The Commons in an Age of Uncertainty
Decolonizing Nature, Economy, and Society
Published on 10. November 2020
Book
Hardback
280 pages
978-1-4875-0176-1 (ISBN)
Description
In the last two hundred years, the earth has increasingly become the private property of a few classes, races, transnational corporations, and nations. Repeated claims about the "tragedy of the commons" and the "crisis of capitalism" have done little to explain this concentration of land, encourage solution-building to solve resource depletion, or address our current socio-ecological crisis.
The Commons in an Age of Uncertainty presents a new explanation, vision, and action plan based on the idea of commoning the land. The book argues that by commoning the land, rather than privatising it, we can develop the foundation for prosperity without destructive growth and address both local and global challenges. Making the land the most fundamental priority of all commons does not only give hope, it also opens the doors to a new world in which economy, environment, and society are decolonised and liberated.
The Commons in an Age of Uncertainty presents a new explanation, vision, and action plan based on the idea of commoning the land. The book argues that by commoning the land, rather than privatising it, we can develop the foundation for prosperity without destructive growth and address both local and global challenges. Making the land the most fundamental priority of all commons does not only give hope, it also opens the doors to a new world in which economy, environment, and society are decolonised and liberated.
Reviews / Votes
"The Commons in An Age of Uncertainty is a tour de force."- Ulrich Duchrow, University of Heidelberg (American Journal of Economics and Sociology) "An interesting contribution to urban studies, in addition to a comprehensive examination of the socio-ecological crisis."
- Domen Zalac, University of Ljubljana (Urbani izziv) "The Commons in an Age of Uncertainty is a tour de force."
- Ulrich Duchrow, University of Heidelberg (American Journal of Economics and Sociology) "Throughout, Obeng-Odoom seeks to clearly illustrate the theoretical paradigms set through their structural limitations, which he transcends with empirically supported examples that he devises along the lines of the Radical Alternative discourse."
- Domen Zalac, University of Ljubljana (Urbani izziv) "This is a significant contribution to modern political economy, integrating Georgist ideas about land with considerations of the progressive potential of the commons and its management."
- Frank Stilwell (Journal of Australian Political Economy) "In his new book, leading Georgist scholar Franklin Obeng-Odoom argues that Ostrom is not the piper at the dawn of a new commons-era. In fact, her approach is consistent with a 'not if, but when' view of commons enclosure."
- Emily Sims, Prosper Australia (Progress) "The author is provocative and provides a nuanced analysis of the political ecology of cities, technologies, oil, and water. He challenges land economists and suggests a new ecological political economy founded on the conceptualization of land as a methodological approach. [...] In The Commons in an Age of Uncertainty, Obeng-Odoom opens an avenue for imagining the possibilities of a new world anchored on the commons."
- Maano Ramutsindela, University of Cape Town (LSE Review of Books)
More details
Language
English
Place of publication
Toronto
Canada
Target group
College/higher education
Professional and scholarly
Illustrations
7 figures
Dimensions
Height: 234 mm
Width: 155 mm
Thickness: 25 mm
Weight
540 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-4875-0176-1 (9781487501761)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Person
Franklin Obeng-Odoom is associate professor of Sustainability Science at the University of Helsinki.
Content
Preface
Part A: The Problem
1. The Age of Uncertainty
Part B: The Debates and a Path through Them
2. Historical Debates on the Commons
3. Rethinking the Commons
Part C: The Proof
4. Cities
5. Technology
6. Oil
7. Water
Part D: The Future of the Commons
8. Concluding Remarks: Towards a New Ecological Political Economy
References
Index
Part A: The Problem
1. The Age of Uncertainty
Part B: The Debates and a Path through Them
2. Historical Debates on the Commons
3. Rethinking the Commons
Part C: The Proof
4. Cities
5. Technology
6. Oil
7. Water
Part D: The Future of the Commons
8. Concluding Remarks: Towards a New Ecological Political Economy
References
Index