Removing the Commons

A Lockean Left-Libertarian Approach to the Just Use and Appropriation of Natural Resources

Eric Roark

Removing the Commons examines the moral condition in which people can remove--through either use or appropriation--natural resources from the commons. This task begins with a robust defense of the view that natural resources initially belong to all people. Granting that natural resources initially belong to all people, it follows that all people have a claim that limits the way in which others may go about taking or removing natural resources from the commons. In assessing these limitations, Eric Roark argues for a Lockean left-libertarian theory of justice in which all people have the right of self-ownership and may only remove natural resources from the commons if they adhere to the Lockean Proviso by leaving “enough and as good” for others. Roark’s account goes beyond existing treatments of the Lockean Proviso by insisting that the duty to leave enough and as good for others applies not merely to those who appropriate natural resources from the commons, but also to those who use natural resources within the commons. Removing the Commons defends a Georgist interpretation of the Lockean Proviso in which those who remove natural resources from the commons must pay the competitive rent of their removal in a fashion that best promotes equal opportunity for welfare. Finally, Roark gives extended consideration to the implications that the developed Lockean Left-Libertarian account of removing natural resources from the commons poses toward both global poverty and environmental degradation.

Lexington Books

Pages: 204 • Trim: 6¼ x 9¼

978-0-7391-7468-5 • Hardback • August 2013 • $114.00 • (£88.00)

978-0-7391-7469-2 • eBook • August 2013 • $108.00 • (£83.00)

Subjects: Philosophy / Criticism, Philosophy / Movements / Utilitarianism, Philosophy / Ethics / Applied Ethics, Philosophy / Environmental Philosophy

Removing the Commons

A Lockean Left-Libertarian Approach to the Just Use and Appropriation of Natural Resources

Hardback

eBook

Summary

Removing the Commons examines the moral condition in which people can remove--through either use or appropriation--natural resources from the commons. This task begins with a robust defense of the view that natural resources initially belong to all people. Granting that natural resources initially belong to all people, it follows that all people have a claim that limits the way in which others may go about taking or removing natural resources from the commons. In assessing these limitations, Eric Roark argues for a Lockean left-libertarian theory of justice in which all people have the right of self-ownership and may only remove natural resources from the commons if they adhere to the Lockean Proviso by leaving “enough and as good” for others. Roark’s account goes beyond existing treatments of the Lockean Proviso by insisting that the duty to leave enough and as good for others applies not merely to those who appropriate natural resources from the commons, but also to those who use natural resources within the commons. Removing the Commons defends a Georgist interpretation of the Lockean Proviso in which those who remove natural resources from the commons must pay the competitive rent of their removal in a fashion that best promotes equal opportunity for welfare. Finally, Roark gives extended consideration to the implications that the developed Lockean Left-Libertarian account of removing natural resources from the commons poses toward both global poverty and environmental degradation.

Details

Lexington Books

Pages: 204 • Trim: 6¼ x 9¼

978-0-7391-7468-5 • Hardback • August 2013 • $114.00 • (£88.00)

978-0-7391-7469-2 • eBook • August 2013 • $108.00 • (£83.00)

Subjects: Philosophy / Criticism, Philosophy / Movements / Utilitarianism, Philosophy / Ethics / Applied Ethics, Philosophy / Environmental Philosophy

Author

Eric Roark is assistant professor of philosophy at Millikin University.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments
Introduction
Chapter One: The Shared World
Chapter Two: Natural Resources and Artifacts
Chapter Three: Lockean Left-Libertarianism
Chapter Four: Property Rights and Access to the Self
Chapter Five: The Use of Natural Resources Within the Commons
Chapter Six: The Appropriation of Natural Resources From the Commons
Chapter Seven: Global Poverty and Environmental Degradation
Appendix
Bibliography

Reviews

This is a clear, sensitive and thoughtful contribution to a much-discussed and deeply vexed question. Roark’s key claim – that we need first to consider the consequences of individual use of the commons before we consider individual appropriation from the commons – is a good one. . . .Everyone interested in questions about the (mis-)allocation of property will read this book to their advantage.
— Political Studies Review

Roark has made a valuable contribution. The conception of access to the self is a powerful means of building subsistence rights into the libertarian framework. And the Georgist Proviso with equal bidding power is a tour de force. Both of these elements embody an attention to use, as distinct from appropriation, which should be a required extra step in any theory that begins with initial common ownership. There is much more to appreciate here, not least of which is the serious libertarian engagement with global poverty and environmental destruction. Roark's book should be required reading for Lockeans and libertarians, and is well worth the attention of others.
— Notre Dame Philosophical Reviews

“Eric Roark offers a provocative analysis of a cluster of issues related to economic justice and common and individual ownership. Throughout this book, he makes clear his familiarity with a range of conversations across disciplinary and ideological boundaries and his sensitivity to the motivations underlying seemingly disparate positions. Scholars of philosophy, law, political theory, and political economy will find his insights challenging and his proposals stimulating. Removing the Commons makes a valuable contribution to a significant strand of left-libertarian thought!”
— Gary Chartier

“What moral constraints govern the use of resources in the commons? And how might those constraints restrict our right to remove resources from the commons? Eric Roark’s exploration of these questions, and of the neglected egalitarian side of the Lockean tradition, poses an intriguing challenge to the orthodoxies of left and right.”
— Roderick T. Long, Auburn University

“Roark does a masterful job of explaining in a clear, engaging, and conversational style the issues surrounding appropriation of natural resources. This alone makes his book worth reading. However, the true value of this work is his consideration of an issue rarely considered by political philosophers, the use of natural resources, which he approaches from a left-libertarian perspective, defending a Lockean-style proviso to place limits on use in addition to the appropriation of natural resources. The use of natural resources raises a host of new problems. This book is a valuable contribution to the increasingly important approach of left-libertarianism to issues in political philosophy, with particular importance to the use and appropriation of natural resources and issues of the commons.”
— Alan Tomhave, Youngstown State University