Cohousing-L Mailing List: Re: Managing the Commons [was Who pays the maintenance costs of common washers and dryers?

[Brian Bartholomew (bartholomew.brian]

> She derived the rules from studying successful cooperatives. These
> are the factors she found worked.

I haven't read more about her study than the article you listed, but
from that presentation, it sounds like an error.  She observed these
eight factors were true when the commons worked.  She did NOT prove
these eight factors were the *root cause* of the commons working.
Maybe every commons user also owned a horse or car?  By the same error
that could be listed as a ninth factor.

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

*Why* are the eight factors true?  *What makes* the eight factors
become true and stay true for nearly 500 years, then no longer be true in
1990?  Why 1990 and not 1980 or 1970 or 1900?  What changed?

I agree it seems like all eight factors are present in a commons that
works.  But what can I do with that knowledge?  I can diagnose a
commons which won't work.  *But I can't FORM a commons, because I
don't know how to make the factors become true.*

Brian