Putting the ‘public’ back into public services
In the face of climate catastrophe, mounting inequalities and growing democratic unrest, public services are more important than ever. Across the world, people are building better, more democratic and inclusive public services because privatisations are failing. Amsterdam is confronted with challenges comparable to those facing…
Grassroots democracies form North American coalition
For a long weekend in September, 29 2019 organizations dedicated to participatory democracy and the solidarity economy gathered in Detroit for Symbiosis, a “Congress of Municipal Movements.” Despite working on similar projects, it was the first time that many participants had the opportunity to meet…
Jakarta poor still fighting for tap water
To fight the water privatization that is taking place in Jakarta, the organization Amrta Institute for Water Literacy is helping make water accessible to all the inhabitants of Jakarta. The organization Amrta Institute for Water Literacy was shortlisted for the Transformative Cities People’s Choice Award…
Utopia, not futurism: Why doing the impossible is the most rational thing we can do
On August 24, 1978, Murray Bookchin gave a lecture in Amherst, Massachusetts. In his speech, Bookchin argued against the ideology of futurism and for ecological utopianism. In the Q&A session, he pointed out that he was not against technology itself, he was against technocracy, and…
Handbook for rebellion
An Extinction Rebellion Handbook, recently released by Penguin, is a collection of 32 short essays that aims of pushing the message – and the confidence to take action – even further. An accessible text appropriate for introducing the average reader to both the scale of…
(New) Municipalism
By interpreting the results of the world values survey one of the conclusions that scholars are getting to is that people value democracy, but just not the kind of representative democracy that they have. In addition, political parties from the extreme right are gaining support…
Black Socialists of America is putting anti-capitalism on the map
Black Socialists of America is a network of anti-capitalist black Americans who are not just interested in building up a platform for black American leftists or getting the ideas of black American leftists out into popular dialogue; we’re also trying to push mass education in…
Think globally, act locally?
The author asks: how can local action further our goals for global transformation? First, there is a reflection on the limits of local action and local democracy. Then the author goes back to social ecology writings and other theoretical discussions to find some clues. Finally,…
How does a single issue civic movement transform into a political entity?
An interview with Dobrica Veselnovic, co-founder of Ne Da(vi)mo Beograd during the Our Common City conference held in Budapest (February 22 & 23, 2019). Part one: Part two: