Publisher Description

In this weaving of radical political economy, Omnia Sunt Communia sets out the steps to postcapitalism. By conceptualising the commons not just as common goods but as a set of social systems, Massimo De Angelis shows their pervasive presence in everyday life, mapping out a strategy for total social transformation.From the micro to the macro, De Angelis unveils the commons as fields of power relations – shared space, objects, subjects – that explode the limits of daily life under capitalism. He exposes attempts to co-opt the commons, through the use of code words such as 'participation' and 'governance', and reveals the potential for radical transformation rooted in the reproduction of our communities, of life, of work and of society as a whole.

Author Biography

Massimo De Angelis is professor of political economy at the University of East London, and founder and editor of the web journal The Commoner . His previous books include The Beginning of History (2007).

Table of Contents

IntroductionPart One: Commons as systems1. Common goods2. Systems3. ElementsPart Two: From Elinor Ostrom to Karl Marx4. Commons governance5. The money nexus and the commons formulaPart Three: Commoning: the source of grassroots power6. Mobilising social labour for commoning7. The production of autonomy, boundaries and sensePart Four: Social change8. Boundary commoning9. Commons and capital/state10. Towards postcapitalism

Review

De Angelis has applied his considerable academic understanding to his practical experience of communing to advance a critical conversation on social change. * Green Left Weekly *
An extraordinary new book. * CounterPunch *
As the crises of neoliberal capitalism deepen, Massimo De Angelis offers us a sweeping framework for understanding how commons can provide practical pathways for political and social emancipation. Timely, insightful and hopeful. * David Bollier, author of Think Like a Commoner *
De Angelis does for the commons in this book what Marx did for capitalism in Capital. Omnia Sunt Communia will be indispensable to scholars and activists grappling with the most important question of our time: what system, if any, should follow the end of capitalism? * George Caffentzis, author of In Letters of Blood and Fire: Work, Machines, and the Crisis of Capitalism *
Carefully argued and with a wealth of profound examples, this book is at once expansively curious and politically urgent. De Angelis does justice to the complex heat and light of the commons: our hidden past, our living present and our potential future. * Max Haiven, author of Crises of Imagination, Crises of Power *
An ambitious and path-breaking work. While he introduces us to the main theorists of the commons, De Angelis also explores new ground. It makes for a powerful and challenging book that all educators and activists in movements for social justice should read. * Silvia Federici, author of Revolution at Point Zero: Housework, Reproduction, and Feminist Struggle *

Promotional

This book reveals the potential for radical transformation contained in a conceptualisation of the commons as a set of social systems, rather than just common goods.

Long Description

In this weaving of radical political economy, Omnia Sunt Communia sets out the steps to postcapitalism. By conceptualising the commons not just as common goods but as a set of social systems, Massimo De Angelis shows their pervasive presence in everyday life, mapping out a strategy for total social transformation. From the micro to the macro, De Angelis unveils the commons as fields of power relations - shared space, objects, subjects - that explode the limits of daily life under capitalism. He exposes attempts to co-opt the commons, through the use of code words such as 'participation' and 'governance', and reveals the potential for radical transformation rooted in the reproduction of our communities, of life, of work and of society as a whole.

Review Quote

"De Angelis has applied his considerable academic understanding to his practical experience of communing to advance a critical conversation on social change."

Promotional "Headline"

This book reveals the potential for radical transformation contained in a conceptualisation of the commons as a set of social systems, rather than just common goods.

Feature

A completely new theoretical contribution: the commons conceptualized not just as common goods, but as a set of social systems;

Description for Sales People

* A completely new theoretical contribution: the commons conceptualized not just as common goods, but as a set of social systems; * Links the literature on the commons to the literature on social movements, in what will be a paradigm shift in the theory; * "Is an unprecedented theoretical move" - Ugo Mattei (Reviewer 01) * Shows the reader that commons extend to several spheres of life - encouraging readers to see opportunities for commons and common resources everywhere; * Alerts the reader to the dangers of cooptation of the commons.

Description for Subsidiary Rights Department

Open access, under Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License

Details