Knowledge commons for the Social and Solidarity Economy: A case study of the onlineplatform "berlin.imWandel"

The paper presents an empirical case study of the digital platform “berlin.imWandel”(which translates as “berlin.inTransition”) to discuss how knowledge commons impacton the production and dissemination of knowledge... [ view full abstract ]

The paper presents an empirical case study of the digital platform “berlin.imWandel”(which translates as “berlin.inTransition”) to discuss how knowledge commons impacton the production and dissemination of knowledge about the social and solidarityeconomy (SSE).

The project of documenting the variety of SSE projects and enterprises in Berlin,Germany, which can be accessed online through the website http://berlin.imwandel.net/raises crucial questions about (i) representations of noncapitalist economic processes,and (ii) the commoning practices underlying the production of such representations.

Theoretically and methodologically, the paper draws on the critical analysis of economicrepresentations developed by Ruccio (2008) as well as the “Diverse Economies”framework of Gibson-Graham (1996; 2006), which has substantially contributed to theconceptualisation of a new economic language that spells out the qualitative differencesbetween various economic practices.

In the first part of the paper, the following questions are raised:

• Which economic concepts and categories are used to portray the SSE on“berlin.imWandel”?
• Which economic sites, processes, and subjects are portrayed through the platform(and which ones are perhaps rendered invisible)?
• How does “berlin.imWandel” combine the mapping technique with visual and textual material to generate representations of the SSE?
• How do the portrayed SSE projects and enterprises describe the economic, social and ecological challenges currently faced in Berlin, and in what sense do theyconsider themselves as providing alternative visions of the economy?

Part II of the paper more specifically addresses the question of what qualifies“berlin.imWandel” as a knowledge commons. Drawing on the growing scholarlyliterature on commons (Ostrom 1990; Bollier/Helfrich 2012, 2015) we ask:

• What is the commons, i.e. the resource represented on the platform“berlin.imWandel”? What are its theoretical and material conditions of(re)production?

• Who are the commoners engaged in the project of “berlin.imWandel” and what aretheir respective contributions, rights and responsibilities in this project?

• What are the rules governing the commoning process at “berlin.imWandel”? Arethe criteria of inclusion in and exclusion from the platform made transparent tousers and participant SSE initiatives?

  Based on the results from the empirical case study and in light of evidence from similarmapping projects, the paper concludes that digital knowledge commons can significantlycontribute to increasing the visibility and accessibility of the SSE and further users’understanding of the distinctiveness of SSE initiatives. However, more critical reflectionon the economic language used in the portrayal and categorization of the SSE is necessaryso as to take into account the theoretical debates in this field. Mapping projects shouldprovide the space for ongoing conversation between scholars from different disciplines,SSE practitioners, and design experts.

  References:

  http://berlin.imwandel.net/

  Bollier, D. and S. Helfrich (Eds.) (2012). The Wealth of the Commons. Bielefeld, Germany:Transcript Verlag

  Bollier, D. & S. Helfrich (Eds.) (2015). Patterns of Commoning. Bielefeld, Germany:Transcript Verlag

  Erdem, E. (2014). “Reading Foucault with Gibson-Graham: The Political Economy of'Other Spaces' in Berlin". Rethinking Marxism, 26 (1), 61-75

  Gibson-Graham, J. K. (1996). The End of Capitalism (as we knew it). Oxford, UK: BlackwellPublishers

  Gibson-Graham, J. K. (2006). A Postcapitalist Politics. Minneapolis, USA: University ofMinnesota Press

  Ruccio, D. (2008). Economic Representations – Academic and Everyday. London, UK:Routledge