Title: Nature for sale : the commons versus commodities /
Authors: Ricoveri, Giovanna,
Year: 2013
Subjects: Commons.; Natural resources, Communal.; Sustainable development; Capitalism
Abstract: Nature for Sale uncovers the rich heritage of common ownership which existed before the dominance of capitalist property relations. Giovanna Ricoveri argues that the subsistence commons of the past can be reinvented today to provide an alternative to the current destructive economic order. Ricoveri outlines the distinct features of common ownership as it has existed in history: cooperation, sustainable use of natural resources and decision-making through direct democracy. In doing so, she shows how it is possible to provide goods and services which are not commodities exchanged on the capitalistic market, something still demonstrated today in village communities across the global South. Tracing the erosion of the commons from the European enclosures at the dawn of the Industrial Revolution to the new enclosures of modern capitalism, the book concludes by arguing that a new commons is needed today.
Contents: Foreword / by Vandana Shiva -- Introduction to the Italian edition : will the commons save the world? -- Introduction to the English edition : the enclosure of nature and the social movements -- What are the commons? -- The decline of the commons -- The destruction of wealth through commodities -- All power to the commons! -- Afterword : the right to the future.