NEWS ON THE COMMONS
JUNE 2012

On the Commons is a network of citizens and organizations working toward a commons-based society. The commons refers to the natural and socially-created commons belonging to all of us that — when used wisely and fairly — will benefit everyone, including future generations.

What Can Evolutionary Science Teach Us About Designing Online Commons?

Yesterday I attended a fantastic workshop sponsored by the Berkman Center and Gruter Institute for Law and Behavioral Research on the lessons that evolutionary science and commons scholarship might teach us about the social architecture of online commons. As workshop co-organizer John Clippinger put it:  bq..

COMMONS QUOTES

“A hundred times every day I tell myself that my inner and outer life are based on the labors of other men, living and dead, and that I must exert myself in order to give in the same measure as I have received.”

—Albert Einstein

“Public space is the only place where the poor and the rich meet on equal footing”

—Enrique Penalosa, former mayor of Bogota, Colombia

Business Needs Public Help to Win Privatization Game

Why the private sector depends on public subsidies, by David Morris.

COMMONS CHAMPION

Elinor Ostrom (1933-2012)

Winner of the Nobel Prize for her work on shared resources.

How the Post Office Is Being Destroyed By a Phony Crisis

Congress, not the Postal Service, is the problem.

Pirate Party Shakes Up European Politics

New commons-associated movement makes gains in Germany and Sweden.

Nine Core Commons Principles

The importance of belonging, participating and redefining.

Profile in Political Courage

Like LBJ, Obama put the good of the country ahead of politics.

The Alchemy of Creativity

Cooperation boosts art, science and everything else.

What Exactly Does Mitt Romney Mean?

His comments on the Keystone XL pipeline, Interstate highways and Hoover Dam deserve scrutiny.

An Introduction to the Green Legal Tradition

Ecological survival and the law of the commons.

A More Efficient Alternative to Water Privatization

Public-public partnerships are more common than public-private ones.

Let Us Now Praise Vacant Lots

Neighbors work to keep these vital commons in the public realm.