Common Property Resources and Capitalism's Failure
"Ultimately, the measure of a society’s wealth is the range of human
problems that it has found a way to solve and how available it has made
those solutions to its citizens." Capitalism Redefined. Hanauer & Beinhocker, 2014. Democracyjournal.org
But what are those problems. We tend to characterize them as material problems -- a nicer car as a way to get around, a better entertainment system, an amusing thing to defray our boredom, a faster and more accurate way to write our letter and do our taxes, a more convenient way to shop, a better mousetrap. Finding solutions to these problems have made a few people wealthy beyond the dreams of avarice. And finding solutions other problems like these will enrich future Midases.
Why these problems have been solved has to do, I think, with the fact that these solutions are solutions for discreet individuals, the purchase of which enrich discreet individuals.
But there are other problems which are problems of the commons, which benefit individuals, but more importantly, benefit all individuals. Fixing a pothole may benefit me and my car, but it also benefits everyone else who uses that road. The same goes for other common property resources like clean air and water, parks, good schools, cultural institutions, public health.
The persistent problem with common property problems is that it is difficult for an individual to become rich by providing these resources. These resources are not divisible so that they can be parceled out to individual buyers, so no one can become rich by selling these goods piecemeal like one can by selling copies of MS Word, or buying through Amazon.
But what are those problems. We tend to characterize them as material problems -- a nicer car as a way to get around, a better entertainment system, an amusing thing to defray our boredom, a faster and more accurate way to write our letter and do our taxes, a more convenient way to shop, a better mousetrap. Finding solutions to these problems have made a few people wealthy beyond the dreams of avarice. And finding solutions other problems like these will enrich future Midases.
Why these problems have been solved has to do, I think, with the fact that these solutions are solutions for discreet individuals, the purchase of which enrich discreet individuals.
But there are other problems which are problems of the commons, which benefit individuals, but more importantly, benefit all individuals. Fixing a pothole may benefit me and my car, but it also benefits everyone else who uses that road. The same goes for other common property resources like clean air and water, parks, good schools, cultural institutions, public health.
The persistent problem with common property problems is that it is difficult for an individual to become rich by providing these resources. These resources are not divisible so that they can be parceled out to individual buyers, so no one can become rich by selling these goods piecemeal like one can by selling copies of MS Word, or buying through Amazon.
posted by Godel at 5:51 PM
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