The Blue Commons

Reviews / Votes

Looking out of my window at the radiant blue of the Aegean Sea, I surrender to the dream of a near future where Guy Standing's Blue Commons proposals have been implemented - an indispensable blue section of any genuine Green New Deal. It is a good dream, one that deserves a shot at infecting our sad reality -- Yanis Varoufakis In this landmark book, Guy Standing not only documents how state-corporate collusion is destroying fragile ocean ecosystems, fisheries, and coastal communities. He explains how degrowth economics and fishery commons could restore the 'Blue Commons-Wealth' that belongs to all of us. The Blue Commons is at once a brilliant synthesis, a searing analysis, and an inspiring call to action -- David Bollier * author of The Commoner's Catalog for Changemaking * Shines a bright light on the economy of the oceans, directing us brilliantly towards where a sustainable future lies -- Danny Dorling Guy Standing writes with remarkable erudition, but also with passion and lyricism about the Blue Commons. He commands the reader to wake up to the threat posed by rentier capitalism's violent policies for extraction, exploitation and depletion of that which is both common to us all, but also vital to our survival: the sea and all within it. He offers radical and hopeful alternatives to the dominant economics for 'making a killing' from the commodification of nature - giving hope to the dedicated stewards of the seas - fishers and 'blue commoners' - but also to his readers -- Ann Pettifor Few have illuminated the critical needs and shared responsibilities of our oceans as well as Guy Standing in The Blue Commons -- Marc Benioff As capital sets its sights on the seas, our planet's final frontier, the struggle for the commons becomes all the more urgent. This is a powerful, visionary book - essential reading for all who yearn for a better world -- Jason Hickel A powerful indictment of all that has gone wrong with contemporary oceanic governance, and an inspiring account of how it can be put right. Guy Standing shows how local communities can turn the tide on neoliberal excess and put a vibrant and inclusive politics in its place -- Chris Armstrong Standing makes an urgent case for a new politics of the ocean . . . For anyone who has watched a David Attenborough documentary and wished it made a clearer appeal for a change in ocean governance, this is the book for you -- India Bourke * New Statesman * In this important book, Guy Standing, always an original and impassioned thinker, looks at the despoliation of the oceans by overfishing, mining, waste and rising temperatures. The crisis he outlines persuasively and in detail is the result of our short-sighted and largely uncontrolled exploitation. Standing offers radical ideas for creating new forms of common property. The proposals are ambitious and arguably unrealistic. But the issues he lays out are real and deeply concerning. We need good answers. -- Martin Wolf * Financial Times Best Economics Books of 2022 *