Governing the Commons
Elinor Ostrom, 1990
The empirical refutation of the “Tragedy of the Commons.” People can manage shared resources. Here’s how.
Ostrom studied commons around the world — Swiss alpine pastures, Japanese forest commons, Spanish irrigation systems, Philippine fisheries, Maine lobster grounds — and found that many were managed successfully for centuries.
Her question wasn’t ideological (should we privatize or nationalize?). It was empirical: what actually works? The answer: community governance, under specific conditions.
The Eight Design Principles
- Clearly defined boundaries — who can use the resource, and what’s included
- Congruence — rules match local conditions
- Collective-choice arrangements — those affected participate in decisions
- Monitoring — by community members, not external authorities
- Graduated sanctions — proportional to the violation
- Conflict-resolution mechanisms — cheap and accessible
- Minimal recognition of rights — external authorities don’t interfere
- Nested enterprises — for resources at multiple scales
These aren’t theoretical. They’re derived from studying what actually worked in real commons over real time.
For Nymphaea
Every one of these principles applies to community computing infrastructure. Clear boundaries (who uses the system). Local rules (each community configures its own). Collective decisions (community members govern together). Community monitoring (not corporate surveillance). And so on.
Connections
- Elinor Ostrom — author
- commons — the subject
- mutual-aid — governance that enables cooperation
- Peter Kropotkin — empirical support for his intuitions
- replication-not-scaling — each commons adapts locally
“A resource arrangement that works in practice can work in theory.”