The Communication in Commons

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Creative Commons License photo credit: NomadicLass

Renegade Economists Podcast 131

As broadcast on Wed March 10th, 2010 on 3CR
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Show Notes:
The Communication in Commons: Natalie Pang, Visiting Research Fellow, Nanyang Technology Co Uni (Singapore) discusses the evolution of the digital commons and what access issues we must be aware of.

Read more of her excellent work:
Wiki on the Knowledge Commons
On Bounded Rationality
Thesis

On Nauru (re DJ Spooky interview last week):
6 Principles for Resource Wealthy countries:

  1. Transparency – all royalty revenues must be documented either on a public website, and/ or on a Council noticeboard in the city square etc.
  2. A Permanent Trust Fund must be set up, following the same rules of transparency. The Alaska Permanent Trust Fund is the benchmark, where only the interest earnt is paid out as a Citizen’s Dividend.
  3. Participatory Democracy – all citizens vote on their priorities for proposed budgetary expenditures
  4. An environmental bond of $1million must be placed in a holding trust on condition that certain environmental standards are met throughout the operation and at the closure of the mine.
  5. Royalties – charged at a minimum of 30% at the ‘farm gate’ price (30% of the market value as it leaves the mine/ farm). No fixed price to be agreed upon in contractual negotiations.
  6. Beware of the resource wealth cascading into higher land prices (and thus mortgaged costs AKA bank profits). This brings into play the bigger issue of genuine land reform.

Music

Suzanne Kraft – Lovely
Entertainment for the Braindead – Pirates
Misanthrop – Commercialism

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