The larger lesson of this chapter is that all three
branches of the commons — nature, community, and
culture — are under similar assault from
corporations, and all need to be fortified. The means of
fortification will vary with the particular commons. When
commons are scarce or threatened, we ought to limit
aggregate use, assign property rights to trusts, and
charge market prices to users. When commons are limitless
(like culture, the Internet, and potentially the
airwaves), our challenge is the opposite: to provide the
greatest benefit to the greatest number at the lowest
cost. To create scarcity where it doesn’t need to
exist diminishes rather than enlarges our well-being.
In both limited and unlimited commons, corporate and
commons algorithms clash. In limited commons, the
corporate algorithm says: use as much as you can as
quickly as you can, because if you don’t, someone
else will. The commons algorithm, by contrast, says:
preserve the asset for future generations, enhance it
whenever possible, and live off income rather than
principal. In unlimited commons, the corporate algorithm
says: restrict use and charge what the market will bear.
The commons algorithm, by contrast, says: the more users
the merrier, and the cheaper the better. In both
situations, the commons algorithm conflicts head-on with
the corporate one, and that’s just fine. Indeed,
it’s precisely the point.
Commons algorithms need to be unleashed in real-time
markets, where they can duke it out with their corporate
counterparts. Managers in each sector will know what to
do, and the public will know what to expect. If
corporations keep winning, then add more property to the
commons. Eventually, we’ll get the best of both
worlds, and when there’s conflict, more balanced
outcomes than we get today. We’ll also gain clarity
about the real costs of current practices.
After we fortify, we should enhance; just as we take
from the commons, so should we give back. Art and music
can be reproduced by corporations, but they don’t
come from corporations; they come from the commons. Folk
music, country music, jazz, blues, garage bands —
these are the roots of our musical heritage. We must
nourish the soil in which these roots grow. This, not
copyright extension, is the way to enrich culture. ...
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