Public goods and the commons: opposites or complements?

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Abstract

The commons have emerged as a key notion and underlying experience of many efforts around the world to promote justice and democracy. A central question for political theories of the commons is whether the visions of social order and regimes of political economy they propose are complementary or opposed to public goods that are backed up by governmental coordination and compulsion. This essay argues that the post-Marxist view, which posits an inherent opposition between the commons as a sphere of inappropriable usage and statist public infrastructure, is mistaken, because justice and democracy are not necessarily furthered by the institution of inappropriability. I articulate an alternative pluralist view based on James Tully’s work, which discloses the dynamic interplay between public and common modes of provision and enjoyment, and their civil and civic orientations respectively. Finally, the essay points to the Janus-faced character of the commons and stresses the co-constitutive role of public goods and social services for just and orderly social life while remaining attentive to the dialectic of empowerment and tutelage that marks provision by government.
Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)774-800
Number of pages27
JournalPolitical Theory
Volume49
Issue number5
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Oct 2021

Bibliographical note

Funding Information:
This essay has benefited much from inspiring discussions with audiences in Frankfurt, Leuven, New Haven, and Paris. I am particularly grateful to Gordon Arlen, Jeffrey Barash, Seyla Benhabib, Astrid von Busekist, Rainer Forst, Peggy Kohn, Annabelle Lever, Matt Longo, Darrel Moellendorf, Paul Nieuwenburg, Tom Theuns, editor Lawrie Balfour and her team, as well as two anonymous reviewers for this journal, for helpful comments on earlier drafts. The author disclosed receipt of the following financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article: Research for this article was supported by a Fox International Fellowship from Yale University and a Postdoctoral Fellowship from the Centre for Advanced Study ?Justitia Amplificata? at Goethe University Frankfurt am Main.

Funding Information:
The author(s) disclosed receipt of the following financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article: Research for this article was supported by a Fox International Fellowship from Yale University and a Postdoctoral Fellowship from the Centre for Advanced Study ‘Justitia Amplificata’ at Goethe University Frankfurt am Main.

Publisher Copyright:
© The Author(s) 2020.

Keywords

  • James Tully
  • anti-statism
  • commons
  • post-Marxism
  • privatization
  • public goods

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