Governing Markets as Knowledge Commons

Why Markets are Commons

It is easy to think of markets as sites of private initiative, enterprise and freedom. But that is to miss the shared rules that govern markets, the shared culture (of trust) that makes markets possible, and most importantly the shared understanding that makes it possible to agree on the meaning, value and, yes, the price of things. This workshop will explore how the shared social infrastructure that makes markets possible comes about, is challenged, and sustained, by the communities which make up the markets. It will explore how this is done with particular places such as the city, on online platforms, and on contested markets such as those for organs or land.