I agree to some extent, that a large percentage of certain types of resources should be publicly held, but “Commons” is a very broad category. Ownership of the entire commons should probably never be over-concentrated in the state, for the following reasons:

“In my opinion it is not in the public interest for the majority of land or durable property in a state to be held in direct public ownership. I agree with Aristotle that individual custody and stewardship of property promotes moral virtues. It is also consistent with the principle of subsidiarity. The Oxford English Dictionary defines subsidiarity as the idea that a central authority should have a subsidiary function, performing only those tasks which cannot be performed effectively at a more immediate or local level. This especially applies to the custody and management of property, where absentee ownership is one of the most common sources of problems. Private ownership is still always subject to conditions (via common, statutory and administrative law) to protect public interests such as public safety, conservation, and sustainability.” http://almanac2010.wordpress.com/2011/04/22/all-ownership-is-conditional/

Poor Richard