Boyle

Jamie Boyle, Defining the Commons

A rough attempt at a definition of a commons: a resource arranged such that, unlike property all members of a relevant population have access to that property free from the will of others. Unlike the public domain, commons (1) have defined user populations, and (2) have set rules for use. However, our definition of the commons is inherently malleable, and will always reflect our desires for it.

Commons is a resource accessible to a relevant population

• definitions of the commons varies on how large the population who has access rights has to be
• commons is a resource to which a certain population has access and use rights (key difference from public domain)
• something is truly a commons only if the whole society has access rights to the resource
• implicit: commons can exist relative to a given population. What is commons for one group may not be commons for those outside the group

Commons defined by restrictions on use

• Unlike resources in the public domain, resources in the commons may have restrictions attached to their use
• Not simply the opposite of property
• commons usually require a framework of norms or rules to operate
• commons are defined by certain restraints (another key difference from private property)

Commons can exist upon private property'

• intellectual property can be used to sustain private property
• Commons resources operate outside of market conditions
• commons can be built on a foundation of private property
• can create a commons using existing IP rights

Common can interact with, or increase the value of, private property

• commons property can interact with and increase the value of private property
• Until recently, intellectual property was taken to be the exception, not the rule

Commons' norms can be self-sustaining

• Commons can allow people to take from a common pool. Sometimes require that the resulting product is fed back into the pool.

Creating commons from existing property requires collective permission

• commons can be created from the collective permission of rights-holders

Definition of the commons is inherently malleable

• Our definition of the public domain will evolve according to our hopes for it

Freedom of the commons is freedom from the will of others

• Two different kinds of freedom: (1) freedom from the will of others, versus (2) freedom from a background of economic constraints. Boyle prefers (1)

Commons can be simply standard practices

• Sometimes the commons might not be a resource but just a standard for communication

Navigation

Back to Defining the Commons
Back to Industrial Cooperation Project
Back to Main Page