Category: Commentary, Critique, and Response

A COMPETITION FOR CONTROL AND CONSUMPTION OF THE COMMONS – SOCIAL CONSTRUCTION

by Bill Joslin

—“…the minute you give up on your other classes, you give up on the commons.”– CurtD

As soon as social variation gives way to social diversity – regardless of where those dividing line are carved – social stratification becomes competition over the commons. Not so much that we given up on the commons, but rather the point at which commons are no longer viewed as “shared common property”, – but rather viewed as shared private property. Politics becomes a competition for control and consumption of the commons.

I think there’s a subtler understanding to property en toto that gets overlooked.

We intuit that we defend property by the investment (born cost, contribution) into a property that we’ll bear additional costs to maintain control/access.

There’s a flip side to this condition. We invest also because we rely upon that property. i.e. lower middle classes rely upon commons for survival – and this reliance forms part of their interest in the property. This reliance then motivates investment.

How is this relevant? One can invest into a property, but never use our rely upon it. The upper classes don’t need most commons to survive, but form the substantial contribution to it. Where as the lower and middle classes rely heavily upon the commons and thus will seek to invest and defend it.

This creates a convergence of different types of incentives between different stakeholder concerns. The interplay between them results in robust care for the commons.

Without a militia, those whose stake in the commons revolves around reliance, have no means to protect their interests, and thus this robust care for the commons declines.

And the ecology of stakeholder interest devolve into seeking control or, whinging about control, from one stakeholder group to another: competition for control over the commons.

Thus killing a community, society or civilization is rather simple: Social construction by creating a competing (divergent) frame.

In doing so the separate factions of the society will consume each other in the competition for consumption and or control over their shared properties.

Divide and let them conquer themselves for you