Old problems, new political narratives

Beyond the capitalist pursuit of growth—which results in the exploitation of people, deepening inequalities, and ecological destruction—there also exists the hopeful world of the commons: goods managed by communities according to rules they themselves establish. In his article, Vasilis Kostakis, Professor of Technology Governance and Sustainability at Tallinn University of Technology and researcher at Harvard University, focuses particularly on the commons in the field of technology.

Equality and justice are not pursued in the abstract, but within concrete times and spaces, as Costis Hadjimichalis, Emeritus Professor in the Department of Geography at Harokopio University, emphasises in his article. Inequalities and injustices are not only social but also geographical — as in the case of older people in mountainous areas of Greece or on small islands, when they are left without access to health centres, post offices or banks. The most pressing related issue in contemporary Greece is the tension between abandonment and overexploitation of space and local resources, particularly land and water.

Care and social reproduction are in crisis: time is scarce, women refuse to shoulder the burden alone, and services (where they existed) are becoming commodified. Yet we can organize them differently — as a right, a relationship, and a common good. Sofia Adam, assistant professor in the Department of Social Policy at Democritus University of Thrace, proposes reducing working hours, universal basic services, and commons‑based practices, showing how social protection can be combined with emancipation.

The phenomenon of coworking spaces is a relatively recent addition to our vocabulary: collaborative workspaces, flexible workspaces, work collectives, hubs, incubators. Each term conveys something different, while nevertheless taking as a given the precarity and vulnerability of contemporary forms of work, and always starting from the premise of community, sharing and the socialisation of risk among the users of the space.

The creation of local partnerships between cooperative ecosystems and municipalities is possible, argues Giorgos Gritzas, Professor in the School of Spatial Planning and Development Engineering at Aristotle University of Thessaloniki. His proposal is based on a potential model for the management of food and waste within the school community, but ultimately concerns the wider community.

In her reflective article on cooperative initiatives, journalist Varvara Angeli, herself a member of a cooperative initiative, examines their objectives within Greek society and whether these can be achieved under the existing conditions. Particular emphasis is placed on the preconditions that would enable social innovation to fulfil its transformative role — namely, the process of changing social relations, which also entails, among other things, the questioning of dominant institutions.