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Democratisation of Economic Research and Policy by Building a Knowledge Commons: Inspiration from Cooperatives

Abstract We argue that the virtual reality of homo economicus dominates our economic theories and policies, producing inefficient and unjust outcomes and thus leading to wasteful use or/and unequal distribution of resources. Thus we believe there is need to incorporate substantive aspects of human life and well-being as well as to embrace the plurality of people’s values, priorities and rationalities. To this end, we propose the democratisation of economic research and policy by building a knowledge commons and drawing inspiration from cooperatives. We begin our analysis by envisioning knowledge as a commons where all interested parties within science and society participate and deliberate on the basis of democratic principles and practices. To concretise our arguments, we introduce the historical example of cooperatives, which can play a prefigurative and transformational role by fostering democratic participation, redistribution and reciprocity. We describe specific ways in which these alternative economies can inspire economists to democratise research and policy.