Inequality is stark. The dominant economic system based on ‘“rational” self-interest’ rather than on collective outcomes encourages those with means to invest in things that continue the exploitation of people and the over-consumption of natural resources. The resulting climate change hits the vulnerable hardest.
Just as enclosure meant that common land became private farms, so the online spaces that promised congregation are walled for private profit. Worse still, profit is maximised by manipulating and dividing us, by drawing our attention towards outrage and falsehood, and by harvesting and selling our data. And instead of gathering together, individuals are isolated and atomised, to the point that loneliness is now one of the biggest killers in the west, and ‘happiness’ scores show people lack a sense of connection, purpose and meaning.
A systemic change is needed, and it is not in the interests of those in power to create that change. So what is the solution?
“You never change things by fighting the existing reality. To change something, build a new model that makes the existing model obsolete.”
The Commons Platform is a new model where we can all come together again to co-create, to co-decide, to share what we have, on a global and local level. It won’t be an intermediary; it will value collaboration/stewardship; it will be a platform for independent media, a place where citizen journalists can tell their own stories and a place where data and scientific research will be open-access. In its decentralisation, it will allow activists to come together securely. It will never be owned by anyone, and so it will be safe for everyone to use.
Most importantly, it is based on values, it fosters understanding not division and it creates the conditions for collaboration.
The Commons Platform works on scale, and we already have many individuals, groups and orgs wanting to join, bringing the members of their groups, their readership, etc. There are already 5-600 people co-creating and crowdsourcing, and it’s beautiful to see how many people are supporting it.