Land Matters

Fantastic news this evening as it is announced that Professor Elinor Ostrom is the joint winner of the Nobel Prize for economics. As a champion of the commons, she has contributed hugely to the idea that commons work when properly regulated. The idea of the commons as opposed to the private realm is of fundamental importance in the debate about how we manage natural resources and organise economic activity. News report from the FT here together with video interview with Martin Wolf, the FT’s Chief Economics commentator trying to make sense of what most mainstream economists have ignored for far too long. A useful background briefing from the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences here.

Celebrations yesterday for Senscot’s 10th anniversary at the Scottish Storytelling Centre and an inspiring speech by Professor Edgar Cahn, founder of Time Banks. he used the analogy of computer operating systems to describe how we need to rebuild our society’s operating system by rediscovering community, valuing what everyone has to give and instilling a sense of reciprocity for how we deal with each other. Interview with Jon Snow gives a flavour and Guardian profile in 2007.