Who owns the earth?

[kpete]

We live on and in the commons, even if we don’t recognize it as such. Every time we take a breath, we’re drawing from the commons. Every time we walk down a road we’re using the commons. Every time we sit in the sunshine or shelter from the rain, listen to birdsong or shut our windows against the stench from a nearby oil refinery, we are engaging with the commons. But we have forgotten the critical role that the commons play in our existence. The commons make life possible. Beyond that, they make private property possible. When the commons become degraded or destroyed, enjoyment and use of private property become untenable. A Montana rancher could own ten thousand acres and still be dependent on the health of the commons. Neither a gated community nor high-rise penthouse apartments can close a human being from the wider world that we all rely on.


much more:
https://aeon.co/essays/is-it-time-to-upend-the-idea-that-land-is-private-property

[DemocratSinceBirth]

1. All of us.

[yellerpup]

2. No one owns the Earth.

But we are all responsible for taking care of it.

[FarCenter]

3. Normally, a commons leads to tragedy

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tragedy_of_the_commons