After the Holocene reconsiders recent theorization and reflection on the concept of the commons and the political principle of the common in the light of climate change, biodiversity loss and related forms of planetary disturbance and change, as well as the social and political effects and implications of the planetary. Gene Ray argues that capitalist modernity has ended the Holocene the stable geologic epoch that started 11,700 years ago. In its place, we now have an era of climate chaos, mass extinction, and planetary heating. He warns that business-as-usual is leading to a harsh 'hothouse earth.' Powerful capitalist classes block solutions because they profit from the current system. Ray says 'commoning' is the answer to pulling the emergency brake. Commoning is when people work together to manage shared resources - like land, water, or energy - outside of corporate or state control. He argues that this mutualist way of living is the first step to a healthier planet and a way to abolish capitalism.
