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Pluriversality and beyond: consolidating radical alternatives to (mal-)development as a Commonist project

Pluriversality and beyond: consolidating radical alternatives to (mal-)development as a Commonist... This article addresses contradictions in the 'pluriverse' of radical alternatives to maldevelopment, and proposes an integra- tive framework for fostering productive convergences among its forces. It argues that the 2020s and 2030s will be pivotal decades, in which the current global conjuncture, characterized by intensifying economic turmoil, climate change, and ecological crises, will translate into increased mass discontent, global polarization, political instabilities, and social unrest across the world. However, there is no reason to believe that this intensification of crises will automatically result in the end of unproductive divisions among the global left. Thus, we argue that a higher level of proactivism, at a meta-ideological standing, which we refer to here as the ‘Commonist Project’, is both necessary and possible. The article proposes a fourfold framework of how to promote sustainable convergences and solidarities, going beyond temporary pragmatic coalitions and alliances. This proposal draws on the idea of ‘commoning transformative knowledge’, realized through creating new transversal integrative assemblages of alternative-futures-making initiatives. In the end, the argument is empirically sup- ported by drawing on the authors’ critical reflections on their own cross-organizational experiences of fostering dialogic and praxis-based methodologies across various groups and forces pursuing post-capitalist alternatives through the People’s Sovereignty Network. Keywords Pluriversality · Transversality · Commonism · Maldevelopment · People’s Sovereignty Network · Platform activism · Praxis-based methodologies Interdependency of civilizational crises and civilizational solutions The multiplicitous and multifaceted crises that our planet is experiencing today indicate an inherent civilizational failure (Gills 2020b). We are living through a “great implosion,” a “world system crisis,” a “general crisis” of our dominant Handled by Julien-François Gerber, The Hague, Netherlands. form of civilization, a “great decline,” which even threatens us with the “collapse” of human civilization itself (Gills * S. A. Hamed Hosseini 2020a). A historically specific form of “civilization”, origi- hamed.hosseini@newcastle.edu.au nating from European imperialism and colonialism and Barry K. Gills deeply entangled with capitalist modernity (Öcalan 2020; Barry.Gills@helsinki.fi Rist 2019), has now gained global dominance. This world Global Development Studies, Faculty of Social Sciences, civilizational system is characterized by its foundational University of Helsinki, PL 18 (Unioninkatu 35), 312, dependence on five elements: (1)  capital replacing labor Helsinki, Finland as the ultimate source of value; (2)  carbon— fossil fuels School of Humanities, Creative Industries and Social or more generally global extractivism; (3) compulsive eco- Sciences, College of Human and Social Futures, The nomic  growth,  through relentless commodification of University of Newcastle, Callaghan, NSW 2308, Australia Vol.:(0123456789) 1 3 1184 Sustainability Science (2022) 17:1183–1194 socio-ecological relations and a continuing appropriation of catastrophic future and restore the regenerative power of the the commons; (4) coloniality, i.e., the stratifying power rela- Earth System (Gills 2020b; Hosseini 2020). tions and epistemes necessary for maintaining intersectional The ‘radical interdependence’ of the 5Cs, in Escobar’s hierarchies; and finally (5)  corruptive politics, energized by term (2018:101) requires nothing short of ‘mutually consti- and serving the rise of monopoly-finance capital, corporate- tuted’ responses in the realm of the 5Ds. Thus, if perceived state interest-driven advances in surveillance, datafication, as an adequate solution, any exclusive focus on only one or bio- and neuro-technology, and warfare. We call the above some of the Ds will function as a distraction from the rest 5Cs, the five intrinsic characterizers of today’s world civili- of, equally if not more important, Ds. The historical inevi- zation system (Hosseini 2020). tability of a deep civilizational shift is well understood by This system is inherently unstable, crisis-prone, and a growing number of 5D movements (Foran 2020). Despite unsustainable. The 5Cs require an endless exploitative their absolute necessity, the 5Ds—even if they are pursued expansion into the human and non-human resources of the together—will still be inadequate for a civilizational lib- planet. None of the above five characterizers allows for the eration to happen, since they are more recuperative than restoration of the capacities lost for protecting and sustaining originative. The question of what kind of new civilizational life. Since we have already passed numerous critical thresh- forms, both at the local and global levels, should or would olds of earth’s biocapacity (Rockström et al. 2015), and with ultimately replace the currently failing ones signifies the no real short to medium-term technological solutions on the urgency of promoting utopian visions based on profoundly horizon, these same characteristics driving the ascendency different perceptions of civilization. Indeed, we need to ‘re- of capitalist modernity and global capitalist civilization are imagine civilization’ anew (Gills 2020a). now exactly the main contributors to its historical demise. To be originative, the new movements need to address the Moreover, the incapacity of the system to sustain itself is major elements of what constitutes a self-sustaining civili- now acting as an accelerator of divisions between the cores, zation. There are of course many ways of conceptualizing peripheries, and semi-peripheries, resulting in even greater these elements. Here, we suggest a simple model based on inequalities and tensions at both the national and interna- four elements or modalities we argue can provide us with tional levels (Boatcă et  al. 2017; Klein and Pettis 2020; a reconciliatory conceptual and dialogical framework for Patomäki 2020). re-imagining ‘civilization’ in the time of the current deep The post-carbon policies and technological advancements civilizational crisis (cf. Hosseini 2021). advocated by the dominant elite, as far as they are devel- A civilization can be conceptualized and evaluated in oped chiefly to address the need for sustaining the present terms of four modalities: (1) being and living; (2) willing system by increasing its resilience and adaptability, will in and enabling; (3) learning and liaising; and (4) becoming practice only stretch the system’s dependence on the rest and begetting. of the 5Cs, instead of ending it (Moriarty and Honnery 2011). New technologies that harness energy from renew- 1. Mode of being and living determines how a civiliza- able sources still face serious socio-political and economic tion (should) meet the essential requirements of “living obstacles (Dunlap and Brulle 2015); their rate of progression well” for its human members, non-human living beings will most likely remain too low to avert extensive damage to in their environmental settings, and future generations. humans and non-humans in the coming decades of this cen- Fundamental to this is the way the relationships between tury (Gills and Morgan 2020; Hosseini 2020). More impor- human beings (as both individual and collective beings) tantly, techno-fix solutions are being pursued by sections of and their ecological networks, natural resources, and the ruling class as a potential means of extending capital’s means of living (both productive and reproductive) are hegemony into the so-called green economy, leaving many set up, and how re/production, re/distribution, recy- populations, particularly in the global South and the south of the global North, neglected and unprotected. The underlying socio-economic and biopolitical struc- 1 The ‘radical interdependence’ of the 5Cs demands the ‘mutually tures on which the technological revolutions and policy constituting’ of emancipatory praxes in the pluralistic realm of recu- perative 5Ds, and the ‘structural entanglements’ of the four civiliza- reformation frameworks are based and to which they con- tional modalities (introduced  later in this article)  require integrative tribute must be profoundly challenged so that meaningful frameworks for co-creating originative alternatives. However, the transitions can be owned and guided by the multitudes. This radical interdependence and structural entanglements are an onto- necessitates (1)  de-carbonization, (2)  de-capitalization, logical feature (of a predominant complex world civilization system), whereas the mutual constituency and integrative frameworks are (3)  de-growth, (4)  decolonization, and (5)  de-corrupting more of a praxiological imperative with profound normative, episte- socio-political institutions through radical democracy, mological, and strategic implications for the emancipatory politics of i.e., the 5Ds of a global struggle to save humanity from a alternatives (Read and Alexander 2019; see also Lang 2022; Loh and Shear 2022). 1 3 Sustainability Science (2022) 17:1183–1194 1185 cling waste, consumption, exchange, and financing are growing public disappointment with the ruling political and socially organized and systematized to achieve a self- economic institutions is increasingly feeding into anger, pho- sustaining status. bias, discrimination, and violence (Diamond 2018). In terms 2. Mode of willing and enabling determines how a civiliza- of liaising and learning, unprecedented degrees of socio- tion (should) autonomously make decisions, plan, and economic inequalities, disparities, and deprivation have sig- execute plans, participate, regulate, and evaluate social nificantly damaged socio-ecological solidarities, and weak - conducts, manage internal conflicts of interest, structure ened social trust and cohesion as well as the prospect for power relations within and between their communities, global peace beyond global coloniality (Christiansen and address inequalities, and face exogenous challenges. Jensen 2019; see Oxfam report on global inequality Gneit- 3. Mode of liaising and learning determines the ways ing et al. 2020). Finally, in terms of becoming and begetting, through which individuals, collectives, and institutions, most of the potential and the existing solutions developed in interaction with their natural environments, re/pro- within the compulsive growth-oriented frameworks of capi- duce, share and communicate knowledges necessary for talist development (or even the global project of modernity) creating and sustaining socio-ecological harmonies in to address the crisis of being and living are proving to be the context of a healthy (bio-cultural) diversity. highly ineffective and contradictory (Duara 2015; Moriarty 4. Mode of becoming and begetting determines how a and Honnery 2011; Sim 2010). civilization and its members (should) evolve out of and In response to the chronic failures of (mal-)development move beyond the prevailing socio-ecological structures and the ineffective corporate-state-led solutions offered by and their established cultural settings, and how they dominant elites to today’s acute global challenges, there has mobilize resources, motivate social actors, overcome been an explosion of self-motivated grassroots’ initiatives structural impediments, and respond to crises. and transformative movements. These forces are pushing for more meaningful systemic transitions in a broad range The currently globalized primary modes of being, willing, of scopes, from the local to the global, and in a vast array liaising, and becoming, defined in capitalist terms of refer - of forms, from the ideological to the practical, and from ence and interest, are not only unsustainable but dangerously issue-based to systemic change. In terms of strategy, the destructive from a bio-civilizational perspective. Indeed, we emerging landscape (or ecosystem) of alternatives comprises live in a pathological system, based upon constant ecological an expansive spectrum of approaches, from reformist to sub- and social destruction, which requires us to go beyond the stitutionary to disjunctive. Concerning modes of solidarity, recuperative “5Ds” into a more originative and imaginative the landscape extends from efforts to transcend boundaries, realm, incubating seeds of radically different civilizations to struggles to build pragmatic alliances, to self-entrenching (Gills and Morgan 2020; Hosseini 2020). and maximum autonomy (Gills et al. 2017). In terms of being and living, planetary life is now seri- This recent progress in the global landscape of radical ously threatened, and in just a matter of a few decades, alternatives is a source of hope, apart from negative feed- extinctions of both plant and animal species could acceler- back loops in the system like the current global pandemic, ate dramatically (IPBES et al. 2019) due to the now global that may only temporarily slow down the pace of demise extractivist practices of capital and the rapid depletion of (Le Quéré et  al. 2020) and embolden stronger demands earth’s ecological capacity to sustain the global carbon fuel for change (Askanius and Uldam 2020). However, most of dependent civilization. Global heating and climate change, these initiatives are unknown to the broader public and are the ongoing 6th mass extinction of species, excessive (over) neglected (or silenced) by the mainstream media and the consumption, and continued extremes of pollution of land, reigning political and economic elite. Only recently, thanks air, and water, are among the major destructive trends. to the pandemic-induced lockdowns and slowdowns, an This is an unprecedented time in the history of humanity, unprecedented opportunity has emerged for these trans- in which the eco-biological bases of human civilization(s) formative forces to surface through online engagements with and even human existence itself are now globally jeopard- their broader populations. More importantly, this promising ized (Wallace-Wells 2019; see also a collective statement by ecosystem itself is excessively dynamic, diverse, imagina- scientists on the danger of societal disruption and societal tive, and constantly evolving, adding to the complexities of collapse, Weyhenmeyer et al. 2020). potential social transitions that they herald. In terms of willing and enabling, over the last few dec- Despite the richness of interactions between these new ades, the dominant political institutions, deeply captured forces, and their strong transformative capacities, regret- and corrupted by private corporate power, have shown little fully they are still a marginal theme, not only in academia willingness to effectively change the course of events and and mainstream politics but even among many movement empower communities to address their main concerns effec- actors themselves. A number of totalizing notions (e.g., tually. On the contrary, recent political trends indicate that ‘pluriverse’, ‘multitude’, ‘commonwealth’, and ‘assembly’) 1 3 1186 Sustainability Science (2022) 17:1183–1194 have, nevertheless, been invented in critical social sciences othering, and through charismatic leadership (Wimberly to capture the nature of this promising yet chaotic landscape 2018; Wodak 2020a, b). Quite strangely, even though we of transformative alternatives (see Escobar 2018, 2020 for can find many divisions inside the authoritarian field, the the concept of pluriverse; Hardt and Negri 2004, 2009, new populist radical right has been able to orchestrate a syn- 2012, 2017 for the concepts of multitude, assembly, com- chronous comeback in many societies across the world, from monwealth, and the common). Important, albite embryonic, the West to the East (Hosseini et al. 2022; Moghadam 2020). efforts are being made by activist-academics to map the eco - While the right-wing populist movements are animated by system and the number of impressive encyclopedic com- ethnocentric, xenophobic, monocultural, and exclusionist pilations on alternatives is increasing (Kothari et al. 2019; ideologies, and thus might ostensibly have reasons to abhor Parker et al. 2007; Shantz and Macdonald 2013; Speth and each other, the level of cohesion and mutual support among Courrier 2020). them is seemingly stronger than what we may find among Most of these novel notions are descriptive, and to some the disparate progressive movements of the left, who pursue extent celebratory, yet too often failing to sufficiently out- much more open-minded and multicultural values. The radi- line concrete solutions to what they all acknowledge to be cal right has now extended its influence very deeply into the the “grand challenge” or dilemma. The authors of Pluriv- heartlands of the remaining working classes of the world, erse (Kothari et al. 2019: xxxv) articulate the challenge as especially in the deindustrialized regions of the most devel- such: ‘Given the diversity of imaginative visions across the oped societies (Houtman et al. 2017; Judis 2016). globe, the question of how to build synergies among them History has shown us repeatedly, and especially more remains open. … Differences, tensions, even contradictions, recently, that desperate, distressed, and disadvantaged will exist, but these can become a basis for constructive populations tend to favor their immediate existential needs exchange[s].’ In Wendy Harcourt’s words (2014:1325): ‘The over their longings for higher values like liberty, equality, challenge for the future is to build a broad platform for liv- autonomy, and plurality. When their socio-ecological exist- ing economies or alternatives building up from community ence is perceived to be under serious threat, many choose needs, which are inter-generational and gender-aware, based immediate and “simple” answers  (Hosseini et  al. 2022). on an ethics of care for the environment.’ The next section This vulnerability is well understood by demagogues of discusses the dilemma in more detail. all strands, who are all too often capable of capitalizing on popular fears. This arena of appeal to the popular will seems to be underplayed by progressive forces of change, whose The supreme dilemma of the transformative limited energy is most often spent on internal mobilizing to pluriverse realize their isolated agendas. The transformative pluriverse, especially in the post- One of the greatest if not the greatest dilemma the progres- Soviet global context, has been deeply affected by the fail- sive pluriverse faces in today’s context (where systemic ures of the past century’s communist experiment. One main crises threaten human civilization and thus necessitate reason for the historical failure of the so-called “actually comprehensive radical responses), resides in the lack of existing socialism” was its devolution into an often-mon- common ideological structure and effective global coordi- strous state-centric machinery of mass oppression, though nation to challenge and change the world capitalist system. deploying “progressive” universalist meta-narratives. In This dilemma is not new and has roots in a long history of response, the new left of the second half of the last cen- clashes between dominant forces leading capitalist develop- tury strongly embraced diversity as a new core value. The ment and radical alternative and counter-hegemonic social new left of the post-60s had already started to move in this movements. Internal contradictions between centralist and direction even before the collapse of Communism, replacing decentralist tendencies within pluriversal politics are another ideology politics with identity politics, materialist values long-term historical characteristic. The problem of duality with post-materialist ones, the economic with the cultural, of unity vs. diversity is perhaps the most common problem the global with the local, and redistribution with recogni- for many social movements, of any scope and scale (Hos- tion, while gradually moving away from their working-class seini 2006). backing. They absorbed the post-modern logic of the post- Historically, authoritarian movements on the left and industrial society, thus making themselves unprepared for the right have shown a greater capacity to overcome this the time which decades of neoliberalism and globalization dilemma in favor of an imposed unity, acting against diver- brought into being, a period of growing social inequality, sity, e.g., through suppression of internal dissent, brainwash- the rising gig economy, endemic economic crisis, and brutal ing, consent-manufacturing, cultivating nostalgic sentiment, austerity policies, leading to the diminishment of both the forging fake and fixed historical identities, skillful politi- working and the middle classes. cal propaganda, in-group homogenization, and outgroup 1 3 Sustainability Science (2022) 17:1183–1194 1187 The new left found its strength in “celebrating” diversity A metamorphosis of pluriverse and pluralism; a common feature that still characterizes their into metaverse? version of the pluriverse even decades after the decline of the welfare states in the West, the downfall of communist Being so different from their original cells, the new imaginal regimes in the East, and the neoliberal dismantling of state- cells of an emerging butterfly within a cocoon are attacked led developmentalism in much of the Global South. There is as alien entities by the residual immune system of the fad- now a multitude of context-specific movements with loose or ing caterpillar. The surviving new cells, however, find and diffuse ideological underpinnings but strong commitments to recognize each other as part of a new project and then start plurality and mutual recognition. This feature distinguishes to synergistically form clusters that finally grow into a whole them profoundly from the dominant universalist regime pro- new organism (Kawano 2018). Numerous post-capital(ist) moted and imposed by capital. ideas and practices are now emerging and rapidly growing However, once again, history has begun a new course: across the world, but too often still mostly in relative isola- one that brings to the foreground the old dilemma of unity tion from one another. The organizational bonds between vs. diversity, now fast moving back into the center of pluriv- these diverse projects are not going to grow naturally unless ersal politics. The rapid compression of space–time and aug- integrative plans are designed and implemented. Interna- mentation of the scales of impact poses serious challenges to tionalism is once again being widely discussed around the the political economy and political ecology of pluriversal- planet by numerous forces of resistance, but as yet what is ity (Sklair 2021). The severity of cascading and interacting happening is a plethora of separate projects of international- socio-economic and bio-ecological crises, and the urgency ism emerging in parallel, while still being unable to find a of responding decisively within a short historical temporal single “vehicle” to unite them (Gills and Chase-Dunn 2021). window and on the large scale necessary to deal effectively Disappointed by unresponsive political systems, many with such crises, now appear to make it untenable for the left people have started to seek collective and independent solu- to continue celebrating diversity if that means a continued tions to their problems. While these practices may help some lack of common goals and coordinating structure (Chom- populations to survive or achieve some resilience, they fail sky and Pollin 2020). Mottoes like “to agree to disagree” to amount to holistic change beyond the social dominance in the current conditions of looming catastrophic changes of capital. As far as these initiatives fail to pose serious chal- and rising rebellions, now appear as a fancical idea that the lenges to the foundations of capitalism, ironically and surely broad global left may no longer be able to afford to hold unintentionally, they may help the ruling political-economic onto, given the imperative for common ground and common establishment to continue to evade the responsibility for action. Pluriversalism, however, seems to be investing its genuinely protecting communities and their environments hope on the magic of interactions around common goals and (Wright 2018). There are many such examples, for instance, causes and mutual learning, but also on collective actions for the cooptation by the State of indigenous communities in the strategizing advocacy and action, and building collaborative Ecuadorean Amazon, with promises of collective well-being initiatives (Kothari et al. 2019). through the de facto promotion of neo-extractivist devel- The 2020s–2030s will be recorded as the most pivotal opmentalism (see also Burbach et al. 2013; Svampa 2019; decades in the most critical century in human history, where Tilzey 2019; Veltmeyer and Petras 2014; Walsh 2010). “demanding the impossible” becomes the only “realistic” The key question is how to co-develop an inclusive and option for emerging radical and revolutionary forces. The dynamic knowledge of the pluriverse of transformative current conjuncture, characterized by intensifying eco- alternatives and to make this knowledge a historical force nomic and eco-biological crises, will most likely translate that actively empowers and synergizes myriad transforma- into unprecedented social discontent in the coming years tional actors and strengthens their practices. Surely, there is (Chase-Dunn 2020; Foran 2020). The question of scale already an abundance of transformative practices, utopian (Sklair 2021), and the dilemma of the colossality of the visions, and progressive transition theories. But the popu- entrapping gravity of a world civilization system inherently lar expectation that out of the marketplace of interactions characterized by the interdependent 5Cs, require stronger between countless forms of post-capital alterity, somehow, responses beyond but not exclusive of ‘global tapestry’ mak- magically, a new paradigm will arise that eventually ends the ing (Hosseini et al. 2020; Kothari 2020). A widespread crav- supreme rule of capital before it ends organized life, ironi- ing for experiencing new ways of cross-ideological integrity cally resembles the core neoliberal myth of “the invisible and traversing divisions is becoming increasingly apparent hand” and the “trickle-down” fairy-tale. (Hosseini 2015a, b; Hosseini et al. 2017). The pluriverse of alternatives is a fertile breeding ground for myriad possibilities of reform and transformation; an advantage that is, however, also a disadvantage. The grand 1 3 1188 Sustainability Science (2022) 17:1183–1194 mission in the present conjuncture should, therefore, be to inter-societal (e.g., internationalist, but also inter-communal) harmonize this abundance of contrary initiatives and gener- bio-civilizational project. ate coordination among the plethora of self-assertive pro- gressive forces. The prime task is thus to integrate divergent ingenuities and restructure the profusion of parallel but rival Commoning the alternatives from within: progressive voices around a set of shared principles, com- overcoming the dilemma mon values, and eventually, common plans of coordinated action. The extended idea of commons (beyond physical) as praxis Indeed, those numerous ambitious and “utopian” visions shows a promising transformative potentiality to dynami- that now aspire to design fully-fledged systemic replacement cally and democratically enable many post-capitalist move- (“system change”) or formulate new universal principles, ments to overcome the persistent dilemmas of plurality vs. may run the risk of manufacturing a dominant ideology, universality, diversity vs. cohesion, and fluidity vs. solidar - thus leaving no room for genuine creativity and autono- ity. An inclusive comprehension of the inner nature, deep mous agency. However, many of the existing initiatives that structure, and conflictual dynamism of capitalism is poten- are currently branded as ‘post-capital(ist)’, ‘new economy’, tially a cognitive “common”. To achieve a transformative ‘next system’ or “great transition” are arguably forms of understanding of existing post-capitalist praxes and visions partial alterity to capitalism, rather than actual fully-fledged of utopian futures requires cumulative, collective, and coop- systemic replacements. erative learning. Thus, efforts at such intellectual-activist Attempts to move beyond the supremacy of capital are theories of capital, of change, and of the post-capital utopias still too varied, in an era of mounting socio-economic and can be generated and treated as being a commons. ecological anxieties. This in itself requires nothing short of There are many things that we can learn from the com- decisive and courageous attempts at harmonizing ideas and mons paradigm for this process of commoning post-capital practices to deal with these increasingly complex crises. The alternatives. However, the commons paradigm itself suf- trillion-dollar question that movements in the pluriverse of fers from several limitations when it is seen as a potential alternatives face today is how to create transformative and core for integrating alternatives. A conceptual transition is, sustainable alliances across multiple differences that would therefore, needed, from perceiving the commons and com- result in an inclusive movement for (global) civilizational moning as potentially transformative alternative practices, change. resources, or spaces, to creating the institutional bases for The answer to this question cannot be dictated from above integrating the alternatives into metamorphic projects for the or the outside. It first needs to be developed by empirically comprehensive transformation of societies beyond capitalist exploring the solidaristic moments and alliance-making relations and their imperatives. attempts among the old and newly emerging alternatives, Although there is no single universal line of historical and by examining the causes of their successes and failures progress beyond the hegemony of capital, we argue that it (see Schöneberg et al. 2022; Clarence-Smith and Monticelli is possible to create integral frameworks of praxis, intended 2022). The promotion of self-reflexivity and open-minded- for orchestrating common actions across different alternative ness is crucial here, which can be achieved by inquiring praxes. This becomes a strong possibility if our knowledge about the sources of unproductive frictions among these of the existing or imminent transformative experiences is forces and the ways through which disagreements can be liberated from the disintegrating forces of capital, legacies converted into a base for constructive exchanges. But it can- of coloniality, and the persisting residues of identitarian- not stay there. ism. Co-creating transformative agendas in collaboration There are many local and communal models of collec- with communities of struggle is, therefore, vitally needed tive decision making and coalition building, such as circu- today, to generate educational Commons as a means for lar, deliberative, cooperative, participatory, and conciliar- establishing organic unities among alternative praxes (see ist democracies, that have shown promising features for Maldonado-Villalpando et al. 2022). such a purpose (see Franzen in 2022; Morris 2022; Naylor The political goal should be to go beyond localized frag- 2022). However, these practices are mostly limited to the mented radical struggles, without reducing their multifor- groups that already strongly share values, especially those mity, to challenge the totalizing effects of the capitalist mar - that underpin their favored model of coalition building. A kets and states. The process of building organic unities, or possibly more promising base for overcoming the dilemma what we may call ‘commoning the alternatives’ should inti- of unity vs. diversity (without sacrificing one aspect for mately involve ‘organic activist-intellectuals.’ One role these the other) comes from the idea of the Commons or Com- organic activist-intellectuals should play is to help post-cap- moning especially when it is placed at the core of a new italist initiatives self-reflectively explore and address their limitations, the risks of regenerating discriminative power 1 3 Sustainability Science (2022) 17:1183–1194 1189 relations, and ideological sectarianism through their prac- University of Newcastle, co-created by a network of activists tices. Therefore, commoning the transformative knowledge and academics in Australia. and experiences of alternatives is a self-rectifying endeavor It is through promoting the self-awareness of their that translates assortments into collective learning processes, endogenous limitations among the agents of every form of through which each movement becomes capable of travers- alterity, and by improving their mindfulness of the liberat- ing (rather than transcending) their self-inflicted ideological ing capacities in the vast array of other initiatives, that we boundaries and thereby of developing integral macro-polit- may be able to overcome the dilemma of unity vs. diver- ical projects to transcend capitalism (Gills et al. 2017; Hos- sity. None of the existing forms of alterity demonstrate seini 2013; Hosseini 2015a, b; Hosseini et al. 2017; Shantz adequate potency in themselves to become a mainstream 2013). This constitutes a ‘Commonist project’ (cf. Hosseini tendency. They, however, do strive on the path of actual- 2021). izing their potential creativities and their purposes. The Drawing on our four-dimensional framework for re-imag- actualization of potentialities in and by each transforma- ining civilization, the Commonist project as a metamorphic tive movement requires the movement actors to overcome shift in the pluriverse is about developing: (1) self-sufficient their fear of self-criticism/self-reflection and engagement modes of livelihood/subsistence (being and living) inde- in critical interchanges with contrasting visions rather than pendent from the detrimental forces of private capital and seeking refuge in their tribal comfort. If alterity means to plutocracies, based on egalitarian self-sustaining socio-eco- radically transform the status quo for the better, it will then logical systems of redistribution and re/production that pro- become important to survey the relationship between the mote ‘well-living’. Scale is a central matter when it comes existing and emerging modes of alterity and the dominant to autonomous eco-sufficiency. As in most cases, self-suffi- order they aim to transform. The restless search for novelty ciency is impossible at the local level due to the limitation of after novelty, as Nietzsche once warned, must not blind us resources and the complexity of modern life, hence ‘radical to the fact that past traditions—most notably the residues interdependency’ across autonomous place-based initia- of colonialist and Eurocentric epistemologies—continue tives becomes vital (cf. Salleh 2009); (2) co-determining to live on and affect our present endeavors, and thereby modes of governance (willing and enabling) that effectively prevent us from realizing that we might be reproducing translate internal conflicts and divisive disparities in deci- past mistakes. Active exploration and critical examination sion making into cohesive solidarities, consensus-building of the histories of resistance and revolution must, there- processes, and collective will-to-freedom. To achieve this, it fore, be part of the Commonist project of building radical is central to normatively conceptualize the state and the mar- futures. ket as commons, i.e., entities that need to be re-commoned. There is a growing tendency among the intellectual This way, there will be less space for conflict over the scale accounts of the commons (Euler 2018) to believe there is of democracy; (3) transversal modes of sociality (liaising more to it than simply a common-property resource, either and learning) capable of producing cooperative solidarities material or abstract. As Bollier (2015: 2) states, the com- and egalitarian systems of mutual recognition and knowl- mons ‘is less a noun than a verb because it is primarily about edge-making across identities and ideologies. New notions the social practices of commoning—acts of mutual sup- of commons have already started to be extended into the port, conflict, negotiation, communication and experimen- realms of the social, cultural, and technological; and (4) tation that are needed to create systems to manage shared transformative modes of praxis (becoming and begetting) to resources.’ Just like the Marxian notion of capital as a social de-commodify social relations, and to co-strategize political process, the commons should also be considered as a social actions of large scale, intentionally planned for paving the process, through which the political practice of commoning way for the realization of place-based (particularistic) pro- is organized and ultimately institutionalized. To highlight jects, and thereby co-realizing post-capitalist utopian visions the social-relational aspect of the commons is also to raise (see Hosseini 2021). the question of governance, ethics, responsibility, rights, and Thus, to common our knowledge of the various alter- the rules of togetherness (Ostrom 2015). This idea has sig- natives, we need to start with examining their capacities nificant implications for projects that seek to create common with respect to each one of the above four components of platforms for integration among post-capitalist progressive Commonism as a civilization-building project. Out of such forces. However, even this widened notion of commoning systematic examinations, investigative frameworks can still limits our scope to the governance of shared resources be drawn to explore ways of overcoming limitations and and ignores the possibility of extending our thinking into actualizing potentials to pave the way for the emergence of sectors or areas that are portrayed as ‘non-commons’, par- dynamic originative projects. One active example of such ticularly the state and the market. The latter two are normally initiatives is the Alternative Futures Research Hub at the 1 3 1190 Sustainability Science (2022) 17:1183–1194 separated from the commons, whereas we can strongly argue participation of communities with some degree of self-rule that the state and market both have significant elements of and self-reliance. As an example, the social organization commoning if they are seen as what they actually are and characteristic of the Rojava communes in North Syria is morally ought to be, i.e., as social institutions that create founded upon the principle of Commonism, beginning at ecosystems for the public political and economic lives of street level, through village, commune, and confederation nations in all the four dimensions. levels, with autonomy and inclusive participation, with gen- Commoning is a process that promotes rules, norms, der equality and women’s liberation intrinsic to all levels cultures, ethics, and the legal mechanism that enables the (Knapp et al. 2016; Rasit and Kolokotronis 2020; see also commoners to commonly re/produce, govern, redistribute, Piccardi and Barca 2022). This structure paves the way for and share the stewardship and use of their resources. If we radically altering the context of the state and the market if apply this definition to the realms of the state and market, parallel struggles are made at the macro level. Common- we can then argue that both realms are required to be treated ism, therefore, is a project to create the commoning spaces and structured as commons. Thus, any attempt to further where integral models of transforming the state, the commu- democratize politics and extend democracy to the economy nity, the more-than-human ecology, and the economy are all is a step forward towards reclaiming the state and the market developed, and strategies to implement these radical models as commons. are defined and implemented. The idea that the economy belongs to the civic sphere can In our view, Commonism is an organizing civilizational be traced back to the time of antiquity (Aristotle). Money project, one that creates common platforms for collabora- is a means to facilitate transactions (Galbraith 2018). Its tive learning across multiple post-capital projects, generates credibility relies on social trust, as well as the collective critical self-reflection on endogenous limitations through wealth and productivity of populations. The way the flow interaction with contrasting or oppositional perspectives and of money is directed in a society affects the interactions facilitates transcending their internal limitations and exter- between individuals, communities, nature, and future gen- nal structural impediments through intentionally designed erations. Therefore, although money can be owned privately, synergistic processes and projects. its social function as a commons, and therefore, its flow, The ultimate Commonist purpose is thus to help activists total volume, and value should be determined as democrati- and whole societies to gain the needed insights, incentives, cally/commonly as possible. technics, and resources necessary for the fulfillment of their Public institutions, organizations, and corporations heav- own ideals in inclusive, autonomous, and democratically ily rely on a broad range of commons, from natural resources determined ways. A precondition to this, however, is to help to tax revenues to the collaboration between skillful individ- define a number of overriding objectives, like “the common uals who attain their skills and knowledge by drawing on the good” and the meaning of “well-living,” that can facilitate commonly produced and shared sources of information. It is consensus building, productive compromises, and fruitful practically impossible for self-reliant communal projects to collaborations across many initial differences (Hosseini transcend beyond their interstitial relations with capital, if on 2018). Integration among alternatives should not become the one hand, the state, international regimes of governance, the goal per se. This integration needs to be purpose driven. and economic regulation are left unaltered, as the context Mapping alternatives based on the above fourfold frame- of the conditioning environment. A meaningful structural work of re-imagining civilization will help their proponents reform in the state and market towards the realization of a to recognize their status relative to other alternatives, and post-capital future will not be possible without the active understand the core values, ideals, and assumptions that they share. Francis Bacon once famously wrote that ‘Money is like muck, not Case study: critical reflections good except it be spread’ (Bacon and Scott 1908:67), and in 1625 on the People’s Sovereignty Network added, ‘When it lay, vpon a heape, it gaue but a stench, and ill odour; but when it was spread vpon the ground, then it was the cause of much fruit.’ (Bacon 2011). Recent years have witnessed a rapid increase in the number Rojava is a de facto name used to refer to the Autonomous Admin- of synergistic and proactivist projects in many forms, from istration of North and East Syria (AANES) in northeaster Syria. The cross-ideological dialogical projects (e.g., World Social multiethnic territory gained its self-proclaimed autonomy in 2012 in Forum of Transformative Economies, Global Dialogue for the context of post 2011 Syrian civil uprisings and conflicts. Kurd- ish movements in this region worked towards establishing a demo- Systemic Change), to building collaborative actions across cratic confederation based on a constitution inspired by anarchistic, diverse collective praxes (e.g., The International League of feminist, and libertarian socialist values, as well as the ideas of sus- Peoples’ Struggle, Global Tapestry of Alternatives, Peo- tainability, social ecology and multi-religious pluralism, and cultural ple’s Sovereignty Network, The Next System Project), to diversity (see Radpey 2021). 1 3 Sustainability Science (2022) 17:1183–1194 1191 co-constructing integrative theories and knowledge produc- aspiration to conduct the process via praxis-based dialogic tion platforms (e.g., Ecoversities, Democracy Collaborative), methodologies. to consolidating transversal solidarities for political actions The participants in the PSN have come together from and policy transformation (e.g., Progressive International, across the globe, encompassing the Americas (including The New Economy Coalition). The Commonist framework indigenous peoples), Africa, Europe, The Middle East, and can be used to analyze and evaluate and thus map and locate South and Southeast Asia. The network was launched in a these struggles in terms of their capacities and shortcomings collective dialogic experience convened in Siena, Italy in for contributing to the liberating civilizational shifts. November 2018. One of the most memorable aspects of This section, to pilot the framework, briefly discusses that gathering was the strong sense of unity that pervaded the People’s Sovereignty Network (PSN) in terms of the the atmosphere over the several days of the process, a col- key aspects of the Commonist project and its four defining lective experience marked by a common spirit of sharing characteristics. The aim is not to showcase PSN as a perfect knowledge together based on mutual respect, listening, and example or discuss its concrete achievements or evaluate open equality between all participants. The original PSN how successful, strong or important the initiative has been meeting in Siena sought to be the foundation of a close rela- in bringing about a civilizational change. Rather, the ini- tionship to be developed over time. The group was diverse, tiative is discussed here as an illustrative process, and thus with most participants coming from activist organizations its adherence to its core principles is critically assessed to in the Global South, from several continents. The themes explore its capacities for playing a metamorphosing role in addressed embodied a commitment to transversality, and the the pluriverse. Commonist aim to generate an ‘educational commons’ as The origins of the network rest in organic interactions a means of establishing organic entities among alternative between a variety of place-based social movements, civil praxes, to co-create transformative agendas in collaboration society and political activists in the Global South, and a with communities of struggle. The founding meeting was group of critical activist scholars mainly based in the Global a bonding experience, and it led directly to the continua- North, of which one of the authors of this paper, Barry Gills, tion of the dialogue, and soon after much inclusive network was a founding member. These forces combined around a discussion and working sessions led to the creation of the set of common perceptions of challenges, common values People’s Sovereignty web lab (https:// peopl es- sover eignty- and common aspirations of struggle, and the will to confront lab.or g/), built on the idea of uniting a “mosaic” of struggles growing authoritarianisms, deepening neoliberal economic into a community, and joint authorship of a set of articles, globalization, and global extractivisms. reflecting the praxis-based dialogic methodology (McKeon The idea emerged that a network of South–South/ and Berron 2020). South–North solidarity could be created, dedicated to chal- This ongoing PSN process, and the web lab, still under lenging the dominant contemporary state and capitalist sys- active co-construction, embodies what Wendy Harcourt tem and to strive to achieve what the group came to call indicated (2014: 1325), i.e., to meet the challenge of the “peoples sovereignty” (in contradistinction to state sover- future, we need to create a broad platform for alternatives eignty or capitalist market authority) (cf. McKeon and Ber- and living economies, building up from community needs, ron 2020). and that is inter-generational, gender-aware, and respectful The network was perceived as being above all a process, of an ethics of care for the environment. Self-critical evalu- one of collective dialogue, between place-based struggles ation of the experience of the PSN has been a persisting to defend rights and territories, thus moving beyond frag- practice of the network. The PSN recently organized a Fes- mented struggles towards a common vision, to build future tival of Ideas in three sequential online webinars, featuring emancipation, justice, and a new ecological society. The youth activists, but inclusive of the range of movements now network consciously set out to share analyses to generate constituting the network. The focus was on discussion of the common understandings of global patterns and trends and meaning of ‘people’s sovereignty’, and the experiences of to bring the participants together to plan transformative struggle by the movements on the ground and the lessons action by building shared spaces of knowledge, alliance, derived from these experiences. campaigns, and solidarities. A founding principle of the In terms of evaluating the experience of the PSN in rela- PSN was that priority was to be given to the voices of the tion to the four main aspects of the Commonist project (out- place-based activists, and the role of academics was more lined above), the achievements are varied. to listen to these analyses and to participate in an active While the members of the network all actively aspire to co-construction of knowledge reflecting real experiences of develop new modes of being and living, beyond Capital, struggles from the diverse sources of experience of those the actual realization of living economies is less evident. activists coming into the dialogue. There was an agreed The realization in practice of the aspirations of willing and enabling is strong, however, with a continuous self-reflective 1 3 1192 Sustainability Science (2022) 17:1183–1194 process of the co-termination of the mode of governance, projects by the intellectuals, activists, freedom-fighters, moving towards cohesive solidarities and consensus-build- laborers, practitioners, and policy experts participating. ing processes. The practical tasks of perpetual organizational Technics for enacting constructive conversation, consensus planning reflect a common problem arising in organizations: building, and overcoming latent discriminations need to i.e., that a smaller group that have committed themselves to be developed and employed. These all require meta-ideo- collective discussions on planning activities and to ongoing logical and meta-identity commitments to ‘pluriversality’ discussions about the structure and future evolution of the and ‘transversality’ (Gills et al. 2017; Salleh et al. 2015). network tends to carry the process onward, but while also Developing the know-how of how to actively establish organizing network-wide dialogic meetings. and empower self-sustaining, self-determining communal The transversal mode of solidarity, regarding liaising and economies, in complementary and harmonious alliances learning, has been and remains a central feature of the PSN with one another, is surely a central element of such pro- from its outset to the present. Mutual recognition of diverse jects. However, even more crucial is the operationalization knowledges across identities, ideologies, and modes of of integrative frameworks developed to reflect the radical struggle, is intrinsic to the process (cf. Anderson and Settee interdependence and structural entanglements of our failing 2020; Kothari 2020). The PSN is committed to the co-con- world civilization system. Re-imagineering civilization, in struction of knowledge, generated by and capable of produc- more-than-human terms, can be a powerful transformative tive cooperative solidarities among the diverse participants. means for forming sustainable synergies beyond transitory Academics assist this process but do not dominate or overly alliances. determine its form and content (cf. Ferrando et al. 2020). Acknowledgements We would like to thank the special issue editors More active synthesis of the knowledge emanating from the for their excellent support and efforts. We wish to express our gratitude place-based social movement activists is still an area that to Professor John Foran and the anonymous reviewer for their valuable can be strengthened and move the PSN beyond “symbolic feedback. We confirm that this article is written under equal authorship. solidarity” to a common struggle. Finally, transformative Funding Open Access funding enabled and organized by CAUL and modes of praxis (becoming and begetting) via a collective its Member Institutions. process of co-strategizing political action, has been present in the network since the initial gathering in Siena, but yet Open Access This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attri- remains an area that presents challenges of how to concretely bution 4.0 International License, which permits use, sharing, adapta- link place-based struggles and realize post-capitalist utopian tion, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long projects (cf. Clapp and Purugganan 2020). as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons licence, and indicate if changes The four modalities of the Commonist project are all pre- were made. The images or other third party material in this article are sent within and continue to inspire and animate the PSN, included in the article's Creative Commons licence, unless indicated even when not explicitly referenced by the participants. The otherwise in a credit line to the material. If material is not included in fuller realization of the potentialities of the core ideas of the article's Creative Commons licence and your intended use is not permitted by statutory regulation or exceeds the permitted use, you will Commonism is in our experience a central aspect of the PSN need to obtain permission directly from the copyright holder. To view a experience, but requires constant collective critical self- copy of this licence, visit http://cr eativ ecommons. or g/licen ses/ b y/4.0/ . reflection, and a will to listen and learn, and to renew the commitment to the common vision of a world transformed. 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Pluriversality and beyond: consolidating radical alternatives to (mal-)development as a Commonist project

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1862-4057
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10.1007/s11625-022-01129-8
Publisher site
See Article on Publisher Site

Abstract

This article addresses contradictions in the 'pluriverse' of radical alternatives to maldevelopment, and proposes an integra- tive framework for fostering productive convergences among its forces. It argues that the 2020s and 2030s will be pivotal decades, in which the current global conjuncture, characterized by intensifying economic turmoil, climate change, and ecological crises, will translate into increased mass discontent, global polarization, political instabilities, and social unrest across the world. However, there is no reason to believe that this intensification of crises will automatically result in the end of unproductive divisions among the global left. Thus, we argue that a higher level of proactivism, at a meta-ideological standing, which we refer to here as the ‘Commonist Project’, is both necessary and possible. The article proposes a fourfold framework of how to promote sustainable convergences and solidarities, going beyond temporary pragmatic coalitions and alliances. This proposal draws on the idea of ‘commoning transformative knowledge’, realized through creating new transversal integrative assemblages of alternative-futures-making initiatives. In the end, the argument is empirically sup- ported by drawing on the authors’ critical reflections on their own cross-organizational experiences of fostering dialogic and praxis-based methodologies across various groups and forces pursuing post-capitalist alternatives through the People’s Sovereignty Network. Keywords Pluriversality · Transversality · Commonism · Maldevelopment · People’s Sovereignty Network · Platform activism · Praxis-based methodologies Interdependency of civilizational crises and civilizational solutions The multiplicitous and multifaceted crises that our planet is experiencing today indicate an inherent civilizational failure (Gills 2020b). We are living through a “great implosion,” a “world system crisis,” a “general crisis” of our dominant Handled by Julien-François Gerber, The Hague, Netherlands. form of civilization, a “great decline,” which even threatens us with the “collapse” of human civilization itself (Gills * S. A. Hamed Hosseini 2020a). A historically specific form of “civilization”, origi- hamed.hosseini@newcastle.edu.au nating from European imperialism and colonialism and Barry K. Gills deeply entangled with capitalist modernity (Öcalan 2020; Barry.Gills@helsinki.fi Rist 2019), has now gained global dominance. This world Global Development Studies, Faculty of Social Sciences, civilizational system is characterized by its foundational University of Helsinki, PL 18 (Unioninkatu 35), 312, dependence on five elements: (1)  capital replacing labor Helsinki, Finland as the ultimate source of value; (2)  carbon— fossil fuels School of Humanities, Creative Industries and Social or more generally global extractivism; (3) compulsive eco- Sciences, College of Human and Social Futures, The nomic  growth,  through relentless commodification of University of Newcastle, Callaghan, NSW 2308, Australia Vol.:(0123456789) 1 3 1184 Sustainability Science (2022) 17:1183–1194 socio-ecological relations and a continuing appropriation of catastrophic future and restore the regenerative power of the the commons; (4) coloniality, i.e., the stratifying power rela- Earth System (Gills 2020b; Hosseini 2020). tions and epistemes necessary for maintaining intersectional The ‘radical interdependence’ of the 5Cs, in Escobar’s hierarchies; and finally (5)  corruptive politics, energized by term (2018:101) requires nothing short of ‘mutually consti- and serving the rise of monopoly-finance capital, corporate- tuted’ responses in the realm of the 5Ds. Thus, if perceived state interest-driven advances in surveillance, datafication, as an adequate solution, any exclusive focus on only one or bio- and neuro-technology, and warfare. We call the above some of the Ds will function as a distraction from the rest 5Cs, the five intrinsic characterizers of today’s world civili- of, equally if not more important, Ds. The historical inevi- zation system (Hosseini 2020). tability of a deep civilizational shift is well understood by This system is inherently unstable, crisis-prone, and a growing number of 5D movements (Foran 2020). Despite unsustainable. The 5Cs require an endless exploitative their absolute necessity, the 5Ds—even if they are pursued expansion into the human and non-human resources of the together—will still be inadequate for a civilizational lib- planet. None of the above five characterizers allows for the eration to happen, since they are more recuperative than restoration of the capacities lost for protecting and sustaining originative. The question of what kind of new civilizational life. Since we have already passed numerous critical thresh- forms, both at the local and global levels, should or would olds of earth’s biocapacity (Rockström et al. 2015), and with ultimately replace the currently failing ones signifies the no real short to medium-term technological solutions on the urgency of promoting utopian visions based on profoundly horizon, these same characteristics driving the ascendency different perceptions of civilization. Indeed, we need to ‘re- of capitalist modernity and global capitalist civilization are imagine civilization’ anew (Gills 2020a). now exactly the main contributors to its historical demise. To be originative, the new movements need to address the Moreover, the incapacity of the system to sustain itself is major elements of what constitutes a self-sustaining civili- now acting as an accelerator of divisions between the cores, zation. There are of course many ways of conceptualizing peripheries, and semi-peripheries, resulting in even greater these elements. Here, we suggest a simple model based on inequalities and tensions at both the national and interna- four elements or modalities we argue can provide us with tional levels (Boatcă et  al. 2017; Klein and Pettis 2020; a reconciliatory conceptual and dialogical framework for Patomäki 2020). re-imagining ‘civilization’ in the time of the current deep The post-carbon policies and technological advancements civilizational crisis (cf. Hosseini 2021). advocated by the dominant elite, as far as they are devel- A civilization can be conceptualized and evaluated in oped chiefly to address the need for sustaining the present terms of four modalities: (1) being and living; (2) willing system by increasing its resilience and adaptability, will in and enabling; (3) learning and liaising; and (4) becoming practice only stretch the system’s dependence on the rest and begetting. of the 5Cs, instead of ending it (Moriarty and Honnery 2011). New technologies that harness energy from renew- 1. Mode of being and living determines how a civiliza- able sources still face serious socio-political and economic tion (should) meet the essential requirements of “living obstacles (Dunlap and Brulle 2015); their rate of progression well” for its human members, non-human living beings will most likely remain too low to avert extensive damage to in their environmental settings, and future generations. humans and non-humans in the coming decades of this cen- Fundamental to this is the way the relationships between tury (Gills and Morgan 2020; Hosseini 2020). More impor- human beings (as both individual and collective beings) tantly, techno-fix solutions are being pursued by sections of and their ecological networks, natural resources, and the ruling class as a potential means of extending capital’s means of living (both productive and reproductive) are hegemony into the so-called green economy, leaving many set up, and how re/production, re/distribution, recy- populations, particularly in the global South and the south of the global North, neglected and unprotected. The underlying socio-economic and biopolitical struc- 1 The ‘radical interdependence’ of the 5Cs demands the ‘mutually tures on which the technological revolutions and policy constituting’ of emancipatory praxes in the pluralistic realm of recu- perative 5Ds, and the ‘structural entanglements’ of the four civiliza- reformation frameworks are based and to which they con- tional modalities (introduced  later in this article)  require integrative tribute must be profoundly challenged so that meaningful frameworks for co-creating originative alternatives. However, the transitions can be owned and guided by the multitudes. This radical interdependence and structural entanglements are an onto- necessitates (1)  de-carbonization, (2)  de-capitalization, logical feature (of a predominant complex world civilization system), whereas the mutual constituency and integrative frameworks are (3)  de-growth, (4)  decolonization, and (5)  de-corrupting more of a praxiological imperative with profound normative, episte- socio-political institutions through radical democracy, mological, and strategic implications for the emancipatory politics of i.e., the 5Ds of a global struggle to save humanity from a alternatives (Read and Alexander 2019; see also Lang 2022; Loh and Shear 2022). 1 3 Sustainability Science (2022) 17:1183–1194 1185 cling waste, consumption, exchange, and financing are growing public disappointment with the ruling political and socially organized and systematized to achieve a self- economic institutions is increasingly feeding into anger, pho- sustaining status. bias, discrimination, and violence (Diamond 2018). In terms 2. Mode of willing and enabling determines how a civiliza- of liaising and learning, unprecedented degrees of socio- tion (should) autonomously make decisions, plan, and economic inequalities, disparities, and deprivation have sig- execute plans, participate, regulate, and evaluate social nificantly damaged socio-ecological solidarities, and weak - conducts, manage internal conflicts of interest, structure ened social trust and cohesion as well as the prospect for power relations within and between their communities, global peace beyond global coloniality (Christiansen and address inequalities, and face exogenous challenges. Jensen 2019; see Oxfam report on global inequality Gneit- 3. Mode of liaising and learning determines the ways ing et al. 2020). Finally, in terms of becoming and begetting, through which individuals, collectives, and institutions, most of the potential and the existing solutions developed in interaction with their natural environments, re/pro- within the compulsive growth-oriented frameworks of capi- duce, share and communicate knowledges necessary for talist development (or even the global project of modernity) creating and sustaining socio-ecological harmonies in to address the crisis of being and living are proving to be the context of a healthy (bio-cultural) diversity. highly ineffective and contradictory (Duara 2015; Moriarty 4. Mode of becoming and begetting determines how a and Honnery 2011; Sim 2010). civilization and its members (should) evolve out of and In response to the chronic failures of (mal-)development move beyond the prevailing socio-ecological structures and the ineffective corporate-state-led solutions offered by and their established cultural settings, and how they dominant elites to today’s acute global challenges, there has mobilize resources, motivate social actors, overcome been an explosion of self-motivated grassroots’ initiatives structural impediments, and respond to crises. and transformative movements. These forces are pushing for more meaningful systemic transitions in a broad range The currently globalized primary modes of being, willing, of scopes, from the local to the global, and in a vast array liaising, and becoming, defined in capitalist terms of refer - of forms, from the ideological to the practical, and from ence and interest, are not only unsustainable but dangerously issue-based to systemic change. In terms of strategy, the destructive from a bio-civilizational perspective. Indeed, we emerging landscape (or ecosystem) of alternatives comprises live in a pathological system, based upon constant ecological an expansive spectrum of approaches, from reformist to sub- and social destruction, which requires us to go beyond the stitutionary to disjunctive. Concerning modes of solidarity, recuperative “5Ds” into a more originative and imaginative the landscape extends from efforts to transcend boundaries, realm, incubating seeds of radically different civilizations to struggles to build pragmatic alliances, to self-entrenching (Gills and Morgan 2020; Hosseini 2020). and maximum autonomy (Gills et al. 2017). In terms of being and living, planetary life is now seri- This recent progress in the global landscape of radical ously threatened, and in just a matter of a few decades, alternatives is a source of hope, apart from negative feed- extinctions of both plant and animal species could acceler- back loops in the system like the current global pandemic, ate dramatically (IPBES et al. 2019) due to the now global that may only temporarily slow down the pace of demise extractivist practices of capital and the rapid depletion of (Le Quéré et  al. 2020) and embolden stronger demands earth’s ecological capacity to sustain the global carbon fuel for change (Askanius and Uldam 2020). However, most of dependent civilization. Global heating and climate change, these initiatives are unknown to the broader public and are the ongoing 6th mass extinction of species, excessive (over) neglected (or silenced) by the mainstream media and the consumption, and continued extremes of pollution of land, reigning political and economic elite. Only recently, thanks air, and water, are among the major destructive trends. to the pandemic-induced lockdowns and slowdowns, an This is an unprecedented time in the history of humanity, unprecedented opportunity has emerged for these trans- in which the eco-biological bases of human civilization(s) formative forces to surface through online engagements with and even human existence itself are now globally jeopard- their broader populations. More importantly, this promising ized (Wallace-Wells 2019; see also a collective statement by ecosystem itself is excessively dynamic, diverse, imagina- scientists on the danger of societal disruption and societal tive, and constantly evolving, adding to the complexities of collapse, Weyhenmeyer et al. 2020). potential social transitions that they herald. In terms of willing and enabling, over the last few dec- Despite the richness of interactions between these new ades, the dominant political institutions, deeply captured forces, and their strong transformative capacities, regret- and corrupted by private corporate power, have shown little fully they are still a marginal theme, not only in academia willingness to effectively change the course of events and and mainstream politics but even among many movement empower communities to address their main concerns effec- actors themselves. A number of totalizing notions (e.g., tually. On the contrary, recent political trends indicate that ‘pluriverse’, ‘multitude’, ‘commonwealth’, and ‘assembly’) 1 3 1186 Sustainability Science (2022) 17:1183–1194 have, nevertheless, been invented in critical social sciences othering, and through charismatic leadership (Wimberly to capture the nature of this promising yet chaotic landscape 2018; Wodak 2020a, b). Quite strangely, even though we of transformative alternatives (see Escobar 2018, 2020 for can find many divisions inside the authoritarian field, the the concept of pluriverse; Hardt and Negri 2004, 2009, new populist radical right has been able to orchestrate a syn- 2012, 2017 for the concepts of multitude, assembly, com- chronous comeback in many societies across the world, from monwealth, and the common). Important, albite embryonic, the West to the East (Hosseini et al. 2022; Moghadam 2020). efforts are being made by activist-academics to map the eco - While the right-wing populist movements are animated by system and the number of impressive encyclopedic com- ethnocentric, xenophobic, monocultural, and exclusionist pilations on alternatives is increasing (Kothari et al. 2019; ideologies, and thus might ostensibly have reasons to abhor Parker et al. 2007; Shantz and Macdonald 2013; Speth and each other, the level of cohesion and mutual support among Courrier 2020). them is seemingly stronger than what we may find among Most of these novel notions are descriptive, and to some the disparate progressive movements of the left, who pursue extent celebratory, yet too often failing to sufficiently out- much more open-minded and multicultural values. The radi- line concrete solutions to what they all acknowledge to be cal right has now extended its influence very deeply into the the “grand challenge” or dilemma. The authors of Pluriv- heartlands of the remaining working classes of the world, erse (Kothari et al. 2019: xxxv) articulate the challenge as especially in the deindustrialized regions of the most devel- such: ‘Given the diversity of imaginative visions across the oped societies (Houtman et al. 2017; Judis 2016). globe, the question of how to build synergies among them History has shown us repeatedly, and especially more remains open. … Differences, tensions, even contradictions, recently, that desperate, distressed, and disadvantaged will exist, but these can become a basis for constructive populations tend to favor their immediate existential needs exchange[s].’ In Wendy Harcourt’s words (2014:1325): ‘The over their longings for higher values like liberty, equality, challenge for the future is to build a broad platform for liv- autonomy, and plurality. When their socio-ecological exist- ing economies or alternatives building up from community ence is perceived to be under serious threat, many choose needs, which are inter-generational and gender-aware, based immediate and “simple” answers  (Hosseini et  al. 2022). on an ethics of care for the environment.’ The next section This vulnerability is well understood by demagogues of discusses the dilemma in more detail. all strands, who are all too often capable of capitalizing on popular fears. This arena of appeal to the popular will seems to be underplayed by progressive forces of change, whose The supreme dilemma of the transformative limited energy is most often spent on internal mobilizing to pluriverse realize their isolated agendas. The transformative pluriverse, especially in the post- One of the greatest if not the greatest dilemma the progres- Soviet global context, has been deeply affected by the fail- sive pluriverse faces in today’s context (where systemic ures of the past century’s communist experiment. One main crises threaten human civilization and thus necessitate reason for the historical failure of the so-called “actually comprehensive radical responses), resides in the lack of existing socialism” was its devolution into an often-mon- common ideological structure and effective global coordi- strous state-centric machinery of mass oppression, though nation to challenge and change the world capitalist system. deploying “progressive” universalist meta-narratives. In This dilemma is not new and has roots in a long history of response, the new left of the second half of the last cen- clashes between dominant forces leading capitalist develop- tury strongly embraced diversity as a new core value. The ment and radical alternative and counter-hegemonic social new left of the post-60s had already started to move in this movements. Internal contradictions between centralist and direction even before the collapse of Communism, replacing decentralist tendencies within pluriversal politics are another ideology politics with identity politics, materialist values long-term historical characteristic. The problem of duality with post-materialist ones, the economic with the cultural, of unity vs. diversity is perhaps the most common problem the global with the local, and redistribution with recogni- for many social movements, of any scope and scale (Hos- tion, while gradually moving away from their working-class seini 2006). backing. They absorbed the post-modern logic of the post- Historically, authoritarian movements on the left and industrial society, thus making themselves unprepared for the right have shown a greater capacity to overcome this the time which decades of neoliberalism and globalization dilemma in favor of an imposed unity, acting against diver- brought into being, a period of growing social inequality, sity, e.g., through suppression of internal dissent, brainwash- the rising gig economy, endemic economic crisis, and brutal ing, consent-manufacturing, cultivating nostalgic sentiment, austerity policies, leading to the diminishment of both the forging fake and fixed historical identities, skillful politi- working and the middle classes. cal propaganda, in-group homogenization, and outgroup 1 3 Sustainability Science (2022) 17:1183–1194 1187 The new left found its strength in “celebrating” diversity A metamorphosis of pluriverse and pluralism; a common feature that still characterizes their into metaverse? version of the pluriverse even decades after the decline of the welfare states in the West, the downfall of communist Being so different from their original cells, the new imaginal regimes in the East, and the neoliberal dismantling of state- cells of an emerging butterfly within a cocoon are attacked led developmentalism in much of the Global South. There is as alien entities by the residual immune system of the fad- now a multitude of context-specific movements with loose or ing caterpillar. The surviving new cells, however, find and diffuse ideological underpinnings but strong commitments to recognize each other as part of a new project and then start plurality and mutual recognition. This feature distinguishes to synergistically form clusters that finally grow into a whole them profoundly from the dominant universalist regime pro- new organism (Kawano 2018). Numerous post-capital(ist) moted and imposed by capital. ideas and practices are now emerging and rapidly growing However, once again, history has begun a new course: across the world, but too often still mostly in relative isola- one that brings to the foreground the old dilemma of unity tion from one another. The organizational bonds between vs. diversity, now fast moving back into the center of pluriv- these diverse projects are not going to grow naturally unless ersal politics. The rapid compression of space–time and aug- integrative plans are designed and implemented. Interna- mentation of the scales of impact poses serious challenges to tionalism is once again being widely discussed around the the political economy and political ecology of pluriversal- planet by numerous forces of resistance, but as yet what is ity (Sklair 2021). The severity of cascading and interacting happening is a plethora of separate projects of international- socio-economic and bio-ecological crises, and the urgency ism emerging in parallel, while still being unable to find a of responding decisively within a short historical temporal single “vehicle” to unite them (Gills and Chase-Dunn 2021). window and on the large scale necessary to deal effectively Disappointed by unresponsive political systems, many with such crises, now appear to make it untenable for the left people have started to seek collective and independent solu- to continue celebrating diversity if that means a continued tions to their problems. While these practices may help some lack of common goals and coordinating structure (Chom- populations to survive or achieve some resilience, they fail sky and Pollin 2020). Mottoes like “to agree to disagree” to amount to holistic change beyond the social dominance in the current conditions of looming catastrophic changes of capital. As far as these initiatives fail to pose serious chal- and rising rebellions, now appear as a fancical idea that the lenges to the foundations of capitalism, ironically and surely broad global left may no longer be able to afford to hold unintentionally, they may help the ruling political-economic onto, given the imperative for common ground and common establishment to continue to evade the responsibility for action. Pluriversalism, however, seems to be investing its genuinely protecting communities and their environments hope on the magic of interactions around common goals and (Wright 2018). There are many such examples, for instance, causes and mutual learning, but also on collective actions for the cooptation by the State of indigenous communities in the strategizing advocacy and action, and building collaborative Ecuadorean Amazon, with promises of collective well-being initiatives (Kothari et al. 2019). through the de facto promotion of neo-extractivist devel- The 2020s–2030s will be recorded as the most pivotal opmentalism (see also Burbach et al. 2013; Svampa 2019; decades in the most critical century in human history, where Tilzey 2019; Veltmeyer and Petras 2014; Walsh 2010). “demanding the impossible” becomes the only “realistic” The key question is how to co-develop an inclusive and option for emerging radical and revolutionary forces. The dynamic knowledge of the pluriverse of transformative current conjuncture, characterized by intensifying eco- alternatives and to make this knowledge a historical force nomic and eco-biological crises, will most likely translate that actively empowers and synergizes myriad transforma- into unprecedented social discontent in the coming years tional actors and strengthens their practices. Surely, there is (Chase-Dunn 2020; Foran 2020). The question of scale already an abundance of transformative practices, utopian (Sklair 2021), and the dilemma of the colossality of the visions, and progressive transition theories. But the popu- entrapping gravity of a world civilization system inherently lar expectation that out of the marketplace of interactions characterized by the interdependent 5Cs, require stronger between countless forms of post-capital alterity, somehow, responses beyond but not exclusive of ‘global tapestry’ mak- magically, a new paradigm will arise that eventually ends the ing (Hosseini et al. 2020; Kothari 2020). A widespread crav- supreme rule of capital before it ends organized life, ironi- ing for experiencing new ways of cross-ideological integrity cally resembles the core neoliberal myth of “the invisible and traversing divisions is becoming increasingly apparent hand” and the “trickle-down” fairy-tale. (Hosseini 2015a, b; Hosseini et al. 2017). The pluriverse of alternatives is a fertile breeding ground for myriad possibilities of reform and transformation; an advantage that is, however, also a disadvantage. The grand 1 3 1188 Sustainability Science (2022) 17:1183–1194 mission in the present conjuncture should, therefore, be to inter-societal (e.g., internationalist, but also inter-communal) harmonize this abundance of contrary initiatives and gener- bio-civilizational project. ate coordination among the plethora of self-assertive pro- gressive forces. The prime task is thus to integrate divergent ingenuities and restructure the profusion of parallel but rival Commoning the alternatives from within: progressive voices around a set of shared principles, com- overcoming the dilemma mon values, and eventually, common plans of coordinated action. The extended idea of commons (beyond physical) as praxis Indeed, those numerous ambitious and “utopian” visions shows a promising transformative potentiality to dynami- that now aspire to design fully-fledged systemic replacement cally and democratically enable many post-capitalist move- (“system change”) or formulate new universal principles, ments to overcome the persistent dilemmas of plurality vs. may run the risk of manufacturing a dominant ideology, universality, diversity vs. cohesion, and fluidity vs. solidar - thus leaving no room for genuine creativity and autono- ity. An inclusive comprehension of the inner nature, deep mous agency. However, many of the existing initiatives that structure, and conflictual dynamism of capitalism is poten- are currently branded as ‘post-capital(ist)’, ‘new economy’, tially a cognitive “common”. To achieve a transformative ‘next system’ or “great transition” are arguably forms of understanding of existing post-capitalist praxes and visions partial alterity to capitalism, rather than actual fully-fledged of utopian futures requires cumulative, collective, and coop- systemic replacements. erative learning. Thus, efforts at such intellectual-activist Attempts to move beyond the supremacy of capital are theories of capital, of change, and of the post-capital utopias still too varied, in an era of mounting socio-economic and can be generated and treated as being a commons. ecological anxieties. This in itself requires nothing short of There are many things that we can learn from the com- decisive and courageous attempts at harmonizing ideas and mons paradigm for this process of commoning post-capital practices to deal with these increasingly complex crises. The alternatives. However, the commons paradigm itself suf- trillion-dollar question that movements in the pluriverse of fers from several limitations when it is seen as a potential alternatives face today is how to create transformative and core for integrating alternatives. A conceptual transition is, sustainable alliances across multiple differences that would therefore, needed, from perceiving the commons and com- result in an inclusive movement for (global) civilizational moning as potentially transformative alternative practices, change. resources, or spaces, to creating the institutional bases for The answer to this question cannot be dictated from above integrating the alternatives into metamorphic projects for the or the outside. It first needs to be developed by empirically comprehensive transformation of societies beyond capitalist exploring the solidaristic moments and alliance-making relations and their imperatives. attempts among the old and newly emerging alternatives, Although there is no single universal line of historical and by examining the causes of their successes and failures progress beyond the hegemony of capital, we argue that it (see Schöneberg et al. 2022; Clarence-Smith and Monticelli is possible to create integral frameworks of praxis, intended 2022). The promotion of self-reflexivity and open-minded- for orchestrating common actions across different alternative ness is crucial here, which can be achieved by inquiring praxes. This becomes a strong possibility if our knowledge about the sources of unproductive frictions among these of the existing or imminent transformative experiences is forces and the ways through which disagreements can be liberated from the disintegrating forces of capital, legacies converted into a base for constructive exchanges. But it can- of coloniality, and the persisting residues of identitarian- not stay there. ism. Co-creating transformative agendas in collaboration There are many local and communal models of collec- with communities of struggle is, therefore, vitally needed tive decision making and coalition building, such as circu- today, to generate educational Commons as a means for lar, deliberative, cooperative, participatory, and conciliar- establishing organic unities among alternative praxes (see ist democracies, that have shown promising features for Maldonado-Villalpando et al. 2022). such a purpose (see Franzen in 2022; Morris 2022; Naylor The political goal should be to go beyond localized frag- 2022). However, these practices are mostly limited to the mented radical struggles, without reducing their multifor- groups that already strongly share values, especially those mity, to challenge the totalizing effects of the capitalist mar - that underpin their favored model of coalition building. A kets and states. The process of building organic unities, or possibly more promising base for overcoming the dilemma what we may call ‘commoning the alternatives’ should inti- of unity vs. diversity (without sacrificing one aspect for mately involve ‘organic activist-intellectuals.’ One role these the other) comes from the idea of the Commons or Com- organic activist-intellectuals should play is to help post-cap- moning especially when it is placed at the core of a new italist initiatives self-reflectively explore and address their limitations, the risks of regenerating discriminative power 1 3 Sustainability Science (2022) 17:1183–1194 1189 relations, and ideological sectarianism through their prac- University of Newcastle, co-created by a network of activists tices. Therefore, commoning the transformative knowledge and academics in Australia. and experiences of alternatives is a self-rectifying endeavor It is through promoting the self-awareness of their that translates assortments into collective learning processes, endogenous limitations among the agents of every form of through which each movement becomes capable of travers- alterity, and by improving their mindfulness of the liberat- ing (rather than transcending) their self-inflicted ideological ing capacities in the vast array of other initiatives, that we boundaries and thereby of developing integral macro-polit- may be able to overcome the dilemma of unity vs. diver- ical projects to transcend capitalism (Gills et al. 2017; Hos- sity. None of the existing forms of alterity demonstrate seini 2013; Hosseini 2015a, b; Hosseini et al. 2017; Shantz adequate potency in themselves to become a mainstream 2013). This constitutes a ‘Commonist project’ (cf. Hosseini tendency. They, however, do strive on the path of actual- 2021). izing their potential creativities and their purposes. The Drawing on our four-dimensional framework for re-imag- actualization of potentialities in and by each transforma- ining civilization, the Commonist project as a metamorphic tive movement requires the movement actors to overcome shift in the pluriverse is about developing: (1) self-sufficient their fear of self-criticism/self-reflection and engagement modes of livelihood/subsistence (being and living) inde- in critical interchanges with contrasting visions rather than pendent from the detrimental forces of private capital and seeking refuge in their tribal comfort. If alterity means to plutocracies, based on egalitarian self-sustaining socio-eco- radically transform the status quo for the better, it will then logical systems of redistribution and re/production that pro- become important to survey the relationship between the mote ‘well-living’. Scale is a central matter when it comes existing and emerging modes of alterity and the dominant to autonomous eco-sufficiency. As in most cases, self-suffi- order they aim to transform. The restless search for novelty ciency is impossible at the local level due to the limitation of after novelty, as Nietzsche once warned, must not blind us resources and the complexity of modern life, hence ‘radical to the fact that past traditions—most notably the residues interdependency’ across autonomous place-based initia- of colonialist and Eurocentric epistemologies—continue tives becomes vital (cf. Salleh 2009); (2) co-determining to live on and affect our present endeavors, and thereby modes of governance (willing and enabling) that effectively prevent us from realizing that we might be reproducing translate internal conflicts and divisive disparities in deci- past mistakes. Active exploration and critical examination sion making into cohesive solidarities, consensus-building of the histories of resistance and revolution must, there- processes, and collective will-to-freedom. To achieve this, it fore, be part of the Commonist project of building radical is central to normatively conceptualize the state and the mar- futures. ket as commons, i.e., entities that need to be re-commoned. There is a growing tendency among the intellectual This way, there will be less space for conflict over the scale accounts of the commons (Euler 2018) to believe there is of democracy; (3) transversal modes of sociality (liaising more to it than simply a common-property resource, either and learning) capable of producing cooperative solidarities material or abstract. As Bollier (2015: 2) states, the com- and egalitarian systems of mutual recognition and knowl- mons ‘is less a noun than a verb because it is primarily about edge-making across identities and ideologies. New notions the social practices of commoning—acts of mutual sup- of commons have already started to be extended into the port, conflict, negotiation, communication and experimen- realms of the social, cultural, and technological; and (4) tation that are needed to create systems to manage shared transformative modes of praxis (becoming and begetting) to resources.’ Just like the Marxian notion of capital as a social de-commodify social relations, and to co-strategize political process, the commons should also be considered as a social actions of large scale, intentionally planned for paving the process, through which the political practice of commoning way for the realization of place-based (particularistic) pro- is organized and ultimately institutionalized. To highlight jects, and thereby co-realizing post-capitalist utopian visions the social-relational aspect of the commons is also to raise (see Hosseini 2021). the question of governance, ethics, responsibility, rights, and Thus, to common our knowledge of the various alter- the rules of togetherness (Ostrom 2015). This idea has sig- natives, we need to start with examining their capacities nificant implications for projects that seek to create common with respect to each one of the above four components of platforms for integration among post-capitalist progressive Commonism as a civilization-building project. Out of such forces. However, even this widened notion of commoning systematic examinations, investigative frameworks can still limits our scope to the governance of shared resources be drawn to explore ways of overcoming limitations and and ignores the possibility of extending our thinking into actualizing potentials to pave the way for the emergence of sectors or areas that are portrayed as ‘non-commons’, par- dynamic originative projects. One active example of such ticularly the state and the market. The latter two are normally initiatives is the Alternative Futures Research Hub at the 1 3 1190 Sustainability Science (2022) 17:1183–1194 separated from the commons, whereas we can strongly argue participation of communities with some degree of self-rule that the state and market both have significant elements of and self-reliance. As an example, the social organization commoning if they are seen as what they actually are and characteristic of the Rojava communes in North Syria is morally ought to be, i.e., as social institutions that create founded upon the principle of Commonism, beginning at ecosystems for the public political and economic lives of street level, through village, commune, and confederation nations in all the four dimensions. levels, with autonomy and inclusive participation, with gen- Commoning is a process that promotes rules, norms, der equality and women’s liberation intrinsic to all levels cultures, ethics, and the legal mechanism that enables the (Knapp et al. 2016; Rasit and Kolokotronis 2020; see also commoners to commonly re/produce, govern, redistribute, Piccardi and Barca 2022). This structure paves the way for and share the stewardship and use of their resources. If we radically altering the context of the state and the market if apply this definition to the realms of the state and market, parallel struggles are made at the macro level. Common- we can then argue that both realms are required to be treated ism, therefore, is a project to create the commoning spaces and structured as commons. Thus, any attempt to further where integral models of transforming the state, the commu- democratize politics and extend democracy to the economy nity, the more-than-human ecology, and the economy are all is a step forward towards reclaiming the state and the market developed, and strategies to implement these radical models as commons. are defined and implemented. The idea that the economy belongs to the civic sphere can In our view, Commonism is an organizing civilizational be traced back to the time of antiquity (Aristotle). Money project, one that creates common platforms for collabora- is a means to facilitate transactions (Galbraith 2018). Its tive learning across multiple post-capital projects, generates credibility relies on social trust, as well as the collective critical self-reflection on endogenous limitations through wealth and productivity of populations. The way the flow interaction with contrasting or oppositional perspectives and of money is directed in a society affects the interactions facilitates transcending their internal limitations and exter- between individuals, communities, nature, and future gen- nal structural impediments through intentionally designed erations. Therefore, although money can be owned privately, synergistic processes and projects. its social function as a commons, and therefore, its flow, The ultimate Commonist purpose is thus to help activists total volume, and value should be determined as democrati- and whole societies to gain the needed insights, incentives, cally/commonly as possible. technics, and resources necessary for the fulfillment of their Public institutions, organizations, and corporations heav- own ideals in inclusive, autonomous, and democratically ily rely on a broad range of commons, from natural resources determined ways. A precondition to this, however, is to help to tax revenues to the collaboration between skillful individ- define a number of overriding objectives, like “the common uals who attain their skills and knowledge by drawing on the good” and the meaning of “well-living,” that can facilitate commonly produced and shared sources of information. It is consensus building, productive compromises, and fruitful practically impossible for self-reliant communal projects to collaborations across many initial differences (Hosseini transcend beyond their interstitial relations with capital, if on 2018). Integration among alternatives should not become the one hand, the state, international regimes of governance, the goal per se. This integration needs to be purpose driven. and economic regulation are left unaltered, as the context Mapping alternatives based on the above fourfold frame- of the conditioning environment. A meaningful structural work of re-imagining civilization will help their proponents reform in the state and market towards the realization of a to recognize their status relative to other alternatives, and post-capital future will not be possible without the active understand the core values, ideals, and assumptions that they share. Francis Bacon once famously wrote that ‘Money is like muck, not Case study: critical reflections good except it be spread’ (Bacon and Scott 1908:67), and in 1625 on the People’s Sovereignty Network added, ‘When it lay, vpon a heape, it gaue but a stench, and ill odour; but when it was spread vpon the ground, then it was the cause of much fruit.’ (Bacon 2011). Recent years have witnessed a rapid increase in the number Rojava is a de facto name used to refer to the Autonomous Admin- of synergistic and proactivist projects in many forms, from istration of North and East Syria (AANES) in northeaster Syria. The cross-ideological dialogical projects (e.g., World Social multiethnic territory gained its self-proclaimed autonomy in 2012 in Forum of Transformative Economies, Global Dialogue for the context of post 2011 Syrian civil uprisings and conflicts. Kurd- ish movements in this region worked towards establishing a demo- Systemic Change), to building collaborative actions across cratic confederation based on a constitution inspired by anarchistic, diverse collective praxes (e.g., The International League of feminist, and libertarian socialist values, as well as the ideas of sus- Peoples’ Struggle, Global Tapestry of Alternatives, Peo- tainability, social ecology and multi-religious pluralism, and cultural ple’s Sovereignty Network, The Next System Project), to diversity (see Radpey 2021). 1 3 Sustainability Science (2022) 17:1183–1194 1191 co-constructing integrative theories and knowledge produc- aspiration to conduct the process via praxis-based dialogic tion platforms (e.g., Ecoversities, Democracy Collaborative), methodologies. to consolidating transversal solidarities for political actions The participants in the PSN have come together from and policy transformation (e.g., Progressive International, across the globe, encompassing the Americas (including The New Economy Coalition). The Commonist framework indigenous peoples), Africa, Europe, The Middle East, and can be used to analyze and evaluate and thus map and locate South and Southeast Asia. The network was launched in a these struggles in terms of their capacities and shortcomings collective dialogic experience convened in Siena, Italy in for contributing to the liberating civilizational shifts. November 2018. One of the most memorable aspects of This section, to pilot the framework, briefly discusses that gathering was the strong sense of unity that pervaded the People’s Sovereignty Network (PSN) in terms of the the atmosphere over the several days of the process, a col- key aspects of the Commonist project and its four defining lective experience marked by a common spirit of sharing characteristics. The aim is not to showcase PSN as a perfect knowledge together based on mutual respect, listening, and example or discuss its concrete achievements or evaluate open equality between all participants. The original PSN how successful, strong or important the initiative has been meeting in Siena sought to be the foundation of a close rela- in bringing about a civilizational change. Rather, the ini- tionship to be developed over time. The group was diverse, tiative is discussed here as an illustrative process, and thus with most participants coming from activist organizations its adherence to its core principles is critically assessed to in the Global South, from several continents. The themes explore its capacities for playing a metamorphosing role in addressed embodied a commitment to transversality, and the the pluriverse. Commonist aim to generate an ‘educational commons’ as The origins of the network rest in organic interactions a means of establishing organic entities among alternative between a variety of place-based social movements, civil praxes, to co-create transformative agendas in collaboration society and political activists in the Global South, and a with communities of struggle. The founding meeting was group of critical activist scholars mainly based in the Global a bonding experience, and it led directly to the continua- North, of which one of the authors of this paper, Barry Gills, tion of the dialogue, and soon after much inclusive network was a founding member. These forces combined around a discussion and working sessions led to the creation of the set of common perceptions of challenges, common values People’s Sovereignty web lab (https:// peopl es- sover eignty- and common aspirations of struggle, and the will to confront lab.or g/), built on the idea of uniting a “mosaic” of struggles growing authoritarianisms, deepening neoliberal economic into a community, and joint authorship of a set of articles, globalization, and global extractivisms. reflecting the praxis-based dialogic methodology (McKeon The idea emerged that a network of South–South/ and Berron 2020). South–North solidarity could be created, dedicated to chal- This ongoing PSN process, and the web lab, still under lenging the dominant contemporary state and capitalist sys- active co-construction, embodies what Wendy Harcourt tem and to strive to achieve what the group came to call indicated (2014: 1325), i.e., to meet the challenge of the “peoples sovereignty” (in contradistinction to state sover- future, we need to create a broad platform for alternatives eignty or capitalist market authority) (cf. McKeon and Ber- and living economies, building up from community needs, ron 2020). and that is inter-generational, gender-aware, and respectful The network was perceived as being above all a process, of an ethics of care for the environment. Self-critical evalu- one of collective dialogue, between place-based struggles ation of the experience of the PSN has been a persisting to defend rights and territories, thus moving beyond frag- practice of the network. The PSN recently organized a Fes- mented struggles towards a common vision, to build future tival of Ideas in three sequential online webinars, featuring emancipation, justice, and a new ecological society. The youth activists, but inclusive of the range of movements now network consciously set out to share analyses to generate constituting the network. The focus was on discussion of the common understandings of global patterns and trends and meaning of ‘people’s sovereignty’, and the experiences of to bring the participants together to plan transformative struggle by the movements on the ground and the lessons action by building shared spaces of knowledge, alliance, derived from these experiences. campaigns, and solidarities. A founding principle of the In terms of evaluating the experience of the PSN in rela- PSN was that priority was to be given to the voices of the tion to the four main aspects of the Commonist project (out- place-based activists, and the role of academics was more lined above), the achievements are varied. to listen to these analyses and to participate in an active While the members of the network all actively aspire to co-construction of knowledge reflecting real experiences of develop new modes of being and living, beyond Capital, struggles from the diverse sources of experience of those the actual realization of living economies is less evident. activists coming into the dialogue. There was an agreed The realization in practice of the aspirations of willing and enabling is strong, however, with a continuous self-reflective 1 3 1192 Sustainability Science (2022) 17:1183–1194 process of the co-termination of the mode of governance, projects by the intellectuals, activists, freedom-fighters, moving towards cohesive solidarities and consensus-build- laborers, practitioners, and policy experts participating. ing processes. The practical tasks of perpetual organizational Technics for enacting constructive conversation, consensus planning reflect a common problem arising in organizations: building, and overcoming latent discriminations need to i.e., that a smaller group that have committed themselves to be developed and employed. These all require meta-ideo- collective discussions on planning activities and to ongoing logical and meta-identity commitments to ‘pluriversality’ discussions about the structure and future evolution of the and ‘transversality’ (Gills et al. 2017; Salleh et al. 2015). network tends to carry the process onward, but while also Developing the know-how of how to actively establish organizing network-wide dialogic meetings. and empower self-sustaining, self-determining communal The transversal mode of solidarity, regarding liaising and economies, in complementary and harmonious alliances learning, has been and remains a central feature of the PSN with one another, is surely a central element of such pro- from its outset to the present. Mutual recognition of diverse jects. However, even more crucial is the operationalization knowledges across identities, ideologies, and modes of of integrative frameworks developed to reflect the radical struggle, is intrinsic to the process (cf. Anderson and Settee interdependence and structural entanglements of our failing 2020; Kothari 2020). The PSN is committed to the co-con- world civilization system. Re-imagineering civilization, in struction of knowledge, generated by and capable of produc- more-than-human terms, can be a powerful transformative tive cooperative solidarities among the diverse participants. means for forming sustainable synergies beyond transitory Academics assist this process but do not dominate or overly alliances. determine its form and content (cf. Ferrando et al. 2020). Acknowledgements We would like to thank the special issue editors More active synthesis of the knowledge emanating from the for their excellent support and efforts. We wish to express our gratitude place-based social movement activists is still an area that to Professor John Foran and the anonymous reviewer for their valuable can be strengthened and move the PSN beyond “symbolic feedback. We confirm that this article is written under equal authorship. solidarity” to a common struggle. Finally, transformative Funding Open Access funding enabled and organized by CAUL and modes of praxis (becoming and begetting) via a collective its Member Institutions. process of co-strategizing political action, has been present in the network since the initial gathering in Siena, but yet Open Access This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attri- remains an area that presents challenges of how to concretely bution 4.0 International License, which permits use, sharing, adapta- link place-based struggles and realize post-capitalist utopian tion, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long projects (cf. Clapp and Purugganan 2020). as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons licence, and indicate if changes The four modalities of the Commonist project are all pre- were made. The images or other third party material in this article are sent within and continue to inspire and animate the PSN, included in the article's Creative Commons licence, unless indicated even when not explicitly referenced by the participants. The otherwise in a credit line to the material. If material is not included in fuller realization of the potentialities of the core ideas of the article's Creative Commons licence and your intended use is not permitted by statutory regulation or exceeds the permitted use, you will Commonism is in our experience a central aspect of the PSN need to obtain permission directly from the copyright holder. To view a experience, but requires constant collective critical self- copy of this licence, visit http://cr eativ ecommons. or g/licen ses/ b y/4.0/ . reflection, and a will to listen and learn, and to renew the commitment to the common vision of a world transformed. 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Sustainability Science – Springer Journals

Published: Jul 1, 2022

Keywords: Pluriversality; Transversality; Commonism; Maldevelopment; People’s Sovereignty Network; Platform activism; Praxis-based methodologies

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