The Commons, Trust and Community Governance

The recent economic crisis has given evidence of the risks connected with unregulated markets (Acemoglu 2009; Schneider e Kirchgassner 2009; Spaventa 2009), economic interdependence (Acemoglu 2009; Leijonhufvud 2008) and deficit of State power – often bounded by supranational institutions and markets expectations (Zolo 2004: 69). At the same time, the awareness of social and environmental risks/externalities connected with the present models of production and consumption (Schumacher 1973; Geourgescu-Roegen 1998; Schor 2010; Shiva 2005) is calling for new “forms of integration” (Polanyi 1977; Armitage, 2008). In this context, the literature about the commons (Olson 1965; Hardin 1968; Ostrom 1990) gained momentum, opening new perspectives on economic governance between and beyond markets and states. A typical feature of this literature is to underline the capacities of the communities to share risks and avoid uncertainties through the management of commons and common pool resources (Ostrom 1999, De Moor 2012: 269, 280). As in the concept of forms of integration by Karl Polanyi, commons and community are strictly linked thanks to trust and reciprocity. Trust is a key element of the analysis of Bowles and Gintis (2002; 2005) and, in a neoclassical perspective, it constitutes a crucial factor for endogenous growth. If, according to Ostrom (1990: 39) “organizing is a process” and “the organization is the result of that process”, social capital and community management of commons through local institutions should be seen as factors of potential progress (in qualitative terms) and welfare. Nevertheless, the study of Bowles and Gintis (2005) on community governance also highlights important features negatively affecting the potential positive results of this kind of governance (i.e. parochialism). The aim of this paper is to enquire into the literature on the governance of commons, in order to underline the critical elements of local collective action, underline the power of knowledge sharing and trust building, and reflect on new possible directions that this field of research might take.