Governing the Commons: A Global Perspective

In the last few years political theory has increasingly turned to the concept of the (global) commons as a lens to look at the current processes of socioeconomic and political globalization. The earth’s environment is in danger of deteriorating, national borders enforced by sovereign states limit individual movement, a private property regime enables the enclosure of resources that are fundamental to everyone’s subsistence, and intellectual property rights restrict access to knowledge that could benefit the lives of many. In other words: the global commons are in danger of being appropriated and exhausted. However, more and more political theorists are beginning to question the validity and logic of both private property and state sovereignty. They are beginning to ask whether there are any alternative mechanisms that could promote a more just order. In the history of political theory the concept of (global) commons has been reflected upon by Locke, Kant and Marx (among many others), and both continental (Hardt and Negri, De Angelis or Dardot and Laval) and analytical theorists (Singer, Pogge, Steiner or Caney) have begun to use the concept of the (global) commons as an alternative framework to challenge the status quo. We believe that this shift allows us to revise deeply embedded liberal assumptions, restructure our current political and socioeconomic institutions, and, maybe, find alternatives that could lead to a more just society.

There has hardly been any contact between the analytic, the continental, and the historical literature on this subject. With this workshop, hence, we intend to bridge the gap between these philosophical perspectives, and open a space where we can reflect and debate together on how to deal with global issues through the framework of the global commons.