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Pelican Books #33
Plunder of the Commons: A Manifesto for Sharing Public Wealth
We are losing the commons. Austerity and neoliberal policies have depleted our shared wealth; our national utilities have been sold off to foreign conglomerates, social housing is almost non-existent, our parks are cordoned off for private events and our national art galleries are sponsored by banks and oil companies. This plunder deprives us all of our common rights, recognized as far back as the Magna Carta and the Charter of the Forest of 1217, to share fairly and equitably in our public wealth.
Guy Standing leads us through a new appraisal of the commons, stemming from the medieval concept of common land reserved in ancient law from marauding barons, to his modern reappraisal of the resources we all hold in common - a brilliant new synthesis that crystallises quite how much public wealth has been redirected to the 1% in recent decades through the state-approved exploitation of everything from our land to our state housing, health and benefit systems, to our justice system, schools, newspapers and even the air we breathe. Plunder of the Commons proposes a charter for a new form of commoning, of remembering, guarding and sharing that which belongs to us all, to slash inequality and soothe our current political instability.
Guy Standing leads us through a new appraisal of the commons, stemming from the medieval concept of common land reserved in ancient law from marauding barons, to his modern reappraisal of the resources we all hold in common - a brilliant new synthesis that crystallises quite how much public wealth has been redirected to the 1% in recent decades through the state-approved exploitation of everything from our land to our state housing, health and benefit systems, to our justice system, schools, newspapers and even the air we breathe. Plunder of the Commons proposes a charter for a new form of commoning, of remembering, guarding and sharing that which belongs to us all, to slash inequality and soothe our current political instability.
432 pages, Paperback
Published December 1, 2019
82 people are currently reading
1092 people want to read
About the author
Guy Standing
54 books171 followersGuy Standing is a British professor of Development Studies at the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS), University of London, and co-founder of the Basic Income Earth Network (BIEN).
Standing has written widely in the areas of labour economics, labour market policy, unemployment, labour market flexibility, structural adjustment policies and social protection. His recent work has concerned the emerging precariat class and the need to move towards unconditional basic income and deliberative democracy.
Standing has written widely in the areas of labour economics, labour market policy, unemployment, labour market flexibility, structural adjustment policies and social protection. His recent work has concerned the emerging precariat class and the need to move towards unconditional basic income and deliberative democracy.
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Displaying 1 - 20 of 20 reviews
August 7, 2021
I had to take my time reading this book, because every time I opened it I was consumed with either rage or the urge to read it aloud to anyone I could get my hands on.
Guy Standing crystallises and articulates countless things in the world around us that we feel to be bad but can’t quite explain. The common sense of societal malaise is brought into precise focus and given a clear anatomy. To call it ‘eye-opening’ barely does it justice, and while the result is depressing, that’s hardly his fault.
He somehow manages to maintain a doggedly optimistic undertone, and the ending of a cohesive charter modelled after the Charter of the Forest, which the book explores at the start, works well and provides a welcome injection of hope.
I closed the book and decided to get involved with mapping local footpaths, so as a manifesto, it’s very effective. My copy will now be passed around as many friends as I can manage.
Guy Standing crystallises and articulates countless things in the world around us that we feel to be bad but can’t quite explain. The common sense of societal malaise is brought into precise focus and given a clear anatomy. To call it ‘eye-opening’ barely does it justice, and while the result is depressing, that’s hardly his fault.
He somehow manages to maintain a doggedly optimistic undertone, and the ending of a cohesive charter modelled after the Charter of the Forest, which the book explores at the start, works well and provides a welcome injection of hope.
I closed the book and decided to get involved with mapping local footpaths, so as a manifesto, it’s very effective. My copy will now be passed around as many friends as I can manage.
March 22, 2023
Standing uses The Charter of The Forest from the 13th Century, as a starting point for this book, discussing at length the contents, values and repercussions of it and how things have changed almost beyond all recognition today, thanks to a gradual decline of rights and regulation and the hyper-fuelled avarice of Neo-Liberalism and its devastating consequences.
There are many contrasts in here between the treatment of the working classes and the elite. In light of the Tottenham riots of 2011 we see that a total 1,800 years of prison sentences were handed out to 1,292 people by fast-track courts set up in record time. There were many shocking cases, one example being one youth, with no previous convictions, who was jailed for 14 months for taking an ice cream. Another was jailed for 4 months for taking fizzy water worth £3.50 from a broken shop window, that he hadn’t broken.
Then when we compare this with a small selection of so called “white collar crime” which has a far more devastating impact on a wider scale, the grand theft committed by many politicians during the expenses scandal and of course the greatest mass theft in history AKA the financial crisis. There was the case of Thames Water pouring millions of tons of untreated sewage into the Thames. Then there are the multiple killings by various Met officers of various unarmed men, black, Brazilian and even white without ever meeting the punishment the crimes deserve.
The government have gone to great lengths to ensure that the welfare system is as awkward, cruel and complicated as possible, ensuring that shame and bureaucracy are baked into the very DNA of it. Seemingly the purpose of it in the 21st Century appears to be to humiliate, intimidate and frustrate those who desperately need to access it. Of course since implementing these draconian measures they have killed upwards of tens of thousands of people all across the UK.
Then there is the privatization of water, at the time of privatization in 1989 in England and Wales resulted in huge subsidies, writing off all the £4.9 billion, owed by their predecessors and adding what was called a “green dowry” of £1.5 billion. “Monopoly control of water provision enables commercial companies to contrive scarcity by restricting water supply, divert it to where profits are greatest, and raise its price. They can take short-term profits at the cost of creating a long-term shortage.”
They loaded themselves up with debt, partly to reduce tax bills, and used the money to finance huge bonuses for their executives and generous dividends to their shareholders, who are increasingly private equity groups. In the ten years to 2017, the nine English regional water companies made £18.8 billion in post-tax profits, of which £18.1 billion was paid out as dividends.”
At one point he describes the city of London as, “a City in thrall to global finance and its own unique role in it.” When describing the multiple eyesores which have sprung up and continue to blight the skyline, for over the last twenty-odd years. Then there’s the devastating impact on art and culture, such as the mass closing of libraries, and the dwindling funds for museums and art galleries, which then become reliant on the dubious funds from various corporations, who always have ulterior motives and can end up having huge influence on what is shown and how it is presented etc.
He also warns about the increasingly demonization and criminalization of homelessness, “The end of private tenancy is now the most common cause of homelessness, according to Shelter, 78% of the rise in homelessness between 2011 and 2017 was due to evictions from privately rented accommodation.”
So a solid pattern soon emerges, one of breathtaking hypocrisy and effortless cruelty. What we see is class genocide by stealth, the systemic dismantling of public institutions, utilities, shared spaces and more and more essential services. I think it’s fair to say that sheer level of greed, kleptocracy, lies and hollowing out of state assets draws many worrying parallels with the chaos of Post-Communist Russia. To call the behaviour of successive governments (include all three major English parties) criminal, doesn’t even begin to scratch the surface.
There appears to be not a single public asset or common space which has not been hollowed out and commodified by the political elite in cahoots with various corporations. Whether its criminal bankers like Goldman Sachs or Big Pharma buying up student accommodation (which are not subject to the same standards as any other form of rental?) we see that Britain its people and its assets are fair game for the rest of the predatory, corporate world.
Clearly one of the most troubling aspects to emerge from this is the terrifying extent as to which foreign investment and ownership plays in controlling the prices and politics of everyday people in the UK. Russian oligarchs, Arab royalty, Chinese syndicates to mention only a few of the foreign, corporate interest groups. It’s bizarre that one of the most racist British governments in living memory is packed with immigrants and children of immigrants and yet remains so anti-immigration, but yet they can’t do enough to accommodate such widespread foreign ownership and control of vital public assets and spaces?...
“Despite charging astronomical fees, more than half the 2,707 so-called ‘public’ (private fee-paying) schools, such as Eton and Harrow, have charity status entitling them to substantial tax breaks. State schools pay full business rates to local councils while private schools receive 80% rate relief, amounting to over £100 million a year in lost public revenue. Fee paying schools take only 7% of all pupils, who by definition come from affluent families, so these subsidies privilege privilege and are paid for by taxpayers, most of who could not dream of sending their children to such schools.”
Ultimately I feel sorry for the millions who didn’t vote for Brexit or for the Conservative Party. Thanks to the deeply flawed “democratic system” and the continuing support of millions of ignorant, racist English and to a lesser extent, Welsh voters, Scotland and N Ireland got dragged out of Europe in spite of voting to remain, and the whole nation has been punished and lied to for well over a decade, by an elite criminal class, a band of racist, ignorant liars who only have interest in destroying the commons, and continuing with the mass extraction from every area of British life and to transfer it to themselves, their families, their cronies and the super-wealthy who are systematically not just destroying Britain but the world in general.
So there is a lot in here, often it can feel like you are unearthing a chocolate box of horrors, as one grim fact or depressing stat is revealed after another. This isn’t always an easy book, but it is a hugely important and significant one, and deserves a wide audience. Standing has done an admirable job of raising awareness of the true parasites and the true devastation they have wreaked and continue to inflict upon the commons. His research is top-notch and this book Venn diagrams nicely with a lot of the work done by the likes of Owen Jones and George Monbiot.
October 31, 2022
Guy Standing is an outstanding orator. I bought this book off the back of a multitude of outstanding Ted talks, as he always comes across as someone who understands public policy and where our modern societies are going wrong. He's one of the few people I've ever seen that seems to come up with credible alternatives to capitalism. This is undoubtedly to be found here in this book too.
However, to me it is hamstrung by its length and density. It really can only be endured in short bursts, and the chapters are punishingly thick with evidence and light on narrative. There are moments here where you will feel righteous anger at the state of the world (and, more importantly, the UK), but I found myself losing the narrative thread, buried beneath endless examples.
It feels fraudulent to attack something for being too well-researched, but this needed a stronger argument and less proof. Smite me down.
However, to me it is hamstrung by its length and density. It really can only be endured in short bursts, and the chapters are punishingly thick with evidence and light on narrative. There are moments here where you will feel righteous anger at the state of the world (and, more importantly, the UK), but I found myself losing the narrative thread, buried beneath endless examples.
It feels fraudulent to attack something for being too well-researched, but this needed a stronger argument and less proof. Smite me down.
June 4, 2025
Very dense with a lot of evidence to support the points made but it’s quite hard to read.
March 14, 2021
It's probably more due to my current circumstances but I found this to be a really depressing read. The first few chapters were really interesting and engaging; they go over the history of the commons in England (which is something I had very little knowledge about) and what constitutes the natural commons.
Apart from that, some of the following chapter were a little dry. I wish the author had gone farther in some areas, especially the last chapter which was on how to restore and keep the commons available to everyone. He gave some good ideas on levies and taxes which could be instated but never suggests that for the commons to truly be restored and the people to watch over them, capitalism would have to be dismantled. While the goals presented are desirable, I don't think it could be achieved under capitalism - the entire system has to change.
In general, though, a very well written and researched book. Definitely worth the read.
Apart from that, some of the following chapter were a little dry. I wish the author had gone farther in some areas, especially the last chapter which was on how to restore and keep the commons available to everyone. He gave some good ideas on levies and taxes which could be instated but never suggests that for the commons to truly be restored and the people to watch over them, capitalism would have to be dismantled. While the goals presented are desirable, I don't think it could be achieved under capitalism - the entire system has to change.
In general, though, a very well written and researched book. Definitely worth the read.
January 15, 2020
In "Plunder of the Commons," Guy Standing traces the history of the commons in the UK and details the myriad troubling ways in which it has been enclosed upon and privatized in recent years. From natural resources, to social services, to law, to public media, these bedrocks of a societal welfare are being eroded as neoliberalism marches forward (not that they weren't at risk before, as he also notes). Standing uses the book as an opportunity to put forth a new "Charter of the Commons," invoking the oft-forgotten sibling of the Magna Carter "Charter of the Forest." In each chapter, he emphasizes a few essential planks of such a charter, laying out the vital components of a good society.
The book, to be sure, is not just a litany of what's wrong (as too many authors do these days). He identifies solutions at the end, particularly how we can use tax policy to protect and preserve the commons and also to create a revenue stream for a universal basic income.
The book, to be sure, is not just a litany of what's wrong (as too many authors do these days). He identifies solutions at the end, particularly how we can use tax policy to protect and preserve the commons and also to create a revenue stream for a universal basic income.
July 20, 2022
This book needs to be edited again - the author is offensive with his overuse of some words - I felt like I read the word common, commons or communing about 20 times in each sentence.
Other than that…
An insightful introduction into the principle of local governance of the commons and how 800 years since - we have come to transfer this back into the private sphere. Standing interestingly takes us through the lesser known Charter of the Forest sealed in 1217 alongside what would later become the Magna Carter.
Interesting points:
- The Lauderdale Paradox: private wealth being based on scarcity even though it uses public commons which are actually naturally abundant however private riches are created from the idea of scarcity.
- Care for the elderly commercialising common life, p150 onwards about commissioning in local authorities for care.
Other than that…
An insightful introduction into the principle of local governance of the commons and how 800 years since - we have come to transfer this back into the private sphere. Standing interestingly takes us through the lesser known Charter of the Forest sealed in 1217 alongside what would later become the Magna Carter.
Interesting points:
- The Lauderdale Paradox: private wealth being based on scarcity even though it uses public commons which are actually naturally abundant however private riches are created from the idea of scarcity.
- Care for the elderly commercialising common life, p150 onwards about commissioning in local authorities for care.
August 18, 2024
Saw Guy Standing speak at the Oxford Real Farming Conference - an incredible orator. Bought this book straight away and plunged into a couple months of outrage and despair at the state of the UK economy and political landscape. (This is not a quick or easy read). The content and examples provided provoked many head in hands moments but also solidified the need and importance of doing things better!!!
January 1, 2021
Interesting perspective, particularly enjoyed the history at the beginning which discusses the Charter of the Forest (signed around the time of the Magna Carta). However it is definitely intended for a UK audience, which does limit it a bit.
November 24, 2022
Relentlessly depressing. Makes hating Thatcher feel fresh all over again. A must read for every British citizen. It took me a while to get through because I had to keep stopping to go and piss through Michael Gove’s letterbox.
January 4, 2020
This is the best book I've read in a very long time. An absolute must-read!
It unites virtually all of Britain's problems, from failing health care to pollution and from migration to digital deprivation of liberty, in a clear-cut mechanism: the capitalist and neoliberalist policies and the individualistic view of man that goes with them.
Prof Standing dusts off a centuries-old series of laws, dating back to the Knight's Age, which listens to the name Charter of the Forest. Not surprising that this series of laws, together with the Magna Carta persisted until neoliberalism was elevated as the standard. That Charter mainly provided that essential living resources (commons) should be available to everyone and not only for this generation, but also for those to come. It should be possible to use water, forest, land and air for everyone, as well as to have access to justice, health care, knowledge (libraries, education) and a home of one's own. Where it was and is clear that no one should be allowed to appropriate such facilities is that in a perpetual process this is happening more and more, with the Thatcher years as a definitive turning point. When the value (of commons) is no longer equal to what the public and future generations earn in terms of livelihood, but is equal to what it is economically worth, it can be plundered for individual gain.
The book is a list of looting in Great Britain. Beyond that, of course, these looting takes other forms. Nevertheless, the book is easy to transform to nations outside GB; the train of thought that gives rise to looting is relatively easy to detect.
Guy Standing gives a series of crossovers for a transition, such as setting up a Basic Income. The book ends with a new Charter of the Commons. A translation of this could easily be used by political searchers to stop the looting.
On the one hand, the book provides an encouraging picture. If something of value is broken and we know how to fix it. But when we turn our eyes to the world, another emotion comes to mind. Has the looting led to irreversible destruction? We see the obvious effects of climate change and the digital climate is no less toxic. Is our self-image as exhausted and spoiled as the world we live in?
Dit is het beste boek wat ik in zeer lange tijd heb gelezen. En must-read!
Het verenigt vrijwel alle Britse problemen, van falende gezondheidszorg tot vervuiling en van migratie tot digitale vrijheidsberoving, in een duidelijke veroorzakend mechanisme: het kapitalistische en neoliberalistische beleid en het individualistische mensbeeld dat ermee gepaard gaat.
Prof Standing blaast het stof van een eeuwenoude reeks wetten, stammend uit de riddertijd, die luistert naar de naam Charter of the Forest. Niet verwonderlijk dat deze reeks wetten, samen met de Magna Carta bleven bestaan tot aan de tijd dat het neoliberalisme als standaard werd verheven. Die Charter voorzag er voornamelijk in dat wezenlijke levensvoorzieningen (commons) voor iedereen beschikbaar zouden moeten zijn en niet alleen voor deze, maar juist ook voor toekomstige generaties. Watergebruik, bos, land, lucht, zouden voor eenieder gebruikt moeten kunnen worden, maar ook de toegang tot rechtspraak, gezondheidszorg, kennis (bibliotheken, scholing), en een eigen woning. Waar het duidelijk was en is dat niemand zich dergelijke voorzieningen zou mogen toe-eigenen is dat in een eeuwigdurend proces meer en meer gebeurd, met de Thatcher-jaren als definitief keerpunt. Wanneer de waarde (van commons) niet meer gelijk staat aan wat het publiek en komende generaties oplevert aan bestaansbron, maar gelijk staat aan wat het economisch waard is, kan het geplunderd worden voor individueel gewin.
Het boek is opsomming van plunderingen in Groot Brittanie. Daarbuiten nemen die plunderingen uiteraard andere vormen aan. Niettemin is het boek eenvoudig te transformeren naar naties buiten GB; de gedachtengang die aanleiding vormt voor plunderingen zijn betrekkelijk eenvoudig te detecteren.
Guy Standing geeft een reeks voorzetten voor een transitie, zoals het instellen van een basisinkomen. Het boek eindigt met een nieuwe Charter of the Commons. Een vertaling daarvan zou eenvoudig door politiek zoekenden kunnen worden gebruikt om de plunderingen een halt toe te roepen. Ik zal m hoe dan ook voor mezelf vertalen.
Enerzijds levert het boek een bemoedigend beeld. Als iets van waarde kapot is en we weten waardoor kunnen we het repareren. Maar als we onze ogen naar de wereld wenden dan valt ons een andere emotie te beurt. Heeft de plundering tot een onomkeerbare destructie geleid? We zien de overduidelijke effecten van klimaatverandering en het digitale klimaat is niet minder giftig. Is ons zelfbeeld net zo uitgeput en verziekt als de wereld waarin we leven?
It unites virtually all of Britain's problems, from failing health care to pollution and from migration to digital deprivation of liberty, in a clear-cut mechanism: the capitalist and neoliberalist policies and the individualistic view of man that goes with them.
Prof Standing dusts off a centuries-old series of laws, dating back to the Knight's Age, which listens to the name Charter of the Forest. Not surprising that this series of laws, together with the Magna Carta persisted until neoliberalism was elevated as the standard. That Charter mainly provided that essential living resources (commons) should be available to everyone and not only for this generation, but also for those to come. It should be possible to use water, forest, land and air for everyone, as well as to have access to justice, health care, knowledge (libraries, education) and a home of one's own. Where it was and is clear that no one should be allowed to appropriate such facilities is that in a perpetual process this is happening more and more, with the Thatcher years as a definitive turning point. When the value (of commons) is no longer equal to what the public and future generations earn in terms of livelihood, but is equal to what it is economically worth, it can be plundered for individual gain.
The book is a list of looting in Great Britain. Beyond that, of course, these looting takes other forms. Nevertheless, the book is easy to transform to nations outside GB; the train of thought that gives rise to looting is relatively easy to detect.
Guy Standing gives a series of crossovers for a transition, such as setting up a Basic Income. The book ends with a new Charter of the Commons. A translation of this could easily be used by political searchers to stop the looting.
On the one hand, the book provides an encouraging picture. If something of value is broken and we know how to fix it. But when we turn our eyes to the world, another emotion comes to mind. Has the looting led to irreversible destruction? We see the obvious effects of climate change and the digital climate is no less toxic. Is our self-image as exhausted and spoiled as the world we live in?
Dit is het beste boek wat ik in zeer lange tijd heb gelezen. En must-read!
Het verenigt vrijwel alle Britse problemen, van falende gezondheidszorg tot vervuiling en van migratie tot digitale vrijheidsberoving, in een duidelijke veroorzakend mechanisme: het kapitalistische en neoliberalistische beleid en het individualistische mensbeeld dat ermee gepaard gaat.
Prof Standing blaast het stof van een eeuwenoude reeks wetten, stammend uit de riddertijd, die luistert naar de naam Charter of the Forest. Niet verwonderlijk dat deze reeks wetten, samen met de Magna Carta bleven bestaan tot aan de tijd dat het neoliberalisme als standaard werd verheven. Die Charter voorzag er voornamelijk in dat wezenlijke levensvoorzieningen (commons) voor iedereen beschikbaar zouden moeten zijn en niet alleen voor deze, maar juist ook voor toekomstige generaties. Watergebruik, bos, land, lucht, zouden voor eenieder gebruikt moeten kunnen worden, maar ook de toegang tot rechtspraak, gezondheidszorg, kennis (bibliotheken, scholing), en een eigen woning. Waar het duidelijk was en is dat niemand zich dergelijke voorzieningen zou mogen toe-eigenen is dat in een eeuwigdurend proces meer en meer gebeurd, met de Thatcher-jaren als definitief keerpunt. Wanneer de waarde (van commons) niet meer gelijk staat aan wat het publiek en komende generaties oplevert aan bestaansbron, maar gelijk staat aan wat het economisch waard is, kan het geplunderd worden voor individueel gewin.
Het boek is opsomming van plunderingen in Groot Brittanie. Daarbuiten nemen die plunderingen uiteraard andere vormen aan. Niettemin is het boek eenvoudig te transformeren naar naties buiten GB; de gedachtengang die aanleiding vormt voor plunderingen zijn betrekkelijk eenvoudig te detecteren.
Guy Standing geeft een reeks voorzetten voor een transitie, zoals het instellen van een basisinkomen. Het boek eindigt met een nieuwe Charter of the Commons. Een vertaling daarvan zou eenvoudig door politiek zoekenden kunnen worden gebruikt om de plunderingen een halt toe te roepen. Ik zal m hoe dan ook voor mezelf vertalen.
Enerzijds levert het boek een bemoedigend beeld. Als iets van waarde kapot is en we weten waardoor kunnen we het repareren. Maar als we onze ogen naar de wereld wenden dan valt ons een andere emotie te beurt. Heeft de plundering tot een onomkeerbare destructie geleid? We zien de overduidelijke effecten van klimaatverandering en het digitale klimaat is niet minder giftig. Is ons zelfbeeld net zo uitgeput en verziekt als de wereld waarin we leven?
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November 21, 2019Um dos argumentos para defender um Rendimento Básico Incondicional (RBI) é o de que este proporciona uma rede de segurança a todos os cidadãos, ajudando por exemplo a fazer face a despesas inesperadas ou conferindo suporte na busca de emprego, ou permitindo viver sem um emprego.
Este livro de Guy Standing (GS) fez-me perceber que o conceito de RBI deve incluir mas ser mais lato do que a componente monetária.
GS faz a apologia dos “comuns” a partir de um momento chave na história deste conceito no Reino Unido: a promulgação da “Charter of the Forest” em 1217. Neste documento são restaurados os direitos do povo ao usufruto de grandes extensões de terras para pastagem de animais e para recolha de lenha e turfa, direitos esses que tinham sido severamente limitados pela aristocracia nas décadas anteriores. Partindo do conceito dos “comuns” como a base material da subsistência, autonomia e liberdade da classe popular, GS adapta-o aos nossos dias, estendendo-o a cinco áreas:
Os comuns naturais- a terra, a água, o ar, as áreas naturais e vida selvagem, mas também os espaços públicos urbanos (incluindo mas não limitados aos jardins), os recursos minerais e energéticos, incluindo o vento.
Os comuns sociais- a habitação, a assistência médica, a segurança social (incluindo o apoio às crianças e à terceira idade), os correios, os transportes coletivos, e outras formas de colaboração como hortas comunitárias e grémios profissionais.
Os comuns civis- apoio legal e acesso à justiça
Os comuns culturais- órgãos públicos e independentes de comunicação social e apoio às atividades culturais
Os comuns do conhecimento- acesso à informação pessoal, redução dos direitos de propriedade intelectual, gestão democrática da escola pública.
Penso que esta nova visão dos comuns constitui um interessante substrato político para enquadrar propostas políticas baseadas na igualdade e na democracia. Por um lado é necessário assegurar o retorno para o espaço comum dos direitos sobre estas áreas essenciais à dignidade humana. Por outro é imperioso que da exploração comercial dos comuns haja um retorno para a sociedade que é a sua legítima proprietária.
GS defende assim a criação de um Fundo dos Comuns, financiado por taxas sobre o uso comercial ou a exploração dos comuns. Este Fundo deveria investir para gerar e conservar riqueza pública de forma ecologicamente sustentável, partilhando os lucros sob a forma de um Dividendo Comum, pago a todos os cidadãos. Este dividendo é equivalente ao RBI acima mencionado mas o seu enquadramento numa política de restauro dos comuns é idelogicamente mais forte, evitando por exemplo as derivas neo-liberais que têm tentado colar-se ao conceito.
Este livro de Guy Standing (GS) fez-me perceber que o conceito de RBI deve incluir mas ser mais lato do que a componente monetária.
GS faz a apologia dos “comuns” a partir de um momento chave na história deste conceito no Reino Unido: a promulgação da “Charter of the Forest” em 1217. Neste documento são restaurados os direitos do povo ao usufruto de grandes extensões de terras para pastagem de animais e para recolha de lenha e turfa, direitos esses que tinham sido severamente limitados pela aristocracia nas décadas anteriores. Partindo do conceito dos “comuns” como a base material da subsistência, autonomia e liberdade da classe popular, GS adapta-o aos nossos dias, estendendo-o a cinco áreas:
Os comuns naturais- a terra, a água, o ar, as áreas naturais e vida selvagem, mas também os espaços públicos urbanos (incluindo mas não limitados aos jardins), os recursos minerais e energéticos, incluindo o vento.
Os comuns sociais- a habitação, a assistência médica, a segurança social (incluindo o apoio às crianças e à terceira idade), os correios, os transportes coletivos, e outras formas de colaboração como hortas comunitárias e grémios profissionais.
Os comuns civis- apoio legal e acesso à justiça
Os comuns culturais- órgãos públicos e independentes de comunicação social e apoio às atividades culturais
Os comuns do conhecimento- acesso à informação pessoal, redução dos direitos de propriedade intelectual, gestão democrática da escola pública.
Penso que esta nova visão dos comuns constitui um interessante substrato político para enquadrar propostas políticas baseadas na igualdade e na democracia. Por um lado é necessário assegurar o retorno para o espaço comum dos direitos sobre estas áreas essenciais à dignidade humana. Por outro é imperioso que da exploração comercial dos comuns haja um retorno para a sociedade que é a sua legítima proprietária.
GS defende assim a criação de um Fundo dos Comuns, financiado por taxas sobre o uso comercial ou a exploração dos comuns. Este Fundo deveria investir para gerar e conservar riqueza pública de forma ecologicamente sustentável, partilhando os lucros sob a forma de um Dividendo Comum, pago a todos os cidadãos. Este dividendo é equivalente ao RBI acima mencionado mas o seu enquadramento numa política de restauro dos comuns é idelogicamente mais forte, evitando por exemplo as derivas neo-liberais que têm tentado colar-se ao conceito.
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May 27, 2025I’ve been reading a lot about the commons lately—really, a lot. If you’re looking for a more philosophical approach that is grounded in the autonomist or anarchist tradition, I’d recommend Dardot and Laval’s Common, or Hardt and Negri’s Commonwealth (the latter is less compelling to me, but more widely read). Plunder of the Commons, by contrast, is written for the practical-minded, non-revolutionary left. That said, it’s an excellent resource: a concise history of the rise of neoliberalism in the UK and a clear, actionable set of demands that activists could easily print and distribute.
I call the book practical for two main reasons:
First, Standing is imprecise in his definition of the commons. He tends to frame it simply as resources under threat of privatization, without engaging deeply with the political stakes of commons governance (if something is not governed collectively, can we still call it commons? what are the implications of such inclusion?). Unlike autonomist theorists, he isn’t concerned with cooperative ownership as a path to socialism, nor with overcoming the state/society antagonism in the anarchist sense.
Second, his core argument rests on a direct parallel between historical enclosures (referencing the Magna Carta and Charter of the Forest) and today’s neoliberal enclosures. This idea — also present in Peter Linebaugh’s Magna Carta Manifesto, which Standing references frequently — suggests that the democratic potential of the Charter of the Forest remains unrealized and must be revived today.
I once found this parallel generative (it shaped my interest in early modern peasant resistances), but I now question its limits. The commons of the past and present are not the same (land and information surely have their unique characteristics we need to pay attention to), and conflating them risks obscuring the real challenge: defining what form the practice of the common must take today. Only such a practice can ground a law of the common—a law not based solely on the antiquity of custom, but on a living, collective principle of shared governance.
I call the book practical for two main reasons:
First, Standing is imprecise in his definition of the commons. He tends to frame it simply as resources under threat of privatization, without engaging deeply with the political stakes of commons governance (if something is not governed collectively, can we still call it commons? what are the implications of such inclusion?). Unlike autonomist theorists, he isn’t concerned with cooperative ownership as a path to socialism, nor with overcoming the state/society antagonism in the anarchist sense.
Second, his core argument rests on a direct parallel between historical enclosures (referencing the Magna Carta and Charter of the Forest) and today’s neoliberal enclosures. This idea — also present in Peter Linebaugh’s Magna Carta Manifesto, which Standing references frequently — suggests that the democratic potential of the Charter of the Forest remains unrealized and must be revived today.
I once found this parallel generative (it shaped my interest in early modern peasant resistances), but I now question its limits. The commons of the past and present are not the same (land and information surely have their unique characteristics we need to pay attention to), and conflating them risks obscuring the real challenge: defining what form the practice of the common must take today. Only such a practice can ground a law of the common—a law not based solely on the antiquity of custom, but on a living, collective principle of shared governance.
December 19, 2019
Very interesting and educational. A lot of ideas and viewpoints that were already familiar, but from the slightly different perspective of the commons. Where we might normally have to justify wanting to keep things like education, healthcare, art and natural resources in public hands, the default position here is that they are a part of the commons and belong to us by right, so that their sale or privatisation or restriction of access amounts to theft. I got a bit fed up with the history section at the beginning, but then later in the book I really appreciated knowing the historical context, so I'm glad it was included!
April 14, 2025
This book made me so angry that most of it I could only read in 20-page chunks. Much of what was owned by the public in Britain (and elsewhere) has been appropriated by private interests, not least in the frenzy of privatisation initiated by Maggie Thatcher and continued by every government since.
Guy Standing has the information to detail this process, name (in this book at least some of) the guilty men/organisations, assert the moral right of the public and propose a way back.
Inspiring.
Guy Standing has the information to detail this process, name (in this book at least some of) the guilty men/organisations, assert the moral right of the public and propose a way back.
Inspiring.
January 16, 2023
A detailed and persuasive account of the subtle seizure by money and power of what should be commonly owned. However, as a reader you need some sense of hope, some idea of what you can do to challenge this state of affairs. After 188 unrelenting pages of misery and abuse I gave up. There was little sign of the manifesto mentioned in the title until the final chapter.
January 14, 2020
Essential book for anyone with at least a passing interest in UK politics, and the best argument I've seen for a universal basic income - to make amends for all the commons, rights and etc in the magna carter and the charter of the commons that we have lost.
January 18, 2020
A highly readable essay on why a basic income should be paid to all of us as the beginning of a compensation for the plunder of our common goods. Possessions as land, air, water, temperature, commodities and what have you.
January 3, 2022
Guy Standing's book is a 'must-read'. He advocates 'Universal Basic Income.' He has done experiments in India and it shows that it works well. NeoLiberal policies have produced extreme divide and this book covers how some benefit at the cost of many.
April 27, 2025
Informative, depressing, and mildly inspiring
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