Sharing the Commons: Humanity’s Collective Heritage
I realized that a North-South approach (where developed nations would lift developing nations out of poverty and thereby stimulate the world economy) would not solve most of these problems. For example, the production and consumption of rich nations, and the poverty and struggle to industrialize in poor nations, are both contributing to global warming. This turns the North-South model into a competitive negotiation over resources, not a formula for co-operation and sustainability.
Share International: So you changed your views about how best to solve these major global problems?
James Quilligan: When the United Nations Millennium Development Goals were developed in 1998-2000, I recognized the futility of reaching them under the political and economic status quo. I came to the conclusion that the field of development had always been expecting foreign investment and foreign aid to solve the crises of the world when, in fact, investment and aid were not addressing the sources of these problems. In fact, the standard development approach was actually contributing to these dilemmas and making them worse. As someone who had been raising people’s expectations about our economic future, I now realized that this was unrealistic, given the present state of the world. So I was part of the problem. This was my moment of truth.
I understood that development issues had to be reframed. They were really “commons” issues that could only be addressed if we saw the cause of these collective action problems as transboundary, meaning that they crossed borders. So the challenge is, who has jurisdiction and is accountable for resolving these conflicts and imbalances? Despite the greater interdependence provided by trade and financial globalization, the institutions of property rights and sovereign boundaries are severely impeding the flow of conscious energy among the people and nations of the world. Property and boundaries are inhibiting the flow of empathy and intersubjectivity between us, creating separation. The arbitrary limitations of borders suppress the collective culture of humanity, destroy the fabric of community relations and degrade the environment – all of which result in the continuation of social inequality, sexual dominance, commercial competition and war.
Share International: How did you come across the commons as an approach that could address these global issues?
