Protect & Extend Value Sovereignty

A core priority for any commons is to protect the resources and purposes that define its identity and self-governance. I must develop effective ways to protect and extend its "value sovereignty" -- i.e., the capacity to determine its own future.

A commons must be able to prevent enclosures, for example, so that markets cannot appropriate commons-managed resources or dismantle the community. Thus the ability to beat the bounds is a critical tool for protecting and extending value sovereignty. A free software community must protect the shareability of its code, for example. An indigenous commons must be able to protect its ancient practices and culture. A neighborhood that manages a park or public space must have some measure of authority and enforcement powers.

Because most commons are nested within other systems of power -- especially those of the state and market, and perhaps other commons as well -- understandings must be forged among these different power centers. Hence the need for systems of polycentricity to allow multiple commons to coexist, and constraints on state power in interfering with commons.