Article by Douglas Rushkoff noting that optimizing human well-being should be its base. Some excerpts:
"The commons is a conscious
implementation of reciprocal altruism. Reciprocal altruists, whether human or
ape, reward those who cooperate with others and punish those who defect. A
commons works the same way. A resource such as a lake or a field, or a monetary
system, is understood as a shared asset. The pastures of medieval England were
treated as a commons. It wasn’t a free-for-all, but a carefully negotiated and
enforced system. People brought their flocks to graze in mutually agreed- upon
schedules. Violation of the rules was punished, either with penalties or
exclusion.
"The commons is not a
winner-takes-all economy, but an all-take-the-winnings economy. Shared
ownership encourages shared responsibility, which in turn engenders a
longer-term perspective on business practices. Nothing can be externalized to
some 'other' player, because everyone is part of the same trust, drinking from
the same well."
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