ABSTRACT
A cooperative commonwealth is based on the principle of economic democracy in service to the common good. Its purpose is to reinforce and reward human solidarity, to care for the planet, to nurture community, and to support the fullest realization of our aspirations as social beings. It would take the form of a civil socialism in which democratically structured civil institutions—such as public banks, cooperatives, and collectives—make up the economy’s organizational basis. New information and communications technology would enhance an emerging “generative democracy” that mirrors the ethos that has given the world such digital commons resources as open source software and Wikipedia.
