Posdevelopment, radical democracy, postindustrial socety, convivial reconstruction

Abstract: In this essay, the authors elaborate on a new way of conceiving the alternatives towards a new society through the real experiences that common people are putting into practice. They examine the critique of development, clarified 25 years ago in The Development Dictionary, edited by Wolfgang Sachs, and describe the limitations of theories and proposals constructed within the dominant economic paradigm. They also elaborate on the limitations of representative and participatory democracy and find in radical democracy, as practiced today by very diverse groups around the world and clearly associated with the Commons movement, as a real alternative to the current predicament. For them, such experiences represent realistic paths to a posindustrial society, constructed as a convivial rconstruction in terms of Ivan Illich, and are the expressions of the ongoing revolution, happening in all parts of the world and especially evident in the zapatistas communities.
Keywords: Posdevelopment, radical democracy, postindustrial socety, convivial reconstruction