Marjetica Potrč

b. 1953, Slovenia

The word ‘freedom’ changes its meaning. In the consumerist society of free-market capitalism, freedom means the freedom to choose an object, a product. In participatory democracy, freedom means the freedom to choose responsibility in a social network. The emphasis is on sharing, not on owning things for one’s exclusive benefit. An example is the Transition Towns movement in the United Kingdom, founded in 2005. The period from 1968 to 2008 was a time of neo-liberalism and the neo-liberal understanding of individualism, liberal democracy and market capitalism. The global financial crisis of October 2008, when major banks in the United States, Europe and elsewhere were partially nationalised after the collapse of the market, marks the retreat of global neo-liberalism.

The word ‘balkanisation’ changes its meaning. In the 1990s, the fragmentation of the former state of Yugoslavia was presented as a process of balkanisation. Balkanisation used to be considered a negative term, standing for disintegration of unity and the undermining of the state. In recent years, however, the term has been rethought. By giving power to ‘particles’ and group identities, by asserting bottom-up initiatives and self-rule, balkanisation has become a potential force for democracy.

(Text: reading the city catalogue, 2009)