Managing the collaborative commons

"Ostrom, although every bit the economist, was not shy about taking on the role of an anthropologist. She studied commons management schemes from the Swiss Alps to Japanese villages to discover the underlying principles that made them effective governing models. At the very onset of her work, she took care to explain that many of the commons institutions she cataloged had, in her words, "survived droughts, floods, wars, pestilence, and major economical and political changes" over long sweeps of history, making it crystal clear that the commons has proven itself to be a formidable governing institution and worthy of reconsideration in light of the environmental, economic, and social challenges and opportunities facing humanity in an increasingly connected global world."
Jeremy Rifkin, Zero Marginal Cost Society [of 191/192]