Harriet Barlow & the Blue Mountain Center
August 14th, 2008The Blue Mountain Center is a working community of writers, artists, activists and musicians in the heart of Adirondacks, the largest state park in the continental US. As a part of our cultural commons, the Center exists to provide a peaceful and comfortable environment in which guests are able to work, free from the distractions and demands of normal daily life.
To mark BMC’s 25th Anniversary, we are stepping up our advocacy on behalf of The Commons. The Commons is made up of all that we inherit and create together and should pass on undiminished to the next generation.
Imagine the Commons. It consists of gifts of nature (air, fresh water, the ocean, wilderness, etc.) and gifts that we as a society have “gifted” to one another (Social Security, farmers markets, the Internet, bridges, scientific knowledge, libraries, etc.).
The Commons preceed the Market (understood here as commerce controlled by corporations) and the Market should be accountable for the well being of the Commons. For a clear rendering of this concept, we recommend “Capitalism 3.0″ by Peter Barnes.
