(28 November, 2016) From the fight for water, universities, public schools and critical information from the battles against poverty and for a high quality job to battles against the destruction and consumption of territory; from the fight against the privatisation of the internet to the privitisation of bigger goods. Public goods are not refusable. They are a political and cultural practice that are meant to coexist. Ugo Mattei, Professor of Civil and Comparative Law, focuses on these topics in his book ‘Beni Comuni’ : which theorises public goods as a recapture of democratic public spaces, based on the quality of the relationship and not on the amount of accumulation. The volume will be presented on Thursday, December 1 (at 18:00) in Stockholm (ABF Huset, Stockholm, Room Palme). The event was organised by the Italian Cultural Institute in collaboration with Balder Förlag. Mattei will talk about some of the themes present in his new book along with Lars Hermansson the Swedish translator of ‘Beni Comuni’. In his book, Mattei investigates the ways in which the concept of “common goods” has changed since the Middle Ages until the present day and demonstrates how the needs and interests of men and women remain crushed in the pursuit of profit of States and private actors. The essay was written in the form of a poster and raised a heated debate in Italy and in the rest of Europe thanks to its precise and passionate defense of government land and of our common resources. (Red)
