Raising the Ships on the Sea The comedy or cornucopia of the commons

What is “the comedy or cornucopia of the commons”? How does it contrast with the “tragedy of the commons”?

You may have heard of the tragedy of the commons where limited natural resources such as the land and the sea are overused and polluted as people act in their self-interest.

But natural resources are only one form of commons. Today the term is used in a broader sense to include a diverse realm of shared resources such as our cultures, languages, and human knowledge.

The English language is an excellent example of this other form of commons. No one owns the English language; it is free and evolves as we use it. The value of the English language lies in this use – as more and more people adopt English as their lingua franca, it becomes more and more valuable.

Another example of a form of commons is the World Wide Web. It is global; no one owns it as such; anyone can use it, and although not completely free, it comes close enough to qualify as a commons. And like the English language – use does not deplete it – use adds to its value!

Thus, the commons can be defined as a global resource, either tangible or intangible, that almost everyone can use for free or low cost.

There are two forms of commons —  physical resources such as land and water and intangible resources such as knowledge and culture. However, these commons are pretty different: the use of the tangible commons leads to depletion and thus the tragedy of the commons.

In contrast, the use of the intangible commons leads to abundance and the so-called comedy of the commons. In the comedy of the commons, each person, while getting something for themselves, also (directly or indirectly) contributes back to the common good at the same time.

Dan Bricklin, the co-creator of VisiCalc – the first spreadsheet program calls this the cornucopia of the commons and defines it where use brings overflowing abundance. Dan explains that there are three ways to get people to contribute to the commons.

1. To pay them.
2. To find and encourage volunteers.
3. To design systems in such a way that they can contribute by pursuing their self-interest.

For example, in the early days of the Internet, Yahoo built their Internet directory using the first method; open-source projects such as Linux and shared content projects like Wikipedia use the second method. Examples of the third and probably most potent methods include web applications such as BitTorrent.

If I have seen further than others, it is by standing on the shoulders of giants.

Credit: Isaac Newton

People who donate to the commons by method two or three are not being altruistic. It is simply a different but highly effective way of pursuing their self-interest.

The real tragedy of the commons is not that we are depleting and polluting the gifts of nature through our self-interest though this is tragic enough. It is that we do not recognize the value of the cornucopia of the commons and do not readily contribute to such commons and thus are missing what Dan Bricklin calls an “overflowing abundance.”

The quality of our lives depends on the work of those who have gone before us who have contributed to the commons.

Things Todo

• Think: What is your contribution to the commons that will help raise all the ships on the sea?

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