Taking Responsibility for the Commons | NYT Economix Blog
By Nancy Folbre
Rational consumers have it easy. We pay our money and we make our choices. Rational citizens have it hard. We must think about the consequences our actions will impose on others. We must argue, negotiate and compromise.
We must take responsibility for governing the commons — not just the quaint old-fashioned village green, but things that cannot easily be privatized — clean air, a stable climate, regulation and insurance, human knowledge and technology, trust and care for one another.
The following media chronology for this month illustrates an accelerating attention shift toward the commons: ...
* Feb.16, 2009. Cover of Newsweek proclaims “We Are All Socialists Now.”
* Feb. [1]8, 2009. Both Alan Greenspan, former chairman of the Federal Reserve, and Senator Lindsay Graham, Republican of South Carolina, suggest that nationalization of American banks may be necessary.
* Feb. 19, 2009. The New York Times columnist David Brooks argues that we need to stabilize our “communal landscape” because we are “all in this together.”
