4.1.2 Commons' relationships with other provisioning institutions

Helpful prior knowledge and learning objectives

Helpful prior learning:


Learning objectives:

A commons isn’t just a shared resource and a set of rules—it’s a living system that evolves with its environment and the people who participate in it. A forest commons in Nepal will look different from one in Austria because each is shaped by its unique ecosystem, culture, and economy. Yet all commons share a core purpose: to manage resources in ways that are fair and sustainable for the immediate community.

Commons are semi-independent social systems, but they are also interconnected with other provisioning institutions: households, markets, and the state (Figure 1). The overlapping interests between commons and other institutions can cause tension and concern (Subtopic 4.3), but they can also bring support, energy, and creativity if people can agree on how to work together.

The embedded economy model with the commons provisioning system pointed to with a red arrow

Figure 1. The commons in the embedded economy

(Credit: Kate Raworth and Marcia Mihotich CC-BY-SA 4.0)

What are the relationships between commons and households?

The household is a group of people who live together in a shared space, or dwelling, and who have a strong personal responsibility to work together to meet each others’ needs. 

Households and commons are both systems of people with particular relationships, and a similar function: to self-organise to meet their members’ needs fairly and inclusively. Households are often the starting point for commons. For example, a neighbourhood garden might emerge from a group of families coming together to grow food in a shared space. The health of the resources in the commons depends on the care provided by people in households. Together, households manage and regenerate forests, farmland, bodies of water, and other shared forms of wealth. They participate in community decisions, maintaining and protecting the commons.

An illustration showing hands representing sharing resources, hands with people in them for providing essential human needs, networked heads in circles to represent networks and gender symbols balanced on a triangle.

Figure 2. Commoning supports households in a number of key ways

Commons, in turn,  support households, making them more resilient by (Figure 2):

Section 2.2.2 discusses the relationships between households and commons in more detail.

Figure 3. Olla Común in Peru provide food for those in need, providing an alternative for households during shocks

(Credit: Banco Mundial América Latina y el Caribe, CC BY-NC-ND 2.0)

What are the relationships between commons and markets?

Commons and markets have a complex relationship. While markets are based on private ownership and sell goods and services for a price, commons prioritise cooperation, shared use and stewardship of resources. These differences mean that commons can interact with markets in ways that create both tensions and mutual benefit.

On the one hand, commons are often at risk from market-based activities. Businesses and individuals view the shared resources used by commoners as capital assets, things that could be used to generate market income. They may use financial and/or state power to buy or take those shared resources and change them into legal private property. This process is sometimes known as coding capital (Section 3.2.3) and enclosure (Section 3.2.1). 


When enclosure happens, commoners not only lose access to the resource and their ability to meet their needs; they lose their shared wealth and cultural identities. European colonisation around the world inflicted these experiences on countless indigenous communities (Section 3.2.1). Historically, commoning by traditional and indigenous communities has therefore functioned as a form of resistance to the increasing marketisation of resources.

Photograph of water protests in Bolivia

Figure 4. A march to celebrate the 10th anniversary of water protests in Bolivia that brought about more water commoning, as in Maria Auxiliadora

(Credit: Peg Hunter, CC BY-NC 2.0)

On the other hand, commons and markets can coexist, each addressing different needs. For example, local seed banks managed in the commons maintain biodiversity that seed markets may ignore, serving needs that markets neglect and focusing on long-term sustainability instead of short-term profit. Commoning can also ensure that everyone in a community has access to basic needs, something that markets may not do because markets serve only those who are able to pay the price for a product.

The role of commons and markets in meeting needs also depends on the type of resource involved. It is easier for commons to share knowledge and creativity – through creative commons licences, for example – because knowledge and creative works aren’t depleted when shared. Economists call these types of shareable wealth nonrivalrous resources. In contrast, rivalrous resources, like forests or fisheries, are depleted with use. They need strict commons management to avoid the overuse that is often driven by market forces.

What are the relationships between commons and the state?

States can support or disrupt commons in a number of ways. For example, some state laws and policies protect commoning by legally recognising fishing or forest management rights for indigenous communities. In Mexico, legally recognized ejidos (community landholdings) allow local communities to manage forests and farms, demonstrating that states can play a positive role when they respect community governance and local knowledge. More state strategies to support commoning are discussed in Section 4.4.3.

But other state policies can undermine commoning by legally privatising shared resources through enclosure (Figure 5), or enforcing regulations that clash with local traditions. States may do this under pressure from investors or businesses that want to own and sell commons resources. This pressure is called political capture. Political capture of state lawmakers and regulators are more of a threat to commoning as wealth and income inequality increases, since economically powerful people and businesses can influence state laws and regulations to their own financial benefit (Section 3.2.2).

An illustration of the process of enclosure of water resources

Figure 5. The process of enclosure, privatisation of shared resources, enabled by the state

(Credit: Heinrich Böll Foundation, CC BY-SA 4.0)

How are commons embedded in social and ecological systems?

Commons are deeply rooted in social relationships, trust, collaboration and cultural practices. For example, seed-sharing networks among indigenous farmers are more than just systems for exchanging crops. They preserve traditional knowledge, strengthen community ties, and help local food systems adapt to changing climates. Urban commons like tool libraries or community centres also serve as shared spaces for learning and civic engagement, fostering a sense of community and collective action. The circumstances and culture where the commoning occurs will shape how cooperative relationships develop between people, making each commons unique.

Commoning that involves natural resources are deeply connected to ecosystems. Protecting a river as a commons, for example, means understanding its role in the local environment—how it supports wildlife, nourishes the soil, and its role in the water cycle. People in a commons don’t just manage a resource—they interact with it, care for it, and create rules and practices based on the context. By doing so, they increase the resilience of both the resource and the community.

Photograph of a terraced subak in Bali

Figure 6. The subak system in Bali is an example of water commoning for crop irrigation that requires commoners to have a deep knowledge of their local ecosystems

(Credit: Georgi Kovachev, CC BY-SA 4.0)

While every commons is unique, they all share core values: cooperation, fairness, and collective stewardship. This adaptability is why commons have persisted for centuries and why they’re more than just an alternative to markets or the state—they’re a vital way of living that connects people with each other and the resources they depend on. 

Activity 4.1.2

Concept: Systems

Skills: Reflection

Time: ca. 25+ minutes (depends on how much discussion ensues)

Type: Individual, pairs, or small group


Option 1: Commons in your life

You might not know it, but you may already be involved in commoning in your own life. Think about what you read towards the start of the section on “What are the commons?”

Click the arrow below if you need some ideas about where you might encounter commoning:

youth sports leagues, community maintained hiking trails, repair cafes, upcycling projects, community-run festivals, mutual aid projects for the elderly and disabled, women's shelters, food banks, community-supported agriculture (CSAs), alternative currencies and neighbourhood mutual credit systems, timebanking service-exchange systems, streetside "little libraries", online community news & information platforms

Option 2: Kenyan farmers’ fight for seed sovereignty

Ideas for longer activities and projects are listed in Subtopic 4.5 Taking action

Checking for understanding

Further exploration

Sources

Bollier. D. (2021). The Commoners Catalog For Changemaking: Tools for the Transitions Ahead.  https://commonerscatalog.org/

Bollier, D. and Helfrich, S. (2019). “1. Commons and Commoning,” in Free, Fair and Alive: The Insurgent Power of the Commons. Gabriola Island: New Society Publishers. 

Bollier, D.  (2025). Think Like a Commoner, 2nd edition. Gabriola Island: New Society Publishers. https://www.thinklikeacommoner.com/

 — “The Seeding Sharing Solution,” Bollier.org [David Bollier’s blog], January 19, 2011. https://www.bollier.org/seed-sharing-solution

Terminology (in order of appearance)

Link to Quizlet interactive flashcards and terminology games for Section 4.1.2 Commons' relationships with other provisioning institutions


commons: a system where people self-organise to co-produce and manage shared resources.

system: a set of interdependent parts that organise to create a functional whole

ecosystem: the interaction of groups of organisms with each other and their physical environment

culture: the beliefs, values, attitudes, behaviours and traditions shared by a group of people and transmitted from one generation to the next

economy: all the human-made systems that transfer and transform energy and matter to meet human needs and wants

sustainability: meeting people’s needs within the means of the planet

provisioning institution: a group of people and their relationships as they try to meet human needs and wants

household: a system where people living together care for each other and do domestic work, often termed the 'core economy'

market: a system where people buy and sell goods and services for a price.

state: a system that provides essential public services, and also governs and regulates other economic institutions

dwelling: a physical space where people live

care: the act of providing what is necessary for the health, welfare, upkeep, and protection of someone or something

regenerate: the process of restoring and revitalising something

wealth: the total value (stock) of someone’s assets such as money, house, or investments

gender equality: when people of different genders are treated equally

empowerment: the process of becoming stronger and more confident, especially in controlling one's life and claiming one's rights

intrahousehold bargaining: the negotiation among household members around resources, responsibilities, and decisions

norm: a social rule for accepted and expected behaviour, can be stated or unstated

stewardship: the job of supervising or taking care of something, such as an organisation or ecosystem

capital asset: assets or valuable resources used to generate income

income: money received from work or investments

power: the ability to influence events or the behaviour of other people

private property: the ownership of property by private individuals and groups

coding capital: the process where the state declares something as private property through law

enclosure: the process that ended traditional rights on common land formerly held in the open field system and restricted the use of land to the owner

culture: the beliefs, values, attitudes, behaviours and traditions shared by a group of people and transmitted from one generation to the next

colonisation: a process of establishing foreign control over a land area and/or peoples for the purpose of resource use and extraction

indigenous community: the original settlers of an area (pre-invasion/colonialism) who have retained their culture apart from colonisers

marketisation: the introduction of market principles and mechanisms into traditionally non-market-based sectors

biodiversity: the variety of living organisms on Earth

sustainability: meeting people’s needs within the means of the planet

profit: total revenue minus total cost

creative commons licence: one of several public copyright licences that enable the free distribution of an otherwise copyrighted work

nonrivalrous resources: a resource where the consumption of the good by one person does not reduce the amount available for others

rivalrous resources: a resource where the consumption of the good by one person reduces the amount available for others

policy: a course or principle of action adopted or proposed by an organization or individual

privatise: to transfer (a business, property or service) from public to private ownership and control

regulation: a rule that guides individual or group behaviour and enforced by an authority

investor: an individual that puts money into an entity such as a business for a financial return

political capture: when the government prioritises the interests of economically powerful groups over the general interests of the public

wealth: the total value (stock) of someone’s assets such as money, house, or investments

income inequality: when there are differences in income levels between people

climate: the weather conditions that are normal for an area over a long period

civic engagement: all the ways that people take action together to address issues of public concern

ecosystem: the interaction of groups of organisms with each other and their physical environment

resilient: able to recover after a disturbance

stewardship: the job of supervising or taking care of something, such as an organisation or ecosystem