By contrast, the even more degrading transformation of people into members of an industrial labour force and into consumers was taken, until recently, for granted. For almost a hundred years the majority of political parties has challenged the accumulation of environmental resources in private hands. However, the issue was argued in terms of the private utilization of these resources, not the distinction of commons. Thus anticapitalist politics so far have bolstered the legitimacy of transforming commons into resources. Enclosure, once accepted, redefines community.
Enclosure underlines the local autonomy of community.
Enclosure of the commons is thus as much in the interest of professionals and of state bureaucrats as it is in the interest of capitalists. People become economic individuals that depend for their survival on commodities that are produced for them. Fundamentally, most citizens' movements represent a rebellion against this environmentally induced redefinition of people as consumers. Minna-san, you wanted to hear me speak on electronics, not grassland and roads. This man who speaks to you was born 55 years ago in Vienna.