Intergenerational justice is needed considering that most of the resources needed for the satisfaction of human wants are not created but extracted (that, is taken from nature) under the premises of the rule of law embedded within the dualism: Private property and State sovereignty. We should start our discourse about how the categories public and private have impoverished the possibilities of modern political life. In Europe, where everything is still translated into the market language a lot has already been achieved under the paradigm of sustainability (urbanism, transport, energy law, sustainable laws), but, the logic of the market seems to be not sufficient for our societies, our welfare systems, our current political, social and economic problems. On the top of this, there is the problem of future generations.
At the basis of this intergenerational sensibility, that should emerge more than ever in every political imperative, lies the heart of the “commons” theoretical discussion: Commons thinking takes a community and ecosystem perspective, placing issues of care, solidarity, ecology, social equity and long-term stability at the forefront of policy.
Within the European context is needed a closer look at the ‘normative’ aspect of the ‘commons’. In fact, it is the aim of this analyses to approach the normative dimension of the ‘commons’ discourse and the grassroots movements behind a growing tendency of localisation of policy, services, production, participatory governance and ecological sensibility (in a holistic sense) that could be a yardstick towards a re-definition of a new European governance.
