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Governing the Commons

This book delves into the challenges and strategies of managing common resources, examining the dynamics of collective action and the potential for sustainable governance. more

Author

Elinor Ostrom
Elinor Ostrom

Elinor Ostrom was an American economist renowned for her innovative research on the governance of common-pool resources. She was awarded the Nobel Prize in Economic Sciences in 2009 for her seminal contributions to the understanding of economic governance and collective action. more

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“What is missing from the policy analyst's tool kit -- and from the set of accepted, well-developed theories of human organization -- is an adequately specified theory of collective action whereby a group of principals can organize themselves voluntarily to retain the residuals of their own efforts.”

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Book:Governing the Commons: The Evolution of Institutions for Collective Action
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“Some of the homes that have been built in the last 10 years just appall me. Why do humans need huge homes? I was born poor and I didn’t know you bought clothes at anything but the Goodwill until I went to college. Some of our mentality about what it means to have a good life is, I think, not going to help us in the next 50 years. We have to think through how to choose a meaningful life where we’re helping one another in ways that really help the Earth.”

ThinkingKnowsWayNeedsYearsHumansMeanHas BeensHelpingHomeEarthLastsLife IsNextBornPoorCollegeHugeClothesBuiltMeaningfulGood LifeMentalityMeaningful LifeGoodwill
Author:Elinor Ostrom
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“Brian Walker and David Salt have written a thoughtful and powerful book to help resource users and managers put resilience thinking into practice and aim toward increasing the sustainability of our world. I urge public officials, scholars, and students in public policy programs to place this volume on their list of must-read books. It is a powerful antidote to the overly simplified proposals too often offered as solutions to contemporary problems at multiple scales.”

ThinkingWorldBookHelpingProblemPowerfulPracticeWrittenPolicyStudentsSolutionsResourcesProgramAimResilienceListsScalesContemporaryManagersOfficialsThoughtfulUrgesOur WorldScholarSustainabilityUsersSaltVolumeMultipleProposalAntidotePublic PolicyBrianWalkersPublic Officials
Author:Elinor Ostrom
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“If the state, with all of the emotional resources at its command, cannot finance its most basic and vital activities without resort to compulsion, it would seem that large private organizations might also have difficulty in getting the individuals in the groups whose interests they attempt to advance to make the necessary contributions voluntarily.”

IfsStatesSeemsMightIndividualInterestGroupsEmotionalActivityResourcesOrganizationDifficultyCommandFinanceContributionResortsCompulsion
Book:THE LOGIC OF COLLECTIVE ACTION
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“Unions are for 'collective bargaining,' not individual bargaining. It follows that most of the achievements of a union, even if they were more impressive than the staunchest unionist claims, could offer the rational worker no incentive to join; his individual efforts would not have a noticeable effect on the outcome, and whether he supported the union or not he would still get the benefits of its achievements.”

IfsStillsIndividualEffortEffectsOffersAchievementBenefitsClaimsUnionsWorkersRationalOutcomesCollectivesIncentivesImpressiveBargainingIndividual EffortCollective Bargaining
Book:THE LOGIC OF COLLECTIVE ACTION
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“Wicksell's old-fashioned liberalism is reminiscent of John Maynard Keynes' attitude toward conscription during World War I. Keynes opposed conscription, but he was not a pacifist. He opposed conscription because it deprived the citizen of the right to decide for himself whether or not to join in the fight. Keynes was exempt as a civil servant from conscription; so there is no need to question his sincerity. Apparently his belief in the rights of the individual against a majority of his compatriots was very strong indeed.”

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Book:THE LOGIC OF COLLECTIVE ACTION
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“A small group is powerful in matters relating to a particular industry, because then it is normally the only organized force, but it is less formidable when questions which divide the entire nation are involved, for then it must take on organized labor and other large organized groups. The business community in the aggregate is for this reason not uniquely effective as a pressure group.”

MatterReasonForceNationsCommunityPowerfulGroupsParticularIndustryInvolvedLaborPressureOrganizedDividesFormidableSmall GroupsOrganized LaborPressure Groups
Book:THE LOGIC OF COLLECTIVE ACTION
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