Respect and Prosperity

Abstract

Freely interpreted, the principles of Elinor Ostrom offer us a test with which to evaluate whether a particular organization of a society brings together the conditions necessary to make it considerate to its members, to citizens from other countries and to its environment. The problem is how a particular society can develop an organization that is adequate to reach these objectives. The main motivation of this paper is to give an answer to this question. To do so, the conditions that induce behaviour that is predictable and progressively more coherent with what each individual desires from the others are identified. A convergence between the treatment that one receives and the treatment one would desire implies a growing mutual respect, that is, a growing concern in everybody about the consequences of what each person does on others. Respect will, in turn, induce a favourable context both for acquiring skills and for having the chance to deploy them. All of this will be positive for each individual, for society as a whole and for future societies