The Commons and Co-operative Commonwealth

The 19th century cooperative movement also originated the cooperative land trust.  Both are part of longstanding campaigns to preserve the commons and the commonwealth against private concentration of wealth and property.  From the U.K. a recent article by Kevin Flanaghan, "The Commons and Co-operative Commonwealth," explores this tradition and its relevance to today's efforts toward protecting and recovering the common interests of the public: http://www.resilience.org/stories/2013-12-03/the-commons-and-co-operative-commonwealth.  The piece enriches our understanding of cooperative history and of the values behind struggles to preserve and enhance the commons.

And for further evidence of the importance of land trusts and the close connection of cooperatives with this concept, see this report from Co-operatives UK: http://www.resilience.org/stories/2013-12-06/new-garden-cities-will-inspire-co-operative-communities.