Paper short abstract:

Based on ethnographic research this paper will present initial findings on the evolution of the concept of the commons as part of broader political program for social change in the city of Barcelona with a particular focus on convergence between Commons and the Social and Solidarity Economy.

Paper long abstract:

The municipalist movement, Barcelona En Comu, entered the city council in 2015. Despite being a minority government with the support of social movements they have advanced a broad range of programs and policies aimed at strengthening the social economy in the city. A key concept in these developments has been the Commons.

Over the past twenty years the Commons has emerged as a political subject in discourses among activists in the global justice movements. At the same time advances in networked technologies have made possible new distributed forms of collaborative production and the creation of digital commons. Interest in Commons are informed by diverse experiences, practices and contexts. From ecological settings and urban spaces to software and cultural production.

The possibilities of the commons and their place in social and political imaginaries are deeply informed by local contexts and experiences. Based on ethnographic research ongoing since April 2018 this paper will present initial findings on the evolution of the concept of the commons as part of broader political program for social change in Barcelona.

The paper will have a particular focus on convergence between Commons projects and the Social and Solidarity Economy and explore the possibilities and challenges of working with institutions.

This paper will examine the following three questions -

1)How do participants situate commons in relation to broad movements for transformative social change?

2)What place do commons have in the constitution of political and economic alternatives to capitalism?

3)To what extent are alternatives replicable beyond their local contexts?