FROM ‘COMMON GOODS ’ TO THE ‘COMMON GOOD OF HUMANITY’.

Abstract: The present systemic crisis of capitalism and its various dimensions in the fields of economy, energy, food, ecosystems, values, requires a new approach. All the crises that have become acute in recent times are the result of the same fundamental logic. For example: 1) it conceives of development in a way that ignores ‘externalities’; 2) it is based on the idea of a planet with infinite resources; 3) it prioritizes exchange value over use value. It is very important to make the links between the defence of ‘common goods ’ like water, and re-establishing priority for the ‘Common Good’ and the vision of a new construction of the ‘Common Good of Humanity’; partly because the holistic vision embodied in the latter concept requires practical implementation- as in common goods for example- if it is to emerge from the abstract and be translated into action. Partly, too, because specific struggles must also take their place in the overall plan in order to identify the role they are playing, not simply as mitigating the deficiencies of a system, but rather as contributing to a profound transformation- one that requires the coming together of the forces for change in order to establish the bases for the survival of humanity and the planet