Discovering the Useful Common: Development without growth
Article Summary
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| John S Veitch |
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| The Network Ambassador |
50 years ago I discovered that the stream flowing behind the local shopping center had no living things in the water, and only round threadworms in the soil on it's banks.
The stream is a "common", it ran through the valley, from farms, through an industrial area, past an commercial area, then through farmland again before reaching the sea.
Garrett Hardin, in 1968, wrote a very influential essay called "The Tragedy of the Commons". Each user has and incentive to use the common more.
The effect was to make more demand of that particular pasture, sea, or river than could be sustained, with the end result of destroying the quality of the common.
Who should bear the cost of depleting the usefulness of the common to everyone?
The oceans also give us some evidence of the ability of the environment to recover if there are strong enforcible rules against over-fishing.
We have trouble recognizing a commons unless we are also members. Around the world tribal communities typically have a land commons.
For some 10 years now, I've been promoting the idea of a "Useful Common". I've been thinking about all the free, or almost free public services that are available to citizens.
My argument is that with a little bit of effort we could easily enlarge the common in ways that are useful to people, that have minimal or only a small cost.
For instance senior citizens in NZ have just been "given" free access to public transport services between 9am and 3pm. The benefit to the community is significant.
There are natural commons, that people easily recognize. Rivers, roadways and lakes for instance. Protection of the quality of those resources requires enforceable rules.
There are many commons that we can create by agreement. For instance freedom of access to information on the Internet.
The system of Law in any country should be a common. The Law should apply equally regardless of power and status.
If the resources of a country are imagined as a commons, the value of controlling the rate at which those resources are depleted immediately becomes apparent.
If you need the original article it's here.
