Interestingly economists were kind to state common ownership is doomed to fail through the tragedy of commons theory published end of the sixties.
Thirty years later Elinor Ostrom showed that commons can indeed work well if you follow a small set of rules. She found century old examples scattered around the world. She was awarded the Nobel price in economics for her findings in 2009 and dissipated the previous fake news.
The picture shows a Suone in Wallis, Switzerland. The constructions bring water to arid regions and are build and maintained by communities. It is example of commons in place for hundred of years and is one of the concrete implementation studied by Elinor. Mountain pastures are also managed as commons in Switzerland. You will find a drawing of Suone on the hundred Swiss Francs note.
