We spoke with James Quilligan, who is presently Managing Director of the Centre for Global Negotiations and Chairman for the Secretariat of Global Commons Trust, which develops innovative means of restoring value—beyond business and government—through people’s social, cultural, intellectual, genetic and natural resource commons. He wrote an in-depth series of articles for Kosmos Journal about the transformation from what he calls the Market State to a Commons-based Economy. In the Market State, all resources, goods and services are monetized and privatized so that they are controlled by a few and kept away from some of the public, and the economy is based on debt. In the Commons-Based Economy, the commons which also includes genes, culture and knowledge, the economy is based on credit and on a trust that manages the resources in a way that is sustainable and regenerative. People have more control over the economy as well.
Listen here:
Moving from the Market State to a Commons-Based Economy with James Quilligan by Clearingthefog on Mixcloud
Relevant articles and websites:
Toward a Common Theory of Value, Part I: Common Being by James Bernard Quilligan
Toward a Common Theory of Value, Part II: Common Trust by James Bernard Quilligan
Toward a Common Theory of Value, Part III: Common Knowing by James Bernard Quilligan
Toward a Common Theory of Value, Part IV: Common Need by James Bernard Quilligan
Toward a Common Theory of Value, Part V: Common Development by James Bernard Quilligan
Guest:
James Bernard Quilligan has been an analyst and administrator in the field of international development since 1975. He has served as policy advisor and writer for many international politicians and leaders, including Pierre Trudeau, François Mitterand, Edward Heath, Julius Nyerere, Olof Palme, Willy Brandt, Jimmy Carter, and Tony Blair. He is currently on leave of absence as an international speechwriter for His Royal Highness Prince El Hassan of Jordan.
Quilligan was a policy advisor and press secretary for the Brandt Commission (1978-1984) and the co-founder and policy development director of the Coalition for the Global Commons (2007-2008). He is presently Managing Director of the Centre for Global Negotiations and Chairman for the Secretariat of Global Commons Trust, which develops innovative means of restoring value—beyond business and government—through people’s social, cultural, intellectual, genetic and natural resource commons. He is also collaborating with Prince El Hassan and many United Nations agencies on global commons issues.
Quilligan has been an economic consultant for government agencies in Mexico, Argentina, Ecuador, Brazil, Bolivia, Great Britain, the Netherlands, Belgium, France, Portugal, Germany, Austria, Norway, Sweden, Ivory Coast, Algeria, Tanzania, Kuwait, India, Thailand, Indonesia, South Korea, Japan, Australia, Canada, and the United States. In addition, he has served as an advisor for several United Nations programs and international development organizations.