Kogl

ENCLOSURE AND EXCLUSION: THE INVENTION OF PRIVATE PROPERTY

Alexandra Kogl

Political Science Department

University of Northern Iowa

ana.kogl@uni.edu

prepared for presentation at the 2005 annual meeting of the Midwest Political Science Association, Chicago, IL, April 7-10

The Myth of the Tragedy of the Commons: Ian Angus [link]

Elinor Ostrom, in her work refuting the "Tragedy of the Commons" has challenged the conventional wisdom that common property is poorly managed and should be either regulated by central authorities or privatized. Based on numerous studies of user-managed fish stocks, pastures, woods, lakes, and groundwater basins, Ostrom concludes that the outcomes are, more often than not, better than predicted by standard theories.

The selection of Elinor Ostrom as co-recipient of the 2009 Nobel Prize in Economics will do much to advance anarchist theory among people who traffic in ideas. Ostrom is being cited for her work on the management of common pool resources, or “commons”, and should inspire more thinkers to recognize the potential for solutions to problems that seem immune to both private property and government property solutions.