This paper presents a synthesis of the concept of common-pool resources and of the critiques directed at this approach and at typologies of goods based on their intrinsic characteristics. It also reflects on human labor as an element that makes it possible to identify appropriate methods of management for different types of goods. On this basis, a typology of goods is developed, distinguishing between those that embody human labor and those produced by nature. Through this typology, the commons is first analyzed as an organizing principle and subsequently as a social relation of production. Finally, the paper outlines some of the challenges that emerge from this principle for the governance of goods.
