Common Goods Quotes

Private property is a necessary institution, at least in a fallen world; men work more and dispute less when goods are private than when they are in common.

That which is common to the greatest number has the least care bestowed upon it

It is a maxim of old that among themselves all things are common to friends.

The property of the estate owners doesn't belong to any particular detachment, but to the people as a whole. Let the people take what they want.

One-man-one-vote combined with "free entry" into government-democracy--implies that every person and his personal property comes within reach of-and is up for grabs by-everyone else: a "tragedy of the commons" is created.

I am a strong believer in the free market. I am a strong believer in capitalism. But, I am also a strong believer that there are certain common goods - our air, our water, making sure that people are safe - that require to have some regulation.

The British use a system where the profits a corporation reports to shareholders is what they pay taxes on. Whereas in America we require corporations to keep two sets of books, one for shareholders and one for the IRS, and the IRS records are secret. For publicly-traded companies, the British system would tend to align the interests of the government with the interests of the company because the company wants to report the biggest possible profit. Though, all wealthy countries have high taxes as wealth requires lots of common goods, from clean water to public education to a justice system.

None of the threats to the global commons will be solved by building walls.

… those things to be held in common which cannot be divided

There are needs and common goods that cannot be satisfied by the market system.

The goods of the earth are meant for everyone.

We think that diamonds are very important, gold is very important, all these minerals are very important. We call them precious minerals, but they are all forms of the soil. But that part of this mineral that is on top, like it is the skin of the earth, that is the most precious of the commons.

To build a twenty-first-century economy, America must revive a nineteenth-century habit--investing in the common, national economic resources that enable every person and every firm to create wealth and value.