The Environment a Network Good, Community as Innovation
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COMMENT, Sydney, Australia — Network goods are an economic term. Basically they mean the more people on the network the greater the value of the network.
Myspace is an obvious one. Telephones an older example. The internet a modern-ish example. Airports.
Anything where building more users/locations/access points or effectively nodes, increases the value of the network.
Network goods: the concept that explains the value of your life
The web of interrelationships that is your or my life, is a web of intersecting networks. In our published research to be released soon, we will be discussing this in more detail.
Let’s expand the term ‘network good’. Let’s look at the environment.
The environment is a good all of us enjoy. Clean air. Water. To use another principle it is a ‘commons’ - named after the common farming land of earlier times. Like the Boston Common.
There is a principle that is used to justify private ownership, called the tragedy of the commons. In short, when an asset is owned by all no one is accountable.
Network Goods - pricing pollution
So when they talk about pricing the environment, and discuss it as a good, there are a variety of sound economic and rational reasons for pricing models.
So when they talk about a market for carbon, they are choosing how much to allow, and presumably if you output more, you will pay a greater ‘tax’ (purchase more offsets).
This creates an incentive for profit-maximizing companies to minimize pollution (avoidance of tax).
It gets around the community problem by creating individual incentives. Which is a noble, workable ‘big picture’ idea. This is probably the simplest explanation.
Communities are an innovation
However, there is also a simple answer, or at least additional step.
If we simply created local communities (like we used to have) where everyone contributes to the commons for mutual happiness.
When you know your neighbours well, you don’t dump rubbish in their pool.
Virtual communities are a part of this as well in many cases. Web 2.0 is interactive website communities by and large.
That’s a thought. Small towns have this. I have visited many all over the world. No litter. Nice safe streets. Maybe that’s because of community.
Network goods work well where people share values and have shame.
Take care and hug a community
Christopher
Speaker. Author. Editor-In-Chief. Executive Director of Innovation, 2thinknow.
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…and this is why communities consisting mainly of high-transient occupants (think flats/apartments or, even worse, hotels/motels) have a higher crime rate and a higher cleaning/maintenance cost. There is no emotional involvement; no shared values; no shared communal risks (shame; local governmental property enforcement)/rewards (maintained/increased property values; higher quality of life).