# Silence > [en] Such a transformation of the environment from a commons to a productive resource constitutes the most fundamental form of environmental degradation. […] The task must be undertaken urgently because ==commons can exist without police, but resources cannot.== Just as traffic does, computers call for police, and for ever more of them, and in ever more subtle forms. > > By definition, resources call for defense by police. Once they are defended, their recovery as commons becomes increasingly difficult. This is a special reason for urgency. > > *[Silence is a Commons by Ivan Illich](http://www.davidtinapple.com/illich/1983_silence_commons.html), 1982* ([cache](/david/cache/2021/20345aead1f8d541a0819dfc5a0dbc6d/)) J’ai eu du mal à trouver l’extrait le plus pertinent de cette intervention qui a mon âge et qui n’a pas pris une ride… elle. La clairvoyance d’Illich me surprendra toujours. ==Le lendemain==, Llu m’invite à creuser la [piste de Spinoza](https://bribesdereel.net/Spinoza-penser-numerique) ([cache](/david/cache/2021/12aa0cc26a4a578b6467414d5250206a/)) aussi. Réservé à la bibliothèque.