Elinor Ostrom’s work was all about commons governance — communities managing shared resources without either falling into chaos (tragedy of the commons) or being micromanaged by some central authority. If we took her principles and grafted them onto a SNEZ (a special non-economic zone), it would look like this:
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Clearly Defined Boundaries – You’d know exactly where the SNEZ starts and ends, so no one sneaks in with a Starbucks pop-up.
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Collective Choice Arrangements – Everyone in the zone has a say in how it works. No secret board of SNEZ overlords in matching Patagonia vests.
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Monitoring – Designated “commons rangers” to make sure rules are followed. They’d carry clipboards, not guns, unless it’s Nerf guns for morale.
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Graduated Sanctions – First violation: you get a warning. Second: permanent exile to the nearest mall food court.
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Conflict-Resolution Mechanisms – Public meetings to resolve disputes without court battles. Ideally with snacks.
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Recognition of Rights to Organize – Outsiders (ahem, governments) aren’t allowed to bulldoze the SNEZ just because they don’t “get it.”
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Nested Enterprises – If the SNEZ is part of a bigger network, it can link up with other zones for shared resources while keeping its autonomy. Think commons Voltron.
Basically, you’d end up with a zone where “value” is measured in shared well-being instead of cash flow — all grounded in actual Nobel Prize-winning theory instead of my “what if we just didn’t” daydream.
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