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Every so often an idea comes along that transforms our understanding of how the world works. Michael Heller has discovered a market dynamic that no one knew existed. Usually, private ownership creates wealth, but too much ownership has the opposite effect-it creates gridlock. When too many people own piece of one thing, cooperation breaks down, wealth disappears, and everyone loses. Today, gridlock is a trillion-dollar roadblock to innovation in high tech, biomedicine, finance, music and film. The Gridlock Economy is a startling, accessible biography of an idea. We can unlock the grid-this book shows us where to start.
List of Figures ix
Preface xiii
1 The Tragedy of the Anticommons 1
2 Welcome to the Lexicon 23
3 Where Are the Cures? 49
4 You Can't Hear Me Now 79
5 Block Parties, Share Choppers, and BANANA Republics 107
6 Empty Moscow Storefronts 143
7 The World Is Mine Oyster 165
8 A Solutions Tool Kit 187
Acknowledgments 199
Notes 203
Index 247
Go get The Gridlock Economy by Michael Heller and read it. It's not about love or Christian discipleship, but it is about public policy and justice. This should be required reading - for all of us. Before he was named professor of real estate law at Columbia Law School, Michel Heller developed, with (name) the 'Law of the Anticommons.' His insightful book gives multiple examples of how the underuse of critical information and resources blocks advances that would benefit all of us.
Pharmaceuticals have cures that aren't coming to market. Why?
We underutilize the available bandwidth so that your calls get dropped. Why?
It took five years to get a vitamin A- rich grain of rice to market that would have prevented the deaths of between 6.2 and 1.2 million children in 3rd world countries. Why?
The Gridlock Economy should be widely read, recommended to your congressional representatives, and become the focus of the internet's power to bring to ignite passion for change to break the gridlock.
It's well-written. It's important. Read it.
The only reason for the 4 star rating instead of five is the technical nature of the book. Parts of it are fairly technical.
Michael Heller has provided an informative, thought-provoking contribution to the discussion of property rights. Using real-life examples, he demonstrates the disaster that happens when too many people own small portions of a resource. Like squabbling siblings who inherit the family home, one holdout can prevent anyone from using or selling it. No one benefits. That¿s gridlock. Similarly, overuse or neglect often spoil unregulated, unprotected public resources: Licensing requirements prevent companies from developing new drugs because all the potential components are separately patented. Overzealous trademarking and copyrighting undermine the traditions of fair use, blocking artists¿ creativity. Heller¿s book is surprisingly entertaining for a work on intellectual property, real-estate law and economics. After you read it, you will never think about resources and ownership in quite the same way again. getAbstract recommends it to lawyers, artists, economists, research and development professionals, and anyone who¿s been wondering why you rarely see the characters in a screen play singing the happy-birthday song when they blow out the candles. (Answer: It¿s under copyright until 2030.)
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Posted February 16, 2010
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Overview
Every so often an idea comes along that transforms our understanding of how the world works. Michael Heller has discovered a market dynamic that no one knew existed. Usually, private ownership creates wealth, but too much ownership has the opposite effect-it creates gridlock. When too many people own piece of one thing, cooperation breaks down, wealth disappears, and everyone loses. Today, gridlock is a trillion-dollar roadblock to innovation in high tech, biomedicine, finance, music and film. The Gridlock ...