Commons

Commons, John Rogers, 1862-1945, American economist, b. Hollansburg, Ohio, grad. Oberlin, 1888. Influenced by the other social sciences, Commons tried to broaden the scope of economics, especially in his noted Legal Foundations of Capitalism (1924) and Institutional Economics (1934). He was also interested in immediate social problems, chiefly those dealing with labor, and served on many government commissions. Commons was one of the editors of A Documentary History of American Industrial Society (10 vol., 1910-11) and History of Labor in the United States (4 vol., 1919-35).

Commons, House of: see Parliament.

(born Oct. 13, 1862, Hollandsburg, Ohio, U.S.—died May 11, 1945, Fort Lauderdale, Fla.) U.S. economist. He taught at the University of Wisconsin (1904–32) and published works such as A Documentary History of American Industrial Society (10 vol., 1910–11) and A History of Labor in the United States (4 vol., 1918–35), in which he linked the evolution of the U.S. labour movement to changes in the market structure. He drafted reform legislation for Wisconsin and worked for the federal government in areas including civil service and worker's compensation.

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Popularly elected lower house of the bicameral British Parliament. Passage of legislation is its primary function. Because it alone has the power to levy taxes and allocate expenditures, it is Britain's chief legislative authority. It originated in the late 13th century, when landholders and other property owners began sending representatives to Parliament to present grievances and petitions to the king and to accept commitments to the payment of taxes. It was the less powerful house until 1911, when the Reform Bill of that year gave it the power to override the House of Lords. The party with the greatest representation in the Commons forms the government, and the prime minister chooses the cabinet from the party's members. There are 646 members, elected from single-member districts. Seealso Canadian Parliament; parliamentary democracy.

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(born Oct. 13, 1862, Hollandsburg, Ohio, U.S.—died May 11, 1945, Fort Lauderdale, Fla.) U.S. economist. He taught at the University of Wisconsin (1904–32) and published works such as A Documentary History of American Industrial Society (10 vol., 1910–11) and A History of Labor in the United States (4 vol., 1918–35), in which he linked the evolution of the U.S. labour movement to changes in the market structure. He drafted reform legislation for Wisconsin and worked for the federal government in areas including civil service and worker's compensation.

Learn more about Commons, John R(ogers) with a free trial on Britannica.com.

See Commons-based peer production