Comparing the historical commons of north west Europe. An introduction

Warde, Paul; Moor, Martina De; Shaw‐Taylor, Leigh

doi:10.1484/m.corn-eb.4.00172

Cited by 14 publications

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“…Likewise, the term ‘commons’ never refers to the House of Commons in this article, but to resources (in particular land) that are used and managed in common. For a discussion of these definitions, see De Moor, Shaw‐Taylor, and Warde, ‘Comparing the historical commons’, pp. 18–19.…”

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confidence: 99%

Avoiding tragedies: a Flemish common and its commoners under the pressure of social and economic change during the eighteenth century¹

Moor

2009

The Economic History Review

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Despite the wide application of the metaphor of 'the tragedy of the commons', there is little historical literature that points to the weaknesses of its historical basis. There is, however, sufficient qualitative and quantitative evidence to prove that commons were well regulated and organized in order to achieve a sustainable management, that also took into account the needs and wishes of its commoners. This case study of a common in Flanders looks at the evidence for this in the eighteenth century, examining bookkeeping and other archival sources. A model that incorporates the different functions of the commons (sustainability, efficiency, and utility) is explained and applied. I n 1968, in his article 'The tragedy of the commons', Hardin described how a medieval common pasture was over-exploited due to the selfish behaviour of the villagers. 2 In his account, all inhabitants of the medieval European village could use the common pasture.There seemed to be no clear restrictions on access to the common, nor on the number of livestock each of the users could put on the common, nor was there a collective management (in terms of use and maintenance) of the land. Moreover, the commoners seemed not to communicate with each other about the use or management of their common. 3 This 'freedom on the commons' gave the commoner the incentive to put as many cattle on the common as he possibly could; after all, surely every rational herdsman would conclude that selfish behaviour was the most advantageous strategy for survival. As long as diseases and adversity decimated the cattle and the herdsmen from time to time, no real problems arose on the common. However, due to population growth, this freedom of use would eventually lead to the over-exploitation and degradation of the common; hence, 'the tragedy of the commons'. Internet searches and citation indexes confirm that it would be difficult to find a stronger or more widely used metaphor. Because Hardin made clear links among population issues, property rights, and environmental degradation, his ideas found an eager audience among

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confidence: 99%

Avoiding tragedies: a Flemish common and its commoners under the pressure of social and economic change during the eighteenth century¹

Moor

2009

The Economic History Review

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“…The other form of the commons was the shared but rationed and regulated access rights and obligations over resources such as pastures, forests, wastes and marshes (De Moor et al. , 18–19). This type of commons offered multiple uses and resources, including the right and space to graze animals, to pick herbs, fruit and fungi, to hunt and fish, and to extract fuel and building materials in the form of dung, timber and peat, as well as the distribution of some plots for cultivation, at times (Iriarte‐Goñi ; Grüne ).…”

Section: From the ‘Backward Commons’ To The ‘Dynamic Commons’: A Chanmentioning

confidence: 99%

Did the Commons Make Medieval and Early Modern Rural Societies More Equitable? A Survey of Evidence from acrossWesternEurope, 1300–1800

Curtis

2015

Journal of Agrarian Change

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The view of the commons as archaic, 'backward' and 'irrational' institutions for the management of resources has now been revised in favour of a more positive one, for both past and present societies. Indeed, it is clear that the commons had multifarious ecological and economic benefits for both medieval and early modern rural societies in Western Europe. That being the case, many scholars have seen the increasing expropriation of the commons in the transition to the early modern period as a sign of increasing inequality characterizing pre-industrial Europe, and many have lamented the loss of communal grazing privileges connected to processes such as land enclosure -pushing poor peasants into the 'abyss' with the removal of their final form of welfare. However, in this paper it is argued that the social distribution of the benefits to the commons were rarely, if ever, entirely equitable. In fact, in many historical contexts the benefits of the commons could also be highly restricted -crystallizing and entrenching stratifications themselves, and even serving as the 'vehicle' of further inequality. The expropriation of the commons did not necessarily make Western European rural societies any more unequal.

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“…Common pastures were once almost ubiquitous throughout Europe, but since the 18th century have declined considerably, particularly in Western Europe (De Moor, Shaw-Taylor, and Warde 2002). In contrast, in many Eastern European countries such as Romania, the use of common pastures remains widespread, strongly linked to the predominance of semi-subsistence farming.…”

Section: Erhaltung Von Biodiversität In Der Gesellschaft Conservinmentioning

confidence: 99%

Biodiversität und Gesellschaft

Friedrich¹,

Halsband²,

Minkmar³

2013

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Comparing the historical commons of north west Europe. An introduction

Cited by 14 publications

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Avoiding tragedies: a Flemish common and its commoners under the pressure of social and economic change during the eighteenth century¹

Avoiding tragedies: a Flemish common and its commoners under the pressure of social and economic change during the eighteenth century¹

Did the Commons Make Medieval and Early Modern Rural Societies More Equitable? A Survey of Evidence from acrossWesternEurope, 1300–1800

Biodiversität und Gesellschaft

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Comparing the historical commons of north west Europe. An introduction

Cited by 14 publications

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Avoiding tragedies: a Flemish common and its commoners under the pressure of social and economic change during the eighteenth century1

Avoiding tragedies: a Flemish common and its commoners under the pressure of social and economic change during the eighteenth century1

Did the Commons Make Medieval and Early Modern Rural Societies More Equitable? A Survey of Evidence from acrossWesternEurope, 1300–1800

Biodiversität und Gesellschaft

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Avoiding tragedies: a Flemish common and its commoners under the pressure of social and economic change during the eighteenth century¹

Avoiding tragedies: a Flemish common and its commoners under the pressure of social and economic change during the eighteenth century¹