Title: Can 'commonification' be used as an alternative to 'commodification'? A report on a debate on what can be achieved by 'going along with the Ostroms'

Authors: Judith Dellheim; Frieder Otto Wolf

Addresses: Rosa-Luxemburg-Stiftung, Franz-Mehring-Platz 1, 10243 Berlin, Germany ' Freie Universität Berlin, Institut für Philosophie, Habelschwerdter Allee 30, 14195 Berlin, Germany

Abstract: The text appreciates the theoretical heritage of the Ostroms which poses a challenge for all efforts for theorising liberation and sustainability. It asks how this heritage can be used to elaborate and realise political strategies to regulate the access and use of natural resources in a socially and ecologically sustainable way. This question was also the starting point of preparing and realising the international workshop 'Beyond Ostrom' in autumn 2013 at the Rosa Luxemburg Foundation in Berlin. The workshop and the paper conclude that economics aiming at sustainable development in the sense of the Brundtland report must use the rich theoretical and methodological heritage of the Ostroms, but to add at least two crucial characteristics: being historic and asking about the 'how' and 'why' a current problem, state or conditions has been developed.

Keywords: Ostroms; commons; commonification; commodification; social sustainability; ecological sustainability; property rights; political strategies; natural resources; sustainable development; economics; Brundtland report.

DOI: 10.1504/IJPEE.2015.070454

International Journal of Pluralism and Economics Education, 2015 Vol.6 No.1, pp.82 - 99

Received: 22 May 2014
Accepted: 08 May 2015
Published online: 06 Jul 2015 *

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