Stories by Jay Walljasper
Jay Walljasper is editor of OnTheCommons.org, a news and culture website devoted to recognizing the importance of the commons -- those things that belong to all of us -- in modern life.
In the midst of a financial meltdown, a German brewery that's defying expectations raises questions about the role of government in the economy.
Posted on Oct 6, 2008
A gathering of international thinkers, artists, and activists is inspiring a new revolution in the right to water and what belongs to the commons.
Posted on Aug 20, 2008
As a recent example in Texas proves, what passes for "independence" these days is more like lazy and foolish.
Posted on Aug 19, 2008
Millions of deaths in developing countries can be prevented by access to basic health care. Some medical professionals are doing something about it.
Posted on Mar 19, 2008
A growing number of businesses are discovering that getting big is not the best measure of accomplishment. Which are the ones setting the trend?
Posted on Jul 24, 2007
A new movement called "beyond organic" aims to save land and communities. Is it the next ecological and social revolution or just another marketing tactic?
Posted on Mar 8, 2007
Burning jet fuel creates a large -- and growing -- share of greenhouse gases. But there may still be ways to see the world without harming it.
Posted on Oct 17, 2006
The European Court of Human Rights shows how justice can cross borders. It could be a model for the whole planet.
Posted on Aug 26, 2006
High-powered technology can manipulate reality and disseminate falsehoods on a scale never before seen.
Posted on Aug 21, 2006
Our greatest shortcoming in finding a solution to social problems may be the notion that there is only one.
Posted on Mar 11, 2006
From Copehagen to Bellevue, a movement has emerged to reclaim public spaces.
Posted on Feb 18, 2006
Biologist Rupert Sheldrake's theories turn everything we know about the universe inside out.
Posted on Jan 21, 2006
As millions of Asian citizens jubilantly embrace driving, some experts predict an enviro nightmare.
Posted on Dec 29, 2005
Has the power of TV and movies played a role in turning Americans away from cities and public spaces?
Posted on Dec 23, 2005
When it comes to schools, stores, buildings, neighborhoods, civic groups and even countries, small is not only beautiful, but more efficient and satisfying.
Posted on Mar 4, 2005
Is changing the world still hip? Two books that set out to chronicle the cutting edge of American culture give social change short shrift.
Posted on Mar 3, 2005
Even at a time when politicians in Washington are allocating billions for another round of mega-highway construction and pop culture celebrates the sexy supremacy of Hummer drivers, there is an emerging movement to reclaim our right to take a walk.
Posted on Apr 30, 2004
Wealthy, educated urbanites who would never permit themselves to poke fun at welfare mothers or immigrants freely make cracks about spongy white bread and Miracle Whip.
Posted on May 23, 2002
It seems important for us to remember that responding to terrorism with bloodshed on an even larger scale will only make us less safe.
Posted on Sep 20, 2001
Noam Chomsky as Secretary of State? Ralph Nader as Attorney General? Ann Landers as Postmaster General? The editor of the Utne reader puts together a most unconventional list of candidates for the next presidential Cabinet and other key Washington posts.
Posted on Oct 19, 2000
Are you nervous that fierce economic competition may force your employer to slash jobs or relocate overseas? Have you watched small shops and businesses in your neighborhood go broke as commerce flows toward mammoth superstores on the edge of town? Is it your perception that no matter how hard you try you always wind up feeling poorer, fatter, drabber, less sexy, less happy, and less fully alive than the people portrayed in advertisements?
If so, you are like many of the six billion people who feel a mounting sense of pessimism about our prospects for changing the course of modern civilization. But there's hope, at least according to more than 1500 environmentalists, organizers, academics, economists, and activists from five continents who gathered in November at a conference at Columbia University in New York City. These problems are not inevitable nor unassailable, they said. We can succeed in challenging and overturning these social and economic trends, especially if we understand them all as part of the same problem: the widespread effects of economic globalization.
Posted on Apr 26, 2000
