Why Explore a Social Commons Framework for Social Solidarity for the 21st Century?
Marvyn’s Ideas and Values
Marvyn Novick was a visionary, a humanist and a community activist, equally comfortable in the worlds of social policy ideas and community practice. His vision of an inclusive and equitable Canada recognized the importance of both diversity and what we have in common as part of the human community. Decent work and liveable incomes were central to that vision. In 2014 he wrote:
We have a common stake in creating communities of shared opportunity for all. Investing in work that protects and enhances our environment, supports civic and community well-being, and that grows local economies will produce social and economic benefits for all. Pursuing this path will demand the activation of a collective stewardship that engages all parts of the community in a discussion of how to work together for the common good.
Among his peers, Marvyn was recognized as an incisive and meticulous thinker. His work resonated, however, not only because of its intellectual rigour, but because it was grounded — in clear ethical positions and in community. He never wavered from the core values of solidarity, collective and civic responsibility, dignity, decency and universality. He always made sure that his research and policies were tested in the community, frequently via community soundings or neighbourhood meetings.
Marvyn believed that the welfare state was one of Canada’s greatest achievements because of its contribution to civic vitality and social solidarity and its role in protecting vulnerable people from social and economic insecurity and in helping all of us live decent and meaningful lives. He was immensely proud of Canada’s universal programs – Medicare and education – and a tireless advocate for universality in social programs as part of our collective stewardship and in progressive taxation to ensure that governments had the revenue to pay for what we valued.
Marvyn challenged us to think big, to focus on our common humanity and lived experiences, and to act collaboratively and collectively. Civic life and civic solidarity were important because they were about how people lived together. Children were important not just as ‘human capital’ but because their lives and experiences, as children, mattered.
From conversations with Marvyn in his last year, we knew that he had studied the idea of a “social commons” and saw it as a potential framework for re-casting social solidarity within and across communities and sectors to create an inclusive, equitable and sustainable society. We concluded that an event exploring the social commons would be an appropriate way to help preserve Marvyn’s legacy in terms of a prospective on the future rather than just a retrospective on the past.
The Social Commons
A key thinker and leading proponent of the social commons is Francine Mestrum, PhD, whose writing Marvyn was studying and discussing with some of his colleagues in his last years. Dr. Mestrum is a Belgian academic dividing her research and writing between Europe and Mexico. Her research focuses on the social dimension of globalization, poverty, inequality, social protection, public services and gender. Dr. Mestrum is the author of several books on development, poverty, inequality and social commons.[1] She is the founder of and coordinates the Global Social Justice network and currently works on a project for Social Commons, a trans-national initiative affiliated with the Global Social Justice network.
Originating as a discussion on social justice in the World Social Forum in 2013, the social commons has emerged in Europe, Asia and South America as a framework for re-thinking social policies in a transformative and participative way to achieve social and environmental justice. Dr. Mestrum is a leading critic of the existing international order:[2]
- that is driven by market forces pursuing economic growth and corporate profit at the expense of social solidarity and environmental health;
- that has narrowed social protection and security to targeted and individualistic approaches for the poor, thus undermining commitment to universal policies for the benefit of all;
- that has suppressed collective action and solidarity systems (e.g. social insurance programs, labour rights), which previously joined people at all income levels to a shared standard of decency in everyday life;
- that has emphasized the importance of income with minimal cash transfer “guarantees” in the commodification of human needs while abandoning any commitment to the provision of universal, high quality public services in health, education, and other essential human services; and
- that has enlisted progressive elements of society in a more limited agenda focusing on minimalist protections for the poorest and most marginalized rather than on the social and economic rights of all citizens.
Dr. Mestrum establishes social protection as a human right articulated even in the mid-20th century in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (1948) and the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (1976). But, its traditional construction under the terms of the post-War social contract started to erode seriously by the 1980s and she argues that today younger generations do not recognize social protection systems that reflect social solidarity or even social justice.
Therefore, Dr. Mestrum advocates for a “shift from social protection to social commons”[3] (p.4). She holds that “certain basic principles of our current social protection will have to be preserved, such as respect for universal rights, the non-commoditization of social service, the horizontal solidarity of all with all” (p.4). This is the starting point for a “democratic and participative approach” to design and monitor our social systems (p.5). It is not a matter of “correcting” the existing social and economic systems but rather entirely reframing our thinking from a profit-making, market-driven economic system to an economy that is “at the service of societies” in terms of both human and environmental needs and wants (p. 5).
“The economy has to care for people, in the same way as environmental policies have to care for nature and as social policies have to care for people and for all of us. Care can become the central concept, care for people, for societies and for nature. Social commons, then, care for the sustainability of life.” (p.6)
Our plan for the fall event in honour of Marvyn Novick’s legacy is to engage young leaders, policy-makers and policy advocates, academics and researchers, community activists and the interested public in a discussion on what a care-based approach to the social commons would be in Canada. In a discussion on social inclusion and the social commons in April 2016, several months before he died, Marvyn envisaged the core values of a social commons approach:
- An ethic/culture of contribution
- A culture of care
- A culture of mutual responsibility
- An ethic of common dignity, and
- A pooling of knowledge and skills to “make things happen“
[1] The Social Commons – Re-Thinking Social Justice in Post-Neoliberal Societies (2015). Brussels: Global Social Justice.
[2] Our Common Social Future – Social Commons, Social Justice, System Change. A Programme for Sustainability. Asia-European People’s Forum, 8-10 June 2018. See Francine Mestrum, Beg for More? pp. 19-23.
[3] From social protection to the social commons (December 10, 2015). In Philosophie & Management.