The Commonist Podcasts Common Alternatives

In an age defined by capitalist systems that dominate our socioeconomic structures, the need for innovative perspectives and transformative theories has never been more pressing. “Capital Redefined,” crafted by S. A. Hamed Hosseini and Barry K. Gills, launches a pioneering scholarly endeavor to reconceptualize ‘capital’ and its intertwined value theory at a time when the resurgence of the ‘C word’ signals a reawakening of  longstanding disputes and the emergence of new theoretical discourses. Their book is not just an academic endeavor but a radical manifesto-making framework that challenges the established norms of value theory in the context of capitalism.

This short essay explores the core themes and radical insights presented in the book.

Professor Marcus Foth - from Queensland University of Technology - Hosted by UON-FEDUA Alternative Futures Research Hub

Tuesday 10 Sep 2019, 10am – 2pm incl. lunch-breakThe turn to participation in smart cities was intended to increase the involvement of diverse, often marginalized, citizens in the design and use of networked sensing technologies. However, ideals of activism, citizen engagement, and democratization through the co-design of networked technologies and services have been largely based on an understanding of urban space as separate from nature, and for human inhabitants alone. In current conditions of climate change, pollution, and loss of biodiversity, a human-centered perspective of cities is increasingly problematic.

This Commonist Episode focuses on an expanded more-than-human perspective for cities, informed by studies in the Anthropocene in fields such as STS, geography, planning, and design. We will interrogate how more-than-human perspectives and their resultant ethical, legal, and methodological concerns can shape participatory design practices and services towards cohabitation and push forward a cultural change in the agenda of sustainable smart cities, urban informatics, IoT, and design.

Professor Bronwen Morgan (UNSW Law) and Dr. Joanne McNeill (UWS) discuss the insights gained by thinking about the ownership and governance of platform cooperatives across a range of sectors through the tri-fold perspective of legal, design and urban policy perspectives. They highlight how this provides an important complement to the more traditional focus on greater regulatory protection of precarious labour in the digital economy. Bronwen Morgan is a Professor at UNSW Law School with a strong interest in new and diverse economies, mostly of the kind affiliated with solidarity and the creation of a commons. Bronwen has longstanding research interests in regulation, especially the interaction between its technocratic interstices and collective commitments to democracy and conviviality. Her more recent empirical research has focused on energy, food, water and new kinds of lawyers.   Joanne McNeill is Research Projects Manager with Western Sydney University’s Institute for Culture & Society, a Visiting Fellow at UNSW Law, and a founding Director of the fledgling Community Economies Institute. Her professional experience and research interests focus on various dimensions of alternative economic organizing, including around social procurement, cooperatives, social enterprises, capacity building and demonstrating ‘impact’. She is a Churchill Fellow, awarded in 2008.  

Alternative Futures and Regional Prospects Symposium Working across Differences, beyond Carbon, Capital and Commodity  Thursday 22nd & Friday 23rd of November 2018 Organizers: The University of Newcastle Alternative Futures Network, Common Alternatives Network (http://thecommonalts.com/); hosted by The University of Technology Sydney

Robyn Kaczmarek (Founder and Managing Director, The Co-operative Life), tells her story about how Australia’s first worker-owned cooperative delivers quality social care services and offers care workers a better deal.  Robyn Kaczmarek is the founder and managing director of The Co-operative Life, Australia’s first worker-owned cooperative in social care services. The cooperative began operating in 2013 with a single employee but has grown to around 75 staff members. Before entering the social care services sector, Robyn studied naturopathy, Chinese medicine and acupuncture (UTS) and ran a clinic in Mosman. She later completed a diploma in the coordination of care services. In setting up and continuing her passionate commitment to The Co-operative Life, Robyn strives to break the vicious cycle of poor work conditions for support workers and deliver improved quality of care services to the vulnerable.  

Alternative Futures and Regional Prospects Symposium Working across Differences, beyond Carbon, Capital and Commodity  Thursday 22nd & Friday 23rd of November 2018 Organizers: The University of Newcastle Alternative Futures Network, Common Alternatives Network (http://thecommonalts.com/); hosted by The University of Technology Sydney

Dr Louise Crabtree (and James Brown) discuss how co-operative housing is demonstrating how to break away from developer-led models of housing to focus on people and community. Several case studies highlight key aspects of the model, what it means to do housing cooperatively and why we should embrace co-operative housing in pursuit of a better and alternative future.  James Brown is the CEO of Common Equity NSW, the peak body for Housing Co-operatives in NSW. James has more than 15 years’ experience in Executive and leadership roles in local government, public health, aged care and housing. James has experience in diverse roles covering political, strategic and practical perspectives in pursuit of the public good. He is seeking to bring about change in Australia’s housing market by fostering a consumer-led approach to housing.  Louise was awarded her PhD in Human Geography from Macquarie University in 2007 and has been with Western Sydney University since 2007. Her research focuses on the social, ecological and economic sustainability of community-driven housing developments in Australia; on the uptake of housing innovation in practice and policy; on complex adaptive systems theory in urban contexts; and, on the interfaces between sustainability, property rights, institutional design and democracy.   

Alternative Futures and Regional Prospects Symposium Working across Differences, beyond Carbon, Capital and Commodity  Thursday 22nd & Friday 23rd of November 2018 Organizers: The University of Newcastle Alternative Futures Network, Common Alternatives Network (http://thecommonalts.com/); hosted by The University of Technology Sydney

Dr. Jarra Hicks (Co-Founder and Director of Community Power Agency) will discuss the work of the Community Power Agency is helping to support and build the capacity of community energy co-operatives.  Jarra is a passionate advocate, researcher and participant in the creation of community-owned renewable energy projects. She holds a PhD from University of New South Wales, and an Honors degree in Development Studies from the University of Newcastle. Jarra is an environmental activist and grass roots organizer. She is co-founder of the Beanstalk Organic Food Coop, and co-founder and director of Community Power Agency, a not-for- profit cooperative that supports the growth of a vibrant community-owned renewable energy future in Australia.  

Alternative Futures and Regional Prospects Symposium Working across Differences, beyond Carbon, Capital and Commodity  Thursday 22nd & Friday 23rd of November 2018 Organizers: The University of Newcastle Alternative Futures Network, Common Alternatives Network (http://thecommonalts.com/); hosted by The University of Technology Sydney