is a social scientist. She specializes on alternative economic and social systems and the possibilities of social transformation. In addition, Kratzwald is active in various self-organized projects and co-organizer of the Elevate Festival and the Commons Summer School in Thuringia. She is the author of Solidarische Ökonomie & Commons [“Solidarity, economy & commons”] (Mandelbaum, 2012). Das Ganze des Lebens. Selbstorganisation zwischen Lust und Notwendigkeit [“Self-organization between pleasure and necessity”] (Ulrike Helmer Verlag, 2014).
Commons are a form of resistance against self-exploitation, isolation and the reduction of people to consumers, writes Brigitte Kratzwald. But this resistance isn’t about destroying what already exists: it’s about creative production geared to meeting people’s real needs.
