Quote of the Day (October 1, 2008)

"James Surowiecki writes that 'the commons leads to overuse and destruction; the anti-commons leads to underuse and waste' (The New Yorker, "The Financial Page," August 11 and 18). In fact, countless communities around the world sustainably manage natural resources -- fisheries, timber, fresh water, wildlife -- without succumbing to the tragedy of the commons'. On the Internet, too, communities from Wikipedia to open-source software to Flickr allow individuals to come together to cooperate and share without resorting to contracts, cash, or other market mechanisms. It's time for economists to shed their orthodoxies and wake up to the reality that the commons is a highly robust and growing sector for managing resources and creating value."

-- David Bollier, editor, OntheCommons.org (The New Yorker, "The Mail," Oct. 6, 2008)