The Commons in History ― Culture, Conflict, and Ecology

The history of the commons -- jointly owned land or other resources such as fisheriesor forests set aside for public use -- provides a useful context for current debates oversustainability and how we can act as "good ancestors." In this book, Derek Wall considersthe commons from antiquity to the present day, as an idea, an ecological space, an economicabstraction, and a management practice. He argues that the commons should be viewed neither as a"tragedy" of mismanagement (as the biologist Garrett Hardin wrote in 1968) nor as apanacea for solving environmental problems. Instead, Walls sees the commons as a particular form ofproperty ownership, arguing that property rights are essential to understanding sustainability. Howwe use the land and its resources offers insights into how we value the environment. After definingthe commons and describing the arguments of Hardin's influential article and Elinor Ostrom's morerecent work on the commons, Wall offers historical case studies from the United States, England,India, and Mongolia. He examines the power of cultural norms to maintain the commons; politicalconflicts over the commons; and how commons have protected, or failed to protect ecosystems.Combining intellectual and material histories with an eye on contemporary debates, Wall offers anapplied history that will interest academics, activists, and policy makers.

Derek Wall, an English politician and member of the Green Party of England and Wales, is Associate Lecturer in the Department of Politics at Goldsmiths College, University of London. Among his books are The No-Nonsense Guide to Green Politics and The Rise of the Green Left.