Liminal Commons - (In Common) by Angelos Varvarousis (Paperback)

About the Book

"This book is the first attempt to rethink and appraise the role of temporary commoning experiences that develop in contexts of crisis. Activist and urban planner, Angelos Varvarousis, argues that there is a certain type of commons - the liminal commons - which despite their often short lives play a crucial function in contemporary societies; they demarcate and facilitate transitions at the individual, collective and ultimately the societal level. Through an intense exploration of grassroots projects such as occupied squares, self-organised refugee camps, solidarity food structures and social clinics in crisis-ridden Greece, the author observes that humans still invent such collectively performed rituals in order to prepare, symbolize and practically explore the possibility of transformation and transition. In a period in which traditional rites of passage have faded away but many changes are urgently needed, liminal commons can be a key element in the process of claiming awareness and control over the mechanisms of individual, collective and societal emancipation"--

Book Synopsis

Liminal Commons examines the making of temporary commoning ventures under conditions of crisis, using as a case study alternative grassroots ventures that have emerged in Greece during the last decade. Through exploration of grassroots projects such as occupied squares, solidarity clinics and pharmacies, cooperatives, workers' collectives, solidarity food structures and self-organized refugee camps, the book addresses issues of organization and subjectivity in commoning endeavours. Varvarousis explores the transformative potential of these experiences for individuals, groups, local societies and even countries. The book develops an original theoretical framework called ?the "liminal commons" which argues that there are ephemeral commons that act as modern rituals of transition, whereby people and collectives who on account of the crisis have lost their core identity search for and form new identities.

Review Quotes

'From the occupied squares of Athens to the refugee camps of Lesvos, this book visits unlikely new commons of our era, and forces us to rethink what a better future might look like and how it may come to be.'




Giorgos Kallis, ICREA Professor, Autonomous University of Barcelona, Spain, and author of The Case for Degrowth (2020)

'Not all commons are stable and established. Some are momentary, fleeting, emerging in response to our crisis-ridden world while shaping it at the same time. This book offers new ways of seeing one of the most important institutions in human history. A must-read for everyone interested in alternative futures.'



Jason Hickel, Professor, Institute for Environmental Science and Technology (ICTA-UAB), Spain, and author of Less is More (2020)

About the Author

Angelos Varvarousis an urban planner, researcher, and activist. He is an academic lecturer at the Autonomous University of Barcelona, and his research interests revolve around alternative lifestyles, the study of the commons, solidarity economies, and degrowth. He has worked for international institutions such as the British Council, the European Commission and the Oslo Architecture Triennale 2019, and is currently employed by the Onassis Cultural Center as researcher and curator.