Chapter 1: Subjective Figures of the Crisis ... - Negri in English

established in the thirteenth century at the foundation of the
British legal system when the declaration of the Magna Carta was
accompanied by a Charter of the Forest, which, as Peter
Linebaugh maintains, deserves much more attention than what
historians have given it. Whereas the Magna Carta designates the
rights of citizens with respect to the sovereign, the Charter of the
Forest establishes their rights to access the common. Access to
the forest at that time meant a right to the necessities of life,
including fuel and food. Today the constituent process must be
accompanied by a similar series of actions to guarantee the rights
of life and provide the necessities for a safe, healthy, dignified
existence.
One realm of such needs includes dangers facing the
environment. The degradation and destruction of plant and
animal species and the contamination of the earth and seas
continues unabated. The dates by which scientists predict a point
of no return regarding climate change grow ever closer while
carbon dioxide emissions continue to rise—and, shamefully,
discussions of those in power shift from strategies of prevention
to those of adaptation to a changed climate. Oil spills, radiation
leaks, water contamination from processing tar sands—the list of
catastrophes grows and the methods of protection have only
been weakened in the context of economic crisis, as if concern for
the well-being of the earth were an optional concern only for
flush times rather than a real necessity for the lives of humans
and others. The great corporations, it's probably no surprise,
show no ability or willingness to stop their practices of
environmental destruction. National governments and
supranational institutions, however, have proven equally unable
to address the large problems—they are not even able to arrive at
agreements, let alone enforce them. It seems that humanity is
completely powerless to stop itself from destroying the planet
and the necessary' conditions for its own life.
Another realm where counterpow T ers are needed, and which
is inextricably related to the environmental concerns, regards the
human necessities for food, health, and shelter, which can be
addressed in part through access to the common. Housing is an
urgent need for people throughout the world. In subordinated
countries the lack of housing and substandard housing is often