The market needs a counterpoise with a different calculus.The ideal counterpoise isn't the state. It's the commons. | |||||||
THE 21st CENTURY The 21st century can't be a continuation of the 20th. We're too close to too many edges for that. In the 20th century, the market triumphed over all. It defeated communism, levelled national boundaries to trade and brought material abundance never seen before. But the market's triumph was accompanied by huge unpaid costs : bills that are now coming due. Of these, the most momentous are those owed to nature and the poor. The 21st century must not only pay these bills. It must, at the same time, solve two systemic problems: How can we share a crowded planet with billions of other humans, other species and ecosystems? And how can we improve the quality of life for rich and poor alike? The unbridled market can't solve these problems alone. It needs a counterpoise with a different calculus. The ideal counterpoise isn't, as many thought in the 20th century, the state. It's the commons. Government's job in the 21st century is to restore the balance between the commons and the market that grew so distorted in the 20th century. This can be done without raising taxes or expanding bureaucracy. What might America look like with a healthy balance between commons and market? Here are some glimpses: - A market sector that pays its way Polluters and other commons users pay for usage rights. Pollution, advertising and congestion are reduced. More money flows to common purposes, without higher taxes. - A stronger democracy Spectrum fees cover most electoral campaign costs. Fewer elected officials are indentured to monied interests | A great change in the stewardship of the Earthis required if vast human misery is to be avoidedand our home on this planet is not to beirretrievably mutilated.Statement of scientists from 70 countries, including 102 Nobel laureates (1992) - A culture of popular participation An open Internet hosts diverse commons and provides access to other media. There are shorter copyrights and new legal vehicles for sharing creativity. Funding flows to the arts, non-commercial radio and TV. - Science in the public interest University research focuses on common needs. Most discoveries remain in the public domain. - Every baby a trust fund baby Everyone receives, as a birthright, a cash inheritance and yearly dividends. This income comes from rent charged for use of scarce common assets. The commons thus becomes a source of sustenance for all, as it was in pre-industrial days. Restoring a commons/market balance isn't a utopian dream. It's a necessary and doable task. Nature and our ancestors have already done the hard work : they created most of the wealth we simply inherited. All that's missing - all we need to build - are appropriate legal and institutional protections for that wealth. The real utopians are those who believe the market can continue unbridled forever. This dream has great allure, but it's a dangerous fantasy. The reality is that, without a healthy commons, the market (and much else) won't survive the 21st century. | ||||||
WORKING MODELSThis report has focused on poorly managed commons. But America abounds with commons that work well. The examples below can serve as models for the larger common sector we need to build. - Public libraries let anyone sit, read, borrow books and access the Internet for free. - Blood banks, academic disciplines and many civic organizations are communities of shared purpose. Members of such communities (sometimes called gift economies) freely give their time and creativity to the commons and reap benefits in return. - The Internet and World Wide Web spread like wildfire because their protocols and languages are free for all to use. - Sidewalks are marvels of common use. With a minimum of law enforcement and maintenance, they foster mobility, commerce and social interaction. - Parks in cities are islands of quiet and play. Typically they are fenced but free and open to all. Some sporting fields require reservations. Others have informal rules such as 'winners stay, losers sit.' - National parks and wilderness areas protect habitat and provide millions of Americans a direct experience of nature. - Wildlife populations are managed partly through hunting and fishing licenses, which limit human killing and raise revenue for conservation. Sales of federal duck stamps, for example, have helped preserve 5 million acres of waterfowl habitat. - State land trusts have been around since 1787, when Congress required western territories to set aside land for 'common schools.' Today over 150 million acres are held in trust by states. Much of this is leased for timber, grazing or oil production, with revenues going to public schools. - The Texas Permanent School Fund owns submerged lands along the Gulf Coast. Proceeds from offshore oil and gas leases launched the Fund in 1954. Earnings from investments go to local schools. - The Alaska Permanent Fund is like a communal savings account for all Alaskans. Initial capital came from oil leases on state land. Today a $23 billion diversified portfolio pays every Alaskan a yearly dividend. Last year's was $1,54 | Public libraries let anyone sit, read, borrow books and access the Internet for free. | ||||||
Community gardens are springing up in urban areas around the nation, often on vacant land that had been considered without value. The Edwards Aquifer was more than a millionyears in the making. Our mission is to protect itfor another million years.: Edwards Aquifer Authority | - Agricultural land trusts buy conservation easements from farmers using private and public funds. Farmers continue to own and operate their farms, while trust-owned easements preserve the shared landscape and the farm economy. - Community gardens rejuvenate neighborhoods and enable landless city-dwellers to enjoy the fruits of gardening. - The Nature Conservancy and Trust for Public Land are private trusts that have acquired and protected millions of acres from development. - Soil conservation districts were created throughout America after the Dust Bowl. They help landowners conserve soil, water and wetlands. - Air quality districts were formed in California and elsewhere in response to smog. Some now issue tradeable pollution permits. - The Oregon Water Trust acquires water rights and uses them to augment flows of rivers and streams. - The Edwards Aquifer Authority caps withdrawals of underground water and sells tradeable withdrawal permits. - Seed banks preserve the diversity of plant species by keeping seeds and regularly re-growing them. - Open source software is licensed software (such as Linux) that anyone can read, modify and redistribute. Because the code is shared in a commons, bugs are fixed and improvements made more rapidly than in most proprietary software. - Creative Commons is an on-line licensing service that enables creators to share their work without fear that someone will re-use it for profit. - Time Dollars are a currency that helps build community. Help a neighbor for an hour and you get credit in a computer bank that you can use when you need help yourself. - The Music Performance Trust Fund was formed in 1948 by the recording industry and the musicians' union. A small percentage of record sales goes into a fund that pays for free concerts in schools, parks and hospitals. Sales of corporate products thus support living culture. | ||||||
RECOMMENDATIONSThe audit committee's main findings are: 1) The wealth we inherit together is badly managed. Many commons are not even recognized as commons and therefore have no legal or institutional protection. 2) To protect the planet and assure a decent quality of life for all Americans, we must restore a proper balance between the commons and the market. We recommend a number of parallel ways forward: - Strengthen common property rights Common wealth needs legal rights. These rights should be equal to, and sometimes superior to, those of private wealth. They should be assigned to airsheds, watersheds, aquifers and other ecosystems pressured by markets. - Overhaul management In theory, government is the trustee for our common assets. In reality, government in the U.S. has largely abandoned this role. It's time to appoint new trustees. The new trustees can be quasi-public entities like air quality districts and the Alaska Permanent Fund, or non-profit entities like pension funds and land trusts. The main requirements are: trustees must be legally accountable to beneficiaries, beneficiaries must be broad classes of citizens (including future generations), and resource flows must be fully transperant. - Make polluters and broadcasters pay Polluting the commons can no longer be free. Someone : either polluters or pollutees : must pay for it. The best solution is to make polluters pay into trusts that use the revenue for common purposes and/or dividends. Broadcasters aren't polluters, but they've been using a common asset rent-free, and want to sell it for a profit. That should be stopped. | - Pay dividends to owners Because of the skewed distribution of private wealth, a small self perpetuating minority receives a disproportionate share of America's non-labor income. To offset this structural inequity, some income from common assets should be distributed on a one-person, one-share basis. - Nurture non-corporate culture and the public domain Copyright terms should be shortened and patents should be issued more stringently. Internet sharing of information and creativity should be encouraged. New funding flows for artists, live performances and independent films should be created. - Make protecting the commons an organizing principle for the 21st century The boundaries between the market and the commons have shifted too far toward the market. Starting now, all sectors of society need to push those boundaries back toward the commons. Thus: Religious leaders should remind us often that the sacred gifts of creation belong to everyone and must be cherished and preserved. Industry leaders should support capping and paying for pollution. Media and entertainment companies should replenish the cultural commons that enriches them. Political leaders should stop giving away common assets to private corporations. Courts should reinvigorate the public trust doctrine, the riparian principle and our rights as common owners. Economists should recognize the commons' role in meeting human needs and making the economic engine run right. Artists should develop new distribution systems that benefit both themselves and the cultural commons. Educators should include the commons in their curricula and involve students in local commons. Universities : themselves part of the commons : should focus their research on shared needs, not private gain. Creative thinkers from many fields should flesh out the details of what a large common sector would look like. | ||||||
We are richer than we think. But we're leaving our children poorer.All Americans are joint owners of a trove of hidden assets. These assets : natural gifts like air and water, and social creations like science and the Internet : constitute our shared inheritance. They're vital to our lives and make our economy run. Though it's impossible to put a precise value on them, it's safe to say they're worth trillions of dollars. The trouble is, our shared inheritance is being grossly mismanaged. Maintenance is terrible, theft is rampant and rents often aren't being collected. To put it bluntly, our common wealth: and our children's: is being squandered. | |||||||
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