They didn't discover any commons, they discovered the market.
A democracy cannot exist as a permanent form of government. It can only exist until the voters discover that they can vote themselves largesse from the public treasury. From that moment on, the majority always votes for the candidates promising the most benefits from the public treasury with the result that a democracy always collapses over loose fiscal policy, always followed by a dictatorship.
Posts: 8264 | Location: Fl | Registered: 05 July 2001
Originally posted by Sawdust: They didn't discover any commons, they discovered the market.
Thats the trick though
The commons is a market term, referring to a shared resource.
It would be in the best short term interest of an individual to monopolize that resource, and "kill the goose that lays the golden eggs" to maximize their individual profit.
Commons on the other hand operate on the principle that the benefit of society is more important than the benefit of the individual.
-GreyFlcn
Posts: 62 | Location: California | Registered: 17 November 2007
The point is that societies react to protect resources which are based on economic principals. The market drives societies to behave to protect their self interest and the market has to be able to pay for that protection.
The commons has come to mean the latest and greatest big idea regardless of economics. I don't think Washington or Jefferson would agree with that but that seems to be the position of our government.
A democracy cannot exist as a permanent form of government. It can only exist until the voters discover that they can vote themselves largesse from the public treasury. From that moment on, the majority always votes for the candidates promising the most benefits from the public treasury with the result that a democracy always collapses over loose fiscal policy, always followed by a dictatorship.
Posts: 8264 | Location: Fl | Registered: 05 July 2001
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