--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Think of a public library, worth more for…" description: "\"Think of a public library, worth more for those who cannot afford numerous books. Think of a public waterway or fishing ground. All types of commons ha..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8cf/guy-standing-4017_books_think-of-a-public-library-worth-more-for_1609883.jpg" --- # Think of a public library, worth more for those who cannot… ![“Think of a public library, worth more for those who cannot afford numerous books. Think of a public waterway or fishing ground. All types of commons have imputed monetary value that together comprise a source of social income. As such, the commons reduces economic inequality and insecurity in…” quote by Guy Standing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8cf/guy-standing-4017_books_think-of-a-public-library-worth-more-for_1609883.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8cf/guy-standing-4017_books_think-of-a-public-library-worth-more-for_1609883.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8cf/guy-standing-4017_books_think-of-a-public-library-worth-more-for_1609883.jpg) > “Think of a public library, worth more for those who cannot afford numerous books. Think of a public waterway or fishing ground. All types of commons have imputed monetary value that together comprise a source of social income. As such, the commons reduces economic inequality and insecurity in society.” [Guy Standing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/guy-standing/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Common resources provide shared value, reducing inequality and fostering social security. **In simple terms:** Commons lower inequality. Key Takeaway Support shared resources. Themes equality common goods social security Mood analytical hopeful Type sociopolitical educational When to use this quote - urban planning - library funding - water management - community gardens Key Concepts collective ownership public commons Questions to Reflect On - How can we protect commons from overuse? - What policies sustain shared resources? A Different Perspective Managing commons can be complex; free-riding may occur. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Commons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/commons/) [Commons Imputed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/commons-imputed-6137996/) [Commons Reduces](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/commons-reduces-6137994/) [Economic inequality](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/economic-inequality/) [Income Commons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/income-commons-6137993/) [Insecurity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/insecurity/) [Library](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/library/) [Public library](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/public-library/) [Society](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/society/) [Together](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/together/) [Types Commons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/types-commons-6137995/) [Value](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/value/) ## Related quotes > [A rich and diverse commons lowers the cost of living for those who use it. And throughout history, it has been those on low…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/guy-standing/a-rich-and-diverse-commons-lowers-the-cost-of-living-for-those-who/) [Guy Standing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/guy-standing/) > [What distinguishes a commons is that it is not private property, does not have a price, and is oriented towards 'use value' rather than…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/guy-standing/what-distinguishes-a-commons-is-that-it-is-not-private-property-does/) [Guy Standing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/guy-standing/) > [It takes a lot to silence the House of Commons.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lindsay-hoyle/it-takes-a-lot-to-silence-the-house-of-commons/) [Lindsay Hoyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lindsay-hoyle/) > [As a young man, Dickens worked as a reporter in the House of Commons and hated it. He felt that all politicians spoke with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/claire-tomalin/as-a-young-man-dickens-worked-as-a-reporter-in-the-house-of-commons/) [Claire Tomalin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/claire-tomalin/) > [“Google and Apple offer the image of a pseudo-commons to Internet users. That image recalls Nick Dyer-Whiteford's claim that, in light of the structural…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sumanth-gopinath/google-and-apple-offer-the-image-of-a-pseudo-commons-to-internet/) [Sumanth Gopinath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sumanth-gopinath/) > [“The claimed legitimizing devices of political consent or personal labour served only to obscure the unjustifiable seizure of land from the common by the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-vallentyne/the-claimed-legitimizing-devices-of-political-consent-or-personal/) [Peter Vallentyne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-vallentyne/) > [“To say it's the poor quality of the paint under socialism is correct, but it is not enough. To say it's soft-coal exploitation and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/slavenka-drakuli/to-say-it-s-the-poor-quality-of-the-paint-under-socialism-is-correct/) [Slavenka Drakulić](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/slavenka-drakuli/) > [I studied politics and economics at Bristol, and people always assumed that I'd go into politics or a non-government organisation when I left. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-elliot/i-studied-politics-and-economics-at-bristol-and-people-always-assumed/) [Ben Elliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-elliot/) > [“Libraries represent the sole contemporary American institution with the potential for making available a wide-ranging, genuinely diverse spectrum of opinions, cultural expressions, and ideas…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sanford-berman/libraries-represent-the-sole-contemporary-american-institution-with/) [Sanford Berman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sanford-berman/) > [The honest truth is that if this government were to propose the massacre of the first-born, it would still have no difficulty in getting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diane-abbott/the-honest-truth-is-that-if-this-government-were-to-propose-the/) [Diane Abbott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diane-abbott/) > [Kris Commons and Scott Brown are key players for Celtic.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-de-boer/kris-commons-and-scott-brown-are-key-players-for-celtic/) [Frank de Boer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-de-boer/) > [Climate change is a global commons problem.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ottmar-edenhofer/climate-change-is-a-global-commons-problem/) [Ottmar Edenhofer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ottmar-edenhofer/) > [We have reached a new milestone as a human family. With seven billion of us now inhabiting our planet, it is time to ask…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ban-ki-moon/we-have-reached-a-new-milestone-as-a-human-family-with-seven-billion/) [Ban Ki-moon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ban-ki-moon/) > [The rise of capitalist practice and morality brought with it a radical revision of how the commons are treated, and also of how they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/the-rise-of-capitalist-practice-and-morality-brought-with-it-a/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [“Dedicated to all who are building the information commons.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-von-hippel/dedicated-to-all-who-are-building-the-information-commons/) [Eric von Hippel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-von-hippel/) ## More by Guy Standing > [“The ethical and philosophical justifications for basic income – social justice, freedom and economic security – have been well established. They are embedded in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/guy-standing/the-ethical-and-philosophical-justifications-for-basic-income-social/) [Guy Standing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/guy-standing/) > [What we can say with confidence is that the technological revolution is worsening inequality, due mostly to mechanisms that limit free markets. It is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/guy-standing/what-we-can-say-with-confidence-is-that-the-technological-revolution/) [Guy Standing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/guy-standing/) > [“While there are reasons to be sceptical about the predicted technological dystopia that has prompted many high-tech plutocrats to come out in support of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/guy-standing/while-there-are-reasons-to-be-sceptical-about-the-predicted/) [Guy Standing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/guy-standing/) > [“Selective paternalism, for those on low incomes or for other groups needing state assistance, is perhaps even worse than general paternalism, since the minority…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/guy-standing/selective-paternalism-for-those-on-low-incomes-or-for-other-groups/) [Guy Standing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/guy-standing/) > [A democratically governed national fracking fund should be set up, perhaps similar to what Norway and Alaska have. Areas of drilling should be rented…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/guy-standing/a-democratically-governed-national-fracking-fund-should-be-set-up/) [Guy Standing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/guy-standing/) > [Many low-income people in the U.S.A. charged with a crime opt to plead guilty to a lesser offence because they cannot afford to go…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/guy-standing/many-low-income-people-in-the-u-s-a-charged-with-a-crime-opt-to-plead/) [Guy Standing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/guy-standing/) > [People in the precariat rely very heavily on money wages.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/guy-standing/people-in-the-precariat-rely-very-heavily-on-money-wages/) [Guy Standing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/guy-standing/) > [“Ironically, opponents of basic income on the grounds that it would lead to a dismantling of the welfare state tend to support some variant…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/guy-standing/ironically-opponents-of-basic-income-on-the-grounds-that-it-would/) [Guy Standing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/guy-standing/) > [Globalisation began what should be called the Great Convergence, creating a globalising labour market in which wages in emerging market economies slowly converge with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/guy-standing/globalisation-began-what-should-be-called-the-great-convergence/) [Guy Standing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/guy-standing/) > [“Although reducing poverty, economic insecurity, malnutrition and ill-health should be the primary driving forces, an additional factor is the stress being placed on societies…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/guy-standing/although-reducing-poverty-economic-insecurity-malnutrition-and-ill/) [Guy Standing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/guy-standing/) > [“The first basic income pilot in a developing country was implemented in the small Namibian village of Otjivero-Omitara in 2008–9, covering about 1,000 people.40…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/guy-standing/the-first-basic-income-pilot-in-a-developing-country-was-implemented/) [Guy Standing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/guy-standing/) > [“Leaving aside instrumental reasons for supporting a basic income, the thrill lies in the potential to advance full freedom and social justice, and the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/guy-standing/leaving-aside-instrumental-reasons-for-supporting-a-basic-income-the/) [Guy Standing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/guy-standing/) > [“Reformers must be able to pre-empt the expected jibes over lack of ‘reciprocity’, affordability, inducement to laziness, ‘something for nothing’ and cash for the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/guy-standing/reformers-must-be-able-to-pre-empt-the-expected-jibes-over-lack-of/) [Guy Standing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/guy-standing/) > [“The importance of ethical governance, exemplified by the Norwegian Pension Fund, is highlighted by a deplorable UK government proposal in 2016 to set up…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/guy-standing/the-importance-of-ethical-governance-exemplified-by-the-norwegian/) [Guy Standing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/guy-standing/) > [If the scale of gas is anything like the claims made by its advocates, it has major implications for the economy and British society.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/guy-standing/if-the-scale-of-gas-is-anything-like-the-claims-made-by-its-advocates/) [Guy Standing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/guy-standing/) [Explore all 117 Guy Standing quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/guy-standing/) ## More Books quotes > [I think a new world will arise out of the religious mists when we approach our Bible with the idea that it is not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aiden-wilson-tozer/i-think-a-new-world-will-arise-out-of-the-religious-mists-when-we/) [Aiden Wilson Tozer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aiden-wilson-tozer/) > [If I had a dollar for every time I couldn’t sleep, I could buy a billion locks and finally read a book in peace.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aesop-rock/if-i-had-a-dollar-for-every-time-i-couldn-t-sleep-i-could-buy-a/) [Aesop Rock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aesop-rock/) > [If what I write is literature, I guess you'd better emphasize the 'litter.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lydia-lunch/if-what-i-write-is-literature-i-guess-you-d-better-emphasize-the/) [Lydia Lunch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lydia-lunch/) > [My sentences got sharper and my stories more efficient, and I gradually learned to imagine the reader more clearly and to empathize with that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-thompson-walker/my-sentences-got-sharper-and-my-stories-more-efficient-and-i/) [Karen Thompson Walker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-thompson-walker/) > [Young men, especially in America, write to me and ask me to recommend “a course of reading.” Distrust a course of reading! People who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-lang/young-men-especially-in-america-write-to-me-and-ask-me-to-recommend-a/) [Andrew Lang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-lang/) > [“Within the pages of books, I've journeyed to Mandalay, the Milky Way and Santa Fe, without once having to leave my armchair.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-ansbro/within-the-pages-of-books-i-ve-journeyed-to-mandalay-the-milky-way/) [Kevin Ansbro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-ansbro/) > [The Rosary is the book of the blind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fulton-j-sheen/the-rosary-is-the-book-of-the-blind/) [Fulton J. Sheen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fulton-j-sheen/) > [“Tacitus did not write a most dangerous book. His readers made it so.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-k-krebs/tacitus-did-not-write-a-most-dangerous-book-his-readers-made-it-so/) [Christopher K. Krebs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-k-krebs/) > [“Take some books and read; that’s an immense help; and books are always good company if you have the right sort.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louisa-may-alcott/take-some-books-and-read-that-s-an-immense-help-and-books-are-always/) [Louisa May Alcott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louisa-may-alcott/) > [Reader, if you are gifted with nerves like mine, aspire to any character but that of a wit.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-lamb/reader-if-you-are-gifted-with-nerves-like-mine-aspire-to-any/) [Charles Lamb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-lamb/) > [I have many who keep me going, I am very fortunate in this sense. There is nothing like a child who knows more about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/floyd-cooper/i-have-many-who-keep-me-going-i-am-very-fortunate-in-this-sense-there/) [Floyd Cooper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/floyd-cooper/) > [I think books in which people are really happy and things are going well are probably the most challenging novels there are to write,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-quindlen/i-think-books-in-which-people-are-really-happy-and-things-are-going/) [Anna Quindlen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-quindlen/) > [It's like the query letter problem that I just mentioned, magnified a hundredfold. You might be good at telling a story, but that doesn't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-rothfuss/it-s-like-the-query-letter-problem-that-i-just-mentioned-magnified-a/) [Patrick Rothfuss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-rothfuss/) > [“Be careful about reading health books. Some fine day you'll die of a misprint.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/markus-herz/be-careful-about-reading-health-books-some-fine-day-you-ll-die-of-a/) [Markus Herz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/markus-herz/) > [But editors are still the world's readers. And thus the eyes of the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/betsy-lerner/but-editors-are-still-the-world-s-readers-and-thus-the-eyes-of-the/) [Betsy Lerner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/betsy-lerner/) [Browse all 59,485 Books quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Think of a public library, worth more for those who cannot afford numerous books. Think of a public waterway or fishing ground. All types of commons have imputed monetary value that together comprise a source of social income. 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