Research articles
The Incompatibility of the Commons and the Public
Authors:
- Roy L. HeidelbergEmail Roy L. Heidelberg
Abstract
In this essay I consider the conceptual conflict between the public as a modern political category and the idea of the commons. By linking the idea of the public to an early exposition that explicitly sought a distinction between the commons and the public, I show how the generalization inherent in the public contravenes the particularity of the commons. This poses important political problems for how a modern commons or a modern notion of the commons is conceived and also allows for a nuanced understanding of the political challenge posed against the commons itself.
- Year: 2024
- Volume: 18 Issue: 1
- Page/Article: 177–187
- DOI: 10.5334/ijc.1236
- Submitted on 8 Nov 2022
- Accepted on 17 Jan 2024
- Published on 29 Feb 2024
- Peer Reviewed