Nancy Folbre, an economist at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, argued, “We must take responsibility for governing the commons—not just the quaint oldfashioned village green, but things that cannot easily be privatized—[such as] clean air.” Do you agree that clean air is like a common pasture in England in the Middle Ages? Briefly explain.

Source: Nancy Folbre, “Taking Responsibility for the Commons,”

New York Times, February 26, 2009.