David Bollier & Silke Helfrich collaborated in a decade-long programme of investigation in the commons as a paradigm of economy, politics and culture. They co-produced a number of key works between 2012 and 2019, including *Free, fair and alive - The insurgent power of the commons*.
See also: David Bollier Silke Helfrich
Bollier & Helfrich 2019, *Free, fair and alive - The resurgent power of the commons*, New Society Publishers, Gabriola Island, BC, Canada. > Contains an aesthetics (ubuntu), a pattern language see Commoning and a pragmatics/politics of organising in the commons.
Here we offer a schema for commoning, derived from the commoning pattern language of Bollier & Helfrich.
Bollier & Helfrich eds (2012), *The wealth of the commons - A world beyond market & state*, [Levellers Press](https://www.levellerspress.com/product/the-wealth-of-the-commons). [webpage](https://www.wealthofthecommons.org/), downloaded nov 2023.
> Chapters (more than 40) are individually downloadable from webpage 
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> ❝ Over the past few years an explosion of innovative activism, scholarship and projects focused on the commons has been gaining momentum around the world. This growing movement consists of activists fighting international land grabs and the privatization of water; commoners collectively managing forests, fisheries and farmlands; Internet users generating software and Web content that can be shared and improved; and urban dwellers reclaiming public spaces. The Wealth of the Commons brings together the most vibrant strands of this burgeoning international work into a single volume, revealing the significant potential of the commons as a new force in politics, economics and culture.
Bollier & Helfrich eds (2015), *Patterns of commoning*, Off the Common Books. [Website](https://patternsofcommoning.org/), downloaded nov 2023. > Chapters (60 or so) can be individually downloaded from [webpage](https://patternsofcommoning.org/contents/) > ❝ The commons is an ancient social form that has survived for centuries, constantly renewing itself. It can be seen in indigenous agriculture and community forests, Bolivian water committees and high-tech FabLabs, theater commons and the Burning Man festival. Commoners are taking charge of their lives through networks that are designing open-source farm equipment… alternative currencies that are reviving troubled neighborhoods in Kenya… and collaborative maps that are helping build a new economy. > ❝ Commoning may be a hardy social phenomenon with an ancient pedigree, but in modern industrial societies, it enjoys only modest understanding and respect. We still seem to venerate and fear those people of monetary wealth and power and dismiss people who cooperate to come up with successful solutions that can benefit everyone. The latter remain largely nameless or are even belittled as starry-eyed dreamers because they do things that do not make money. “That won’t work in the real world,” people often say dismissively, ignoring the diversity of actual commons. Also ignored: the many different caring activities (usually performed by women) that are the basis for the “real economy,” the social construct otherwise known as “the market.” [Webpage](https://patternsofcommoning.org/overture-2/)