Felix Stadler explains that:

“In this lecture, I try to untangle the differences between resources that managed as “public” and are thus connected to notions of the state and citizens and those that are managed as “free” and are thus based on notions of the commons and community. The differences are subtle, but in their consequences far reaching.”

This lecture takes a bit of time to get going and the sound isn’t stellar, but it is worth hanging on, the insights on the history of the relation between the public and the common are brilliant. This is a great piece on the epistemological history of humankind, and all the institutional and social realities that are linked to it. See for example how he interprets the series , “Yes Prime Minister”.

Watch the video here: