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Helpful prior knowledge and learning objectives
Helpful prior knowledge and learning objectives
Helpful prior learning:
Section 1.1.1 The economy and you, which explains what an economy is and how it is relevant to students’ lives
Section 1.1.2 The embedded economy, which explains the relationship between the economy and society and Earth’s systems
Section 1.1.3 Degenerative economies, which explains the problems for people and planet with the way our current economies operate
Section 1.3.3 Human needs, which explains the distinction between needs and need satisfiers
Section 4.1.1 The commons as a system, which explains the parts, relationships, and functions of the commons and the relationship between the commons and other provisioning institutions
Section 4.1.2 Perspectives on the commons, which explains the shift in perspectives that people in market-based economies need to make to understand and effectively engage in commoning
Section 4.1.4 The role of care in commoning, which explains the role of care in commoning and describes practices that enhance care in commoning, and the wider economy
Section S.1 What are systems?, which explains what a system is, the importance of systems boundaries, the difference between open and closed systems and the importance of systems thinking
Section S.2 Systems thinking patterns, which outlines the core components of systems thinking: distinctions (thing/other), systems (part/whole), relationships (action/reaction), and perspectives (point/view)
Learning objectives:
discuss how current mainstream economic narratives threaten commoning
Imagine living in a village where a story spreads that water is scarce—not enough for everyone’s needs. How would you feel? What actions might you and others take if your household struggled to cook, stay clean, or tend the garden?
Now imagine the same village, but this time the story is that water is sufficient, - there is enough for everyone’s needs. How would this change how you feel and act?
Figure 1. How would stories about water scarcity or water sufficiency affect how you behave with others in the community?
(Credit: Safari Consoler, Pexels licence)
How do current economic narratives threaten commoning?
How do current economic narratives threaten commoning?
This simple thought experiment shows the power of economic narratives—stories repeated in education, politics, media, and conversations that shape our worldviews of the economy and our role in it.
Dominant narratives today support market power while undermining commoning. Four of those narratives are outlined below.
Narrative 1: Resources are scarce and humans are selfish and competitive
Narrative 1: Resources are scarce and humans are selfish and competitive
A key economic narrative is that the things we want and need are nearly scarce, there is not enough. Scarcity implies both that resources are limited AND that human needs and wants are unlimited. These two assumptions support the idea that humans must inevitably compete for resources. The entire discipline and methodology of mainstream economics is based on these assumptions, but we should question them.
Some resources, like fossil fuels, are naturally limited. Others, however, are made artificially scarce. For example, many businesses make their products scarce by limiting access through copyright or patent laws that protect their ownership and exclusive use and sale. Making resources and products scarce through enclosure (Section 4.3.2) gives businesses more power to raise prices and earn more profit (Section 3.2.4).
Figure 2. The scarcity narrative shifts power in favour of producers, as consumers compete for their products or the resources that producers control
(Credit: Rob DiCaterino, CC BY 2.0)
This scarcity narrative harms commoning in two ways:
by normalising scarcity: the narrative discourages people from questioning the causes of scarcity, which is often deliberately created to benefit already powerful large businesses and or wealthy individuals. If scarcity is seen as natural, people are less likely to challenge systems that restrict access to common resources.
by encouraging competition over cooperation: people believe resources are always limited, they focus on securing their share rather than working together. Trust and social cohesion weaken, making it harder to manage shared resources fairly. Instead of collaborating on shared rules, individuals prioritise personal gain, undermining the basis of commoning.
Figure 3. Scarcity narratives claim humans are selfish and competitive, but scarcity is often a deliberate strategy to raise prices/profits and develop exclusive brands.
(Credit: Ole, licenced from Adobe Stock)
Narrative 2: Endless economic growth is necessary for the good life
Narrative 2: Endless economic growth is necessary for the good life
The narrative of endless economic growth builds on the idea of unlimited human needs and wants. It argues that we must expand the output of the economy constantly to try to meet these demands, producing more goods and creating more wealth, regardless of where that wealth goes or the impact on Earth’s systems.
Commoners, by contrast, focus on meeting real human needs while protecting and regenerating resources. When resources are shared, they are more likely to be used and managed fairly, with the goal of sufficiency and human wellbeing. In contrast, the endless growth narrative pushes profit-maximising businesses and states to exploit Earth’s resources beyond their limits.
Figure 4. The economic growth narrative drives the rapid depletion of resources that could be sustainably managed through commoning
(Credit: By laurent, Pexels licence)
Narrative 3: Business output and cost efficiency should be a priority
Narrative 3: Business output and cost efficiency should be a priority
Efficiency refers to the ratio of inputs to outputs of a process. In business, cost efficiency means using the low cost inputs (resources) to produce high value outputs (products). Output efficiency focuses on quantities - use few inputs/resources to produce high output/product.
Efficiency is important for sustainability. For example, farming with less water or energy benefits ecosystems. However, focusing narrowly on cost efficiency can harm ecosystems. Large-scale industrial farming, for instance, lowers input costs by planting monocultures, using chemical fertilisers and keeping large numbers of animals in confined spaces. This approach drains soil nutrients, reduces biodiversity, pollutes ecosystems, and causes animal suffering.
In contrast, commoners have a closer connection to the resources they steward. They balance output and cost efficiency with other priorities, such as soil health, humane practices, and community well-being. Unlike businesses that aim to maximise profit, commoners prioritise resilience and shared responsibility.
Figure 5. Confining animals in limited space lowers costs and increases food output, but causes suffering, disease, and pollution.
(Credit: Mark Stebnicki, Pexels licence)
Narrative 4: Privatisation is the best way to manage resources
Narrative 4: Privatisation is the best way to manage resources
Privatisation transfers resources from shared or public ownership to private hands. Privatisation is another word for enclosure (Section 4.3.2). Once privatised, these resources become private property, controlled exclusively by their owner who can charge a price for its use.
Supporters of privatisation argue it encourages efficient use of resources because private owners have incentives to maximise profits. These arguments about privatisation and its benefits go hand-in-hand with narratives about scarcity, selfishness, growth, and efficiency.
However, privatization threatens commoning by concentrating control of essential resources in the hands of a few people. This restricts people’s access to vital resources, undermines community ties because commoning is no longer practised, and reinforces financial and political power of those who control resources.
Figure 6. When common resources like land or water are privatised, access is restricted to those who can afford to pay, breaking down the community's ability to manage the resource collectively
(Credit: KN Balraj)
To counter these narratives, we need to embrace and share alternative stories. The logic of commoning offers a different perspective, emphasising sufficiency, sharing, cooperation, and regeneration. By questioning dominant assumptions, we can recognise the power of community-led solutions that prioritize long-term well-being over short-term profit.
Activity 4.3.3
Activity 4.3.3
Concept: Power
Skills: Thinking skills (critical thinking)
Time: varies, depending on the option
Type: Individual, pairs, or small group
Option 1: How are the economic narratives linked?
Time: 30 minutes
The dominant economic narratives introduced in this section start with scarcity. But it is possible to build an alternative set of narratives that support commoning, by starting with the concept of sufficiency.
Read through this 1-page storyboard about the scarcity narrative
Try to rewrite the narrative starting with sufficiency instead on this blank storyboard - you can use the first scarcity storyboard as a model if you need it
Here is a sample completed sufficiency storyboard, if you would like to compare yours. Yours will probably differ somewhat from the sample.
With a partner, small group or as a class, discuss the role of narratives in the way we view the world, and the importance of reframing narratives if we want social change.
Option 2 - Economic narratives and power - causal loops and feedback practise
Time: 30 minutes
Use the following information to practise drawing a causal loop diagram with feedback. Click on the arrow below if you want to check your work. (Note: yours might not look exactly the same and that’s fine, as long as it captures the reinforcing feedback and direction of influence).
Economic narratives often benefit the people who have economic power. They can increase their social power over education, media and politics, the areas that spread and amplify economic narratives. These narratives help increase the power of already powerful people even further in a reinforcing feedback loop.
When you finish the causal loop, consider these questions:
Which social group(s) might benefit from the economic narrative about scarcity, competition and selfishness and why?
Why might we want to disrupt that economic narrative?
What could be done to break this reinforcing feedback loop?
Discuss these questions with a partner, small group or as a class if possible.
Click on the arrow to reveal a completed causal loop diagram with feedback
Option 3: The role of language in supporting worldviews
Time: 25-30 minutes
In the following 5-minute video, commons expert Silke Helfrich explains that the way we talk (or don’t) about the commons is a significant challenge to commoning. She says that language has made commoning “invisible, unspeakable, unthinkable”.
Silke Helfrich 5/6 - The Challenges for the Commons
As you watch the video, make a note about what Helfrich means when she says that the commons have been made invisible, unspeakable, unthinkable.
When the video is finished, consider to what extent learning about the commons in this course has made the commons visible, speakable and thinkable to you and others.
Does knowing more about the commons, and the many examples of it in the world make it more likely that you and others can engage in commoning?
Why does it matter that we know about commoning as a way to meet human needs within planetary boundaries?
Write or audio record a reflection, or discuss with a partner, small group or class.
Note: if this topic of language and the commons interests you, the book Free, Fair and Alive by David Bollier discusses this in much greater detail in Chapter 3: Language and the Creation of Commons.
Ideas for longer activities and projects are listed in Subtopic 4.5 Taking action
Checking for understanding
Checking for understanding
Further exploration
Further exploration
Does studying economics make you selfish? A short news report on research about studying economics and students developing selfish traits. Difficulty level: easy
The Challenges for the Commons – a short video lecture by Silke Helfrich highlighting three societal challenges to a Commons-based society: making the Commons visible, reclaiming language for Commons thinking, and overcoming capitalist mindsets that limit collective imagination. The video is closely related to the issue of narratives discussed in this section. Difficulty level: medium.
Robert Schiller on Economic Narratives - a short video of Nobel Prize winning economist Robert Schiller discussing the importance of narratives in driving economic behaviour. It’s important to note that he discusses these narratives as a temporary “contagion” that drives specific economic events, but does not address underlying narratives that drive the entire economics discipline, which is the focus of this section. Difficulty level: medium
Unlimited Wants, Limited Resources | How & How NOT to Do Economics with Robert Skidelsky - A short lecture by economist Robert Sidelski where he challenges the assumption of economists that human wants are unlimited. Difficulty level: high
Messaging Beyond Scarcity – This article from Lightbox Collaborative explores how to challenge the false narrative of scarcity and promote messages that inspire abundance and collective action. The article mentions the USA context, but the ideas are applicable more widely. Difficulty level: medium.
The Problem with Superchickens - A National Geographic podcast about research on superchickens which supports evolutionary biologist D.S. Wilson’s claim that “Selfishness beats altruism within groups. Altruistic groups beat selfish groups.” Difficulty level: medium
The ultimatum game - a short video explaining the ultimatum game, a classic experiment in behavioural economics that shows complex, non-’rational’ behaviour in human beings. Teachers might like to run this experiment with students, or students could try to run the experiment themselves. Difficulty level: medium
Sources
Sources
Bollier, D. and Helfrich, S. (2019). Free, Fair and Alive: The Insurgent Power of the Commons. Gabriola Island: New Society Publishers.
Bollier, D. (2025). Think Like a Commoner, 2nd edition. Gabriola Island: New Society Publishers. https://www.thinklikeacommoner.com/
Helfrich, S. (2014, February 7). Silke Helfrich 5/6 - The Challenges for the Commons - Leuphana Digital School [Video]. YouTube. https://youtu.be/IwNr4dED1U0
New Economic Thinking. (2019, February 6). Unlimited wants, limited resources | How & how NOT to do economics with Robert Skidelsky [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CifipPzK7ao
Terminology (in order of appearance)
Terminology (in order of appearance)
Link to Quizlet interactive flashcards and terminology games for Section 4.3.3 Economic narratives
scarcity: when there is not enough of something
sufficient: when there is enough of something
economic narrative: the stories we tell about how the economy works, how we should study the economy and participate in it
worldview: an all-inclusive outlook on the world held by an individual or group, and through which they make sense of reality and gain knowledge
economy: all the human-made systems that transfer and transform energy and matter to meet human needs and wants
market: a system where people buy and sell goods and services for a price.
state: a system that provides essential public services, and also governs and regulates other economic institutions
commoning: when a group of people self-organise to manage shared resources
fossil fuel: a non renewable energy source including coal, oil, and natural gas, formed over millions of years in the Earth's crust from decomposed plants and animals
copyright: legal ownership of intellectual property with the right to control its reproduction and distribution
patent: the sole right for an inventor to sell and profit from an innovation for a limited time
enclosure: the process that ended traditional rights on common land formerly held in the open field system and restricted the use of land to the owner
power: the ability to influence events or the behaviour of other people
profit: total revenue minus total cost
wealth: the total value (stock) of someone’s assets such as money, house, or investments
social cohesion: the extent to which people in society feel connected to one another and share common values
economic growth: an increase in the total value of goods and services produced in a period of time
profit-maximisation: a business goal that seeks to maximise the difference between revenues earned from selling a product and the costs of production
exploit: using and benefiting from resources; the term is often used negatively to imply using power to take advantage of a situation
cost efficiency: reducing costs of production relative to output
output efficiency: reducing the quantity of inputs relative to the quantity of outputs
sustainability: meeting people’s needs within the means of the planet
energy: the ability to do work or cause change
ecosystem: the interaction of groups of organisms with each other and their physical environment
industrial farming: a way of producing large amounts of crops, by using chemicals and machines
monoculture: when a single crop is grown a given area
chemical fertiliser: human-made nutrients applied to soil or plants to help them grow
biodiversity: the variety of living organisms on Earth
pollution: the presence of a substance that has harmful effects on the environment
steward: to manage or look after something
resilient: able to recover after a disturbance
privatise: to transfer (a business, property or service) from public to private ownership and control
enclosure: the process that ended traditional rights on common land formerly held in the open field system and restricted the use of land to the owner
private property: the ownership of property by private individuals and groups
incentive: something that motivates or encourages someone to do something
commoning: when a group of people self-organise to manage shared resources
power: the ability to influence events or the behaviour of other people
regenerate: the process of restoring and revitalising something
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