Commons in the Post-Soviet Area - 2013

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Topic: *Commons in post-soviet area – *dying or transforming towards a modern form of commons?*

  • How can experiences of transformational countries be joined into the

commons movement?*

Venue

Meeting point: Lobby of the Heinrich Böll Foundation


Description

The actual situation in the countries of the former world of “real socialism” can be described as conflict between traditional Russian culture of Commons (òbtschschina), occupied and transformed by the soviet state into state controlled soviet structures on one side and neoliberal attacks of privatisation and monetarisation by WTO on the other. Since Russia – hesitating for 18 years after perestroika – entered WTO in August of 2012 this conflict is increasing. The question is arising seriously, if Russian (and Eurasian) culture of commons, which remained in spite of privatisation, will be able and willing to overcome this pressure of further privatisation. The Question is: Will there be resistance against the full program of WTO and when, how will it look like? Or different: Who is going to transform whom – WTO Russian (and Eurasian) commons ore commons culture of Russia (and Eurasia) the WTO?

I think, the rising commons movement has to take history and actuality of Russian (Eurasian) culture of commons (òbtschtschina) into consideration seriously – it´s traditional power of “obschtschnost” (spirit and culture of community), it´s perversion into a state dominated “collectivism” and it´s actual struggle by using it´s experiences in time of real-socialism for finding a new, modern way between (authoritarian) state and (neoliberal) market understanding.

I would like to find some people going into this field as a team of researcher on the long run – and with actual focus on WTO. I am deeply convinced that catching up the experiences of Russian (and Eurasian) commons culture will be an enrichment of fundamental use for the rise of commons movement as a worldwide impulse.


Organizer

Kai Ehlers, www.kai-ehlers.de [1]

contact mail: [email protected]