LCPT Sociotechnical Systems Module - Dec 2023 Event
This event is part of the Sociotechnical Systems Module of the course in Political Technology at Newspeak House, open to fellowship candidates and faculty only.
Elinor Ostrom (1933–2012) was an American political scientist and political economist who studied the governance of common pool resources, or ‘the commons.’ She received the Nobel Prize in Economics in 2009. In this session we will discuss her ‘eight principles for governance of common-pool resources.’
Reading:
Elinor Ostrom’s eight principles for governance of common-pool resources: short explainer in On the Commons Magazine (414 words)
Optional original sources:
p. 259, Understanding Institutional Diversity (2005)
p. 90, Governing the Commons: The Evolution of Institutions for Collective Action (1990)
Optional extra readings:
Vincent Bevins, ‘The mass protest decade: why did the street movements of the 2010s fail?’, The Guardian, 10 Oct 2023 [audio; text]
Jo Freeman, ‘The tyranny of structurelessness’, 1970
Reminders:
Agenda:
5:30–6:00pm: Discussion of the eight principles
6:00pm–6:25pm: ‘Application discussion’: What have you been working on at Newspeak House? What do you feel you have learned and made progress on? What do you feel you are struggling with? What open questions do you have? Do you think the eight principles (or other ‘sociotechnical systems thinking’) might be relevant or useful to you?
6:25–6:30pm: Discuss next steps for this module