This book looks to the history of the 'the commons' in American and European social thought to better understand contemporary environmental problems. The authors show how American law governing lands and resources relies on the individualist assumptions of Enlightenment thinkers, who regarded land as 'wasted' when not being 'improved' by European agriculture or colonization. Curry and McGuire trace the history of this philosophical and historical legacy and reveal its strong influence on American concepts on community and land. They not only reveal the law's insufficient comprehension of community rights, but they also advocate realistic policy alternatives whereby community governance can better solve the challenges of resource management and other American social problems.
- ISBN10 0742501612
- ISBN13 9780742501614
- Publish Date 11 June 2002
- Publish Status Active
- Publish Country US
- Publisher Rowman & Littlefield
- Imprint Rowman & Littlefield Publishers
- Format Paperback
- Pages 288
- Language English