In Defense of the Commons: A Brief History

Hunter-gatherer societies' understanding of "ownership" was quite different from our modern conception. To primitive humans, no one owned the land, water, air, or sky; they belonged to whomever was using it at the time. With the rise of civilization came the rule of private property. However, even dominator societies such as the Roman Empire codified the Commons into their laws: land was set aside and water sources belonged to everyone (Res Communes).

In England during the Middle Ages, land shared for foraging, hunting, planting crops and gathering wood was considered Commons. With the signing of the Magna Carta in 1215, forest and fisheries were officially established as Res Communes.

During the 15th to 17th Centuries, commonlands were fenced off by private interests--the land that had been used for free by peasants. This was the beginning of privatization of the Commons. During this time, not all commoners stood by: the Diggers planted crops in former conmonlands in defiance of the ruling class and challenged the concept of private property. The Diggers rallied around the conviction that all land should be commonlands, but were brutally repressed by the men of property.

This attack on the Commons continues till this day, and this issue of Confluence examines current attacks on and attempts to defend the Commons.

Jim Scheff writes about the Missouri Forest Alliance's efforts to stop the National Forest Service from turning over southern Missouri commonlands-- parts of the Mark Twain National Forest --to private interests who will burn, clear-cut, and take profit from these lands. Read about it on page four.

Many St. Louisans enjoy that small section of Forest Park that extends beyond its Southeast boundary. We play tennis or racquetball, take our children to the playground, or just enjoy a walk there. The city wants to lease (i.e., give away) this piece of the park to the Barnes-Jewish Hospital megaplex for undisclosed purposes. The sort of precedent this action would set serves as a wake up call -- the theft of land held in common for public use could go well beyond forests in rural places. Margaret Hermes' report on page one describes the efforts citizens are taking to prevent this theft of the city's Commons.

Monsanto is one of ten corporations that own 40 percent of seed companies worldwide. Using this overwhelming influence, and with the use of patents they "own" on Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs) such as corn, soy and cotton, these corporations are privatizing the Commons that are among our most basic human rights -- our food and textile supplies. Through this theft of the Commons, Monsanto imposes GMOs on the Global South -- with disastrous results. Read digger's report on the effect of genetically modified cotton on Indian farmers in the centerspread (pages eight and nine).

The right of a people to self-determination is part of the Commons. Earlier this year, however, when the Palestinian people elected Hamas as their government, the USA and their client-state -– Israel -- would not recognize this government and (on a pretty thin pretext) launched an invasion of the Gaza Strip, which eventually extended into Lebanon. But they resisted and forced Israel back. Jennifer Presson, our correspondent in Palestine, fights for Palestinian autonomy from the front lines (page one).

The concept of the Commons is in stark contrast with the concept of private property. Who was it that ordained that most of the land and most of the Earth's resources should be owned by the rich? Why can we not all share the Earth? Some may decry this as idealistic, but the current paradigm -- private property -- benefits the few at the expense of the many. With this issue of the Confluence, we reinvigorate another paradigm -- the Commons -- as a way to create a more just world. The corporate and state advocates of privatization and globalization are taking away our common heritage, but in this Confluence we present some of those who are reclaiming it.

Thanks to Jan Edwards of the Alliance for Democracy for providing some of the historical information used here.