 Civilizations have come and gone, and those long gone vanished mostly because they despoiled their commons, allowed small elites to control their economies and governments, and lived in ways that were unsustainable. Those who survived for centuries or millennia are the ones that learned how to protect their commons, engage in non-toxic commerce and governance, and organize their cultures and lifestyles in ways that could continue in the same place and the same way down through the ages.