Common Good(s) – Redefining the public interest and the common good

This short and thought-provoking text by the author of Ground Control acts as a starting point to investigate and debate the privatization of public life in the city and the prospects of better ways to work together as a society. Further information on this project can be found on http://howtoworktogether.org

The fundamental question of the essay is how to re-define public interest and re-establish its importance in the legal system, considering social values and principles of universal access to common goods, while acknowledging the current crisis of the concept. This crisis is manifested for example in the physically fractured and costly provision of public goods such as housing, infrastructure and energy, and consequently the creation of “enclaves of deprivation”. Through an analysis of the increasing role of privatization and de-politicization of public goods over time, Anna Minton goes to the heart of debating the role of planning as “the interface with democracy at local level” (page 6), which is relevant not only to the particular British context, but to other countries facing increasing levels of inequality and new forms of poverty.

As a text is written by a journalist, it makes for engaging reading. It is particularly aimed at cultural institutions, such as artists and architects, to create a space for debate and a vibrant public forum to challenge the current erosion of the public realm.

Available at:

http://howtoworktogether.org/think-tank/anna-minton-common-goods-redefining-the-public-interest-and-the-common-good/
 

Book note prepared by Julia Wesely