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COMMONS MAGAZINE

Commons Strategies

A wide number of new strategies exist for assuring that the commons, in its many forms, is protected and enhanced over time. Some involve government and law, others depend on informal governance and social sanctions, while still others work with market mechanisms and other hybrid models.

August 12, 2007

The Untapped Power Of Social Sanction

The overlooked power of social opinion. In many cases, custom and public opinion work better than regulations in affecting people's behavior.
June 4, 2007

The Cowboy Commons

The Wild West revisited: frontier cattlemen depended on cooperation to stay in business.
June 2, 2007

Bring on the Shopocalypse!

Performance artist Rev. Billy is a fundamentalist when it comes to challenging the problems of consumerism.
May 1, 2007

Buzzsawed In Berkeley (And What I Should Have Said)

Jonathan Rowe ponders what he should have said when attacked in a panel discussion in Berkeley for not talking about families as part of the commons.
April 8, 2007

Build a WISER Commons

Can a powerful international movement coalesce from a million small activist groups worldwide?
April 4, 2007

The Cosmic Cop-Out Of "The Market" (With A Nod To Henry George)

Notes toward an economics of the commons.
March 21, 2007

Who Owns Maine's Water -- Nestle or the People?

The new water politics of the 21st century make a stage debut in Maine
March 16, 2007

Some Interesting Commons on the Web

Interesting new websites about the commons sprout up.
March 11, 2007

The Conservatory of the Coast, an original governance for fragile commons

An innovative idea from France ties local communities into the protection of coastlines.
March 1, 2007

Open Access Commons: An Open-Ended Question for Democracy

A brief history of the commons offers instructive lesson.