Our Common Wealth

April 1, 2013

When Rowe (former editor, Washington Monthly) died suddenly in March 2011, his work on the economic concept of "the commons" was left unfinished. Rowe's writings, composed over an 18-year period, were gathered by his associates and are presented in this slim volume edited by entrepreneur and journalist Barnes (Capitalism 3.0), with a foreword by Bill McKibben (The Global Warming Reader) and an afterword by David Bollier (cofounder, Commons Strategy Group). Rowe saw the commons as a collection of shared natural and social assets, including air, water, land, the Internet, parks, and other locations where people socially interact. The first challenge, he noted, is to acknowledge that the commons exist, given that their components are mostly invisible. Rowe discusses how a park is valued for the land it occupies, and how developing the land for the purpose of making money destroys the park and all its social and natural elements. He also explains how history has proven that communities can share common resources without destroying them. Here the case for common wealth is set forth, putting the onus on the reader. VERDICT Recommended for every tree hugger and park sitter and those who hope to gain more awareness of the world around them.--Bonnie Tollefson, Cleveland Bradley Cty. P.L., TN

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