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[wierd]

No. That is you moving the goal post. I said without direct consequences holding it in check, the tragedy of the commons cannot be avoided.

This is true of private as well as public attempts at amelioration. Stop moving the post.

[smjjames]

No. That is you moving the goal post. I said without direct consequences holding it in check, the tragedy of the commons cannot be avoided.

Like my electrical grid example earlier? Sure, there are people who will hack a bypass into the grid, but they generally aren't numerous enough (in the US at least) to cause problems and the consequence of paying for the bills keeps any one person or entity from monopolizing the resource.

edit: Well, unless you're the one providing the resource....

[wierd]

Electrical grids tend to be privately owned, but operate thanks to a right of way license, giving them access to lands they would not otherwise be able to use.

Similar to internet cable, and telephone.  Also railway, but the railways actually obtained legal ownership of their properties in exchange for laying the tracks. (Which is its own barrel of joy, see also, the excesses of the Pinkertons.)

[ChairmanPoo]

Human behavior is economic behavior. The particulars may vary but competition for limited resources remains a constant. Need as well as greed has followed us to the stars and the rewards of wealth still await those wise enough to recognize this deep thrumming of our common pulse.

[wierd]

Thank you Mr Morgan, for your stunning insights.  Now, can you enlighten us on how you intend to become immortal?

[ChairmanPoo]

By not dying, duh.

[wierd]

So disappointed!

[Max™]

Why let others dictate the bounds of your hypothetical so much that it comes with artificial scarcity and object-possession-status-scores built in?

Yes, if you started today you'll get lots of people who think the goal is to have the most stuff, and indeed to get so much stuff you could never even access it in any realistic fashion.

This is not some sort of biological imperative, we are assholes because we are taught assholish things. I make things because I enjoy the act, I enjoy the result, and while I prefer gifting things to others who enjoy them, I am comfortable with selling things to make it easier to do my own thing. Money is a lubricant, an annoying one, and I never hated my situation more than I did when I briefly experimented with trying to accumulate it.

Now I have new freedoms, new skills, I have things which are uniquely and undeniably my own to use and possess, but also to appreciate for the time and effort I used to turn wood and metal into beautiful new things to help make other beautiful things with. They are rare, indeed they are currently unique, but they are supposed to be first steps in a chain of forms and refinements, I would argue they are less valuable currently than they would be if anybody who wanted one of my things was able to have that thing.

Communism was never supposed to be a goal or competitor against capitalism, it was supposed to be a chrysalis which enabled something new to exist and replace it.

[Starver]

There are many potential points of failure, at least as regards the cows.

Reelya has neatly summed up the "Owns cow" angle, but if we throw in things like "Milking/butchering the cow", and then "Distribution of meat/milk", we get more opportunities to extract personal gaun from the communal resource.

(...)

I'm minded of the communistic (and still alive) Reg Shoe trying to explain "property of the people" to the tradesman, behind (or outside!) the barricades, in Nightwatch.

But it's a loose association, not addressing your post directly, so I'll just put it here for people who know what-on-Disc I'm talking abut to click witb, only.

[PTTG??]

You have a cow. The cow is enormous enough that it can feed, clothe, and warm the entire population of the planet all at once. Because this power is a threat to the stock market, you ignore the cow.

[Trekkin]

You have a cow. The cow is enormous enough that it can feed, clothe, and warm the entire population of the planet all at once. Because this power is a threat to the stock market, you ignore the cow.

You have a cow. It is a yuge cow. The best cow in history. The cow is getting more attention than you. It is a sad cow. A terrible cow. The cow is fake news.

[MrRoboto75]

You have a cow. The cow is enormous enough that it can feed, clothe, and warm the entire population of the planet all at once. Because this power is a threat to the stock market, you ignore the cow.

You have a cow. It is a yuge cow. The best cow in history. The cow is getting more attention than you. It is a sad cow. A terrible cow. The cow is fake news.

Bart Simpson Economics: Don't have a cow, man.

[smjjames]

Anybody remember those 'butterfly ballots' and the ballot desigh problems in Florida in 2000? Some screwup with ballot design is causing issues in the same county (or counties) that had problems back in 2000....

[Bumber]

You have a cow. The cow is enormous enough that it can feed, clothe, and warm the entire population of the planet all at once. Because this power is a threat to the stock market, you ignore the cow.

Might've also had something to do with the way it was warming the planet.

[Greiger]

Anybody remember those 'butterfly ballots' and the ballot desigh problems in Florida in 2000? Some screwup with ballot design is causing issues in the same county (or counties) that had problems back in 2000....

As much as I would love the current result to be overturned I don't think it will happen.  The numbers just barely meet the threshold for what would be needed for a democratic win, even if people just assumed the percentages stayed the same.  And remember that the republican running for senate who is currently winning this race is also the current the Governor of the state.  I'm sure there is a dozen ways he could stop questionable votes being counted and be completely in the clear.  It's not like he's getting re-elected for governor anyway.