Reconsidering ownership of networks

As a general rule, anything that has network effects (has greater value the more people participating) ought to be effectively owned by the network. Effective ownership need not be legal ownership but effective control; starting with democratically moderated communication as a key element collective decisionmaking when talking about a large network. Or perhaps your phrasing is best: if it benefits many people, all should own and care for it; if it benefits one or a few, they should care for it. The real trick is coordinating in this care. The historic record for tragedy of the commons is far more often that people were unable to defend it from enclosure, pollution, or blatant resource stripping by an outsider than the classic case of resource overuse by those living in or near the commons.

posted in reply to rory.short on https://secure.bettermeans.com/projects/20