COMMONS MAGAZINE
Just as government is needed to help markets function efficiently and fairly, government is also necessary to facilitate a thriving commons – through regulatory oversight, access mandates, taxes and due process. Yet a key point of the commons movement is that government is not the sole means for fulfilling the aspirations of “we the people.”
Glendale, California is one of 2000 US cities with municipal power utilities. (Photo by Scott Lowe under a CC license.)
Minnesota Governor Floyd Olson was elected on a platform advocating that resources be "operated democratically for the benefit of all the people".
Neighborhood post offices would be replaced by a counter in a big box store with a barely trained clerk. (Photo by Bruce Tuten under a Creative Commons license.)
Gas taxes don't cover the cost of building and repairing highways, not to mention the environmental pricetag. (Photo from flickr.com under a Creative Commons license.)
Image from Free Press Pics under a Creative Commons license.
(Photo by Martin Dewar under a Creative Commons license.)
Detroit's recovery will lose ground if thousands of people are run out of their homes after the city shuts off the water.(Photo by S.J. Carey under a Creative Commons license)