Art of playing fair when nobody’s watching: man & the commons

A rock concert, a fragile city, and the unseen cost of crowd behavior. What happens when personal freedom clashes with communal responsibility in public spaces? And: Is trust in others a superpower?

When Pink Floyd arrived in Venice for a concert in the summer of 1989, many people were unsure whether the city’s delicate equilibrium could handle a rock concert by a band known for show extravaganza.

Over 200,000 fans arrived in Venice from Italy and abroad to see the group, and RAI broadcasted the show to over 20 countries and 100 million people. Even…