Free Access to the Commons: Random Priority versus Average Cost

Within this section, the author examines the liberal case for the commons through the perspective of leading theorists on the area. Elinor Ostrom, Lawrence Lessig and Yochai Benkler. All three place the development of the commons in parallel with state and market operation. They advocate for the coexistence of the commons with capitalism and the state. Ostrom’s work is discussed as focusing on the problem of collective action by elaborating the model of polycentrism. Lawrence Lessig and Yochai Benkler expand Ostrom’s work from the local to the global commons of the Internet and free/open source software. They introduce the term ‘digital commons’ to describe a non-market sector of information characterised by an ethic of sharing, self-management and cooperation between peers who have free access to online platforms. Benkler often diverges from classic liberalism by pointing to the autonomous development of the commons beyond capitalism and the state. Yet this underlying goal generally conforms to the liberal tradition. Discussion of the arguments of Cornelius Castoriadis and others stresses the impotence of the liberal commons in addressing the contradictions of capitalism and the state pointing to the ‘lack of the political’. The author argues in line with these perspectives that economic democracy is vital to underpin a digital commons.

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Ad fontes! Books on shelves!

New Library World ◽

10.1108/nlw-05-2014-0047 ◽

2014 ◽

Vol 115 (5/6) ◽

pp. 272-284 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

John van de Pas

Keyword(s):

Public Library ◽

The Internet ◽

Free Access ◽

Physical Interaction ◽

Access To Information ◽

Virtual Library ◽

Content Type ◽

The Public ◽

The Future ◽

The Commons

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to provide a signpost to the librarian that might be helpful in making strategic assessments for the future of the public library, and helping in the process of decision-making about the course to be followed. Thereby critical remarks about the Internet-based “virtual library lobby” are summed up as arguments against following that path blindly, and alternatives to a technology-centred approach are put forward by focusing on the cultural uses of the library as a public place. Design/methodology/approach – In this article a viewpoint is developed, based on an exploration of selected literature on the function of the library as an institution in society, and different viewpoints that are put forward in the debate on the future of libraries in the Internet era are analyzed. Some contend that going virtual is the only feasible course to take. Others emphasize that many functions of the library are unquantifiable because of their cultural nature, and rooted in physical interaction of citizens with a real space of bricks, mortar and books. These functions may never be fully virtualized, but are deemed essential to the community in which the library institution is rooted, and even society at large. Findings – If librarians choose the technological path of the virtual library, they are rapidly being made obsolete by the multinational commercial information aggregators, where free access to information is no longer provided. If the library takes the cultural path, defining its future as an institution instrumental to “the commons” providing freedom to citizens, the actual use citizens make of library as public places should be taken as central starting point for a feasible future, and technology should be used as a means to that end. Research limitations/implications – The article is a viewpoint, based on a limited selection of literature. Practical implications – The viewpoint offers a critical assessment relevant to those librarians responsible for creating a roadmap for the future of their public library. Social implications – This study underpins the importance of the public library as one of the last true public areas, open to all for the benefit of the community. Originality/value – This study offers a different point of view, possibly even a warning call, against embracing technological determinism that brings with it enclosure of The Commons, which the Public Library in its true meaning should offer. Internet-based services are often put forward (and welcomed by many) as the solution for the future for free access to information. In the article, the case is made that unfettered free access for information to citizens is at odds with actual developments on the Internet, that according to leading Internet critics is rapidly being turned into a commercial advertising platform or market place.

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The “Commons” Discourse on Marine Fisheries Resources: Another Antecedent to Hardin’s “Tragedy”

Theoretical Inquiries in Law ◽

10.1515/til-2018-0025 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 19 (2) ◽

pp. 489-505 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Harry N. Scheiber

Keyword(s):

Population Control ◽

Mineral Resources ◽

Maximum Sustainable Yield ◽

Maximum Efficiency ◽

Marine Resources ◽

Free Access ◽

Fisheries Resources ◽

Scholarly Publications ◽

Limited Entry ◽

The Commons

Abstract Throughout the fifty years since its publication, Hardin’s “The Tragedy of the Commons” has been regarded as a seminal paper in the environmental movement, although his emphasis on population control (which actually formed the core concern of the article) has been largely forgotten. Hardin argued that free access by a growing population to common resources would inevitably lead to the depletion of those resources, citing as one example how maritime nations’ belief in the freedom of the seas, combined with their belief in the inexhaustibility of marine resources, had brought whales and many species of fish close to extinction. Hardin failed, however, to take account of the extensive debates throughout much of the twentieth century by scientists and policymakers on the general problem of the ocean commons — what they generally termed the “dilemma of the commons” — as it applied not only to living marine resources but also to mineral resources. By mid-century, as improved fishing technology gave rise to ever greater catches, the notion of the inexhaustibility of fisheries was largely discredited; hence scientists as well as experts in both national and international law became focused on addressing the dilemma of the commons through fisheries management, and specifically by determining the Maximum Sustainable Yield. Some economists, arguing instead for maximum efficiency, urged that open access be abandoned in favor of limited entry. Such measures to resolve the dilemma of the commons were the subject of numerous conferences (including the second UN Conference on the Law of the Sea in 1958) and were widely debated in scholarly publications and, indeed, by the late 1960s had been practically implemented by a number of laws and treaties. By 1966, national control over a twelve-mile fishing zone offshore of coastal nations had been well established. These developments regarding the oceans commons, predating Hardin’s article, were apparently either of no interest to him or (if he knew of them) purposefully subordinated to his main polemical objective, which was his Malthusian analysis of the commons issue and his call for limits on “human breeding.”

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Commons with increasing marginal costs: random priority versus average cost*

International Economic Review ◽

10.1111/1468-2354.t01-1-00102 ◽

2003 ◽

Vol 44 (3) ◽

pp. 1097-1115 ◽

Cited By ~ 5

Author(s):

Herve Cres ◽

Herve Moulin

Keyword(s):

Average Cost ◽

Marginal Costs ◽

Random Priority

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La tragedia de los comunes: un enfoque teórico-experimental / The Tragedy of the Commons: a Theoretical-Experimental Approach

Revista Internacional de Ciencias Sociales ◽

10.37467/gka-revsocial.v1.1221 ◽

2012 ◽

Vol 1 (2) ◽

Author(s):

Juan Carlos Aguado Franco

Keyword(s):

Game Theory ◽

Human Activity ◽

Renewable Resources ◽

Laboratory Experiments ◽

Experimental Approach ◽

Tragedy Of The Commons ◽

Free Access ◽

Regeneration Rate ◽

The Commons ◽

Over Exploitation

ABSTRACTThe exhaustion of natural resources is partly due to natural causes but is also a result of human activity. The effects of human activity depend on the type of natural resource, especially the management of biological populations. If there is free access to the resource, rivalry can to rise. For renewable resources, the rate of use or harvest must not exceed the regeneration rate, but individual rationality leads to over-exploitation. This occurs because the benefits of exploitation accrue to individuals, each of which is motivated to maximize his own use of the resource, while the costs of overexploitation are distributed between all those to whom the resource is available: it's the "Tragedy of the Commons". Prisoner's Dilemma does not to capture all the characteristics of the "Tragedy of the Commons" of renewable resources, especially the progressive scarcity of the resource, and the interaction among several people. We study in the frame of game theory laboratory experiments the "Tragedy of the Commons", to explain people behaviour in this context.RESUMENEl agotamiento de los recursos naturales se produce, además de por causas naturales, como consecuencia de la actuación del hombre, y el efecto de su actuación tendrá mayor o menor incidencia en función del tipo de recurso de que se trate. En concreto, en lo que hace referencia a los recursos biológicos, su supervivencia dependerá no solamente de cuestiones naturales que puedan afectar al crecimiento de la biomasa, sino también del uso que realicemos de ellos. Generalmente existen intereses encontrados entre los potenciales usuarios de este tipo de recursos, especialmente cuando existe libertad de acceso para su explotación. Para asegurar su supervivencia, sería necesario que no se utilizaran sistemáticamente por encima de su tasa natural de regeneración, pero la lógica individual lleva a seguir explotándolos por encima de dicha tasa, dado que los costes de la sobreexplotación recaen sobre el conjunto, mientras que las ganancias se producen en su totalidad para cada individuo. Este hecho es conocido como la “tragedia de los comunes”. Este problema se presenta frecuentemente como un “dilema del prisionero”, pero éste no plasma en su totalidad las características que deﬁnen a los recursos biológicos, en especial en lo que hace referencia a ese progresivo agotamiento del re-curso, ni a la interacción entre varios individuos –más de dos- inmersos en un problema de estas ca-racterísticas. En el marco de la teoría de juegos realizamos experimentos de laboratorio que reproducen estos problemas, lo que nos permite aislar y controlar las variables que puedan afectar al comporta-miento de los individuos en este tipo de situaciones.

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Exploration-Stage Implementation Variation

Zeitschrift für Psychologie ◽

10.1027/2151-2604/a000164 ◽

2014 ◽

Vol 222 (1) ◽

pp. 37-48 ◽

Cited By ~ 12

Author(s):

Stephanie Romney ◽

Nathaniel Israel ◽

Danijela Zlatevski

Keyword(s):

Parent Training ◽

Average Cost ◽

Cost Savings ◽

Training Group ◽

Group Differences ◽

Triple P ◽

Community Based ◽

Parent Training Program ◽

A Site ◽

The Cost

The present study examines the effect of agency-level implementation variation on the cost-effectiveness of an evidence-based parent training program (Positive Parenting Program: “Triple P”). Staff from six community-based agencies participated in a five-day training to prepare them to deliver a 12-week Triple P parent training group to caregivers. Prior to the training, administrators and staff from four of the agencies completed a site readiness process intended to prepare them for the implementation demands of successfully delivering the group, while the other two agencies did not complete the process. Following the delivery of each agency’s first Triple P group, the graduation rate and average cost per class graduate were calculated. The average cost-per-graduate was over seven times higher for the two agencies that had not completed the readiness process than for the four completing agencies ($7,811 vs. $1,052). The contrast in costs was due to high participant attrition in the Triple P groups delivered by the two agencies that did not complete the readiness process. The odds of Triple P participants graduating were 12.2 times greater for those in groups run by sites that had completed the readiness process. This differential attrition was not accounted for by between-group differences in participant characteristics at pretest. While the natural design of this study limits the ability to empirically test all alternative explanations, these findings indicate a striking cost savings for sites completing the readiness process and support the thoughtful application of readiness procedures in the early stages of an implementation initiative.

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