ABSTRACT
This chapter explores examples of governance mechanisms for the collective management of resources as well as tax tools for collective production that can support the success of the social commons property regimes. These legal devices, which set the internal rules of the game and provide external incentives, both counter the potentially destructive dynamics of the commons property and help preserve the non-commodified aspects of its owners’ community. Commons property is a true challenge to the law, especially in a legal context that respects individual mobility, which is key to freedom and autonomy. Fostering predominantly social liberal commons is a complex and ambitious mission. It requires attention to the material incentives necessary to counter the potentially destructive dynamics of the commons. Potential conflicts of interest in the sphere of democratizing management decisions, in turn, are likely to be mediated by setting hierarchical and formal procedures. Democratic self-governance requires supportive procedural norms, both informal and formal.
