously public beaches that are now privately owned.
Monetization (aka commoditization) is the process of taking something that used to be free and monetizing it. It relies on scarcity to create economic value. Staying with the beach, in some geographies one must buy a “beach tag” to use the public beach.
I realize I should have added privatization to the above. Check out this opening paragraph from a piece talking about privatizing the police (red text highlight is mine): “Abolition of the public sector means, of course, that all pieces of land, all land areas, including streets and roads, would be owned privately, by individuals, corporations, cooperatives, or any other voluntary groupings of individuals and capital. The fact that all streets and land areas would be private would by itself solve many of the seemingly insoluble problems of private operation. What we need to do is to reorient our thinking to consider a world in which all land areas are privately owned. Let us take, for example, police protection. How would police protection be furnished in a totally private economy.”
This is not “off-trend” so-to-speak. Capitalism is heading in that direction. A world where literally everything is for sale. Wow! Talk about the opposite of a commons approach. One of the three After Capitalism images – Sustainable Commons – essentially suggests reversing these processes of enclosing, monetizing, and privatizing and moving to a commons approach. Once again we see the importance of values and worldviews. The modern worldview is compatible with “everything for sale; the postmodern and integral are compatible with “commons.” – Andy Hines
Monica J says
Well we’ve already managed to put our souls behind paywalls (e.g. the entire spirituality industry – enlightenment for sale!) and now we’re heading in the same direction with consciousness (e.g. patenting psilocybin, or at least every slightly modified variant of it).
What will they come for next – my dreams?
Andy Hines says
There is a point where we will see this as crazy…..right??
Andy Hines says
Here’s some support for your point: Mindfulness, Meet Capitalism: The Complicated Truth About the $1 Billion Meditation Industry https://www.yahoo.com/lifestyle/mindfulness-meet-capitalism-complicated-truth-180048881.html