Ostrom’s Law: Property rights in the commons
Elinor Ostrom's work has immeasurably enhanced legal scholars' understanding of property. Although the richness of these contributions cannot be distilled into a single thesis, their flavor can be captured in a maxim I call Ostrom's Law: A resource arrangement that works in practice c...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Utrecht University Library Open Access Journals (Publishing Services)
2011-03-01
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| Series: | International Journal of the Commons |
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| Online Access: | https://www.thecommonsjournal.org/articles/252 |
| _version_ | 1818876375550918656 |
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| author | Lee Anne Fennell |
| author_facet | Lee Anne Fennell |
| author_sort | Lee Anne Fennell |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Elinor Ostrom's work has immeasurably enhanced legal scholars' understanding of property. Although the richness of these contributions cannot be distilled into a single thesis, their flavor can be captured in a maxim I call Ostrom's Law: A resource arrangement that works in practice can work in theory. Ostrom's scholarship challenges the conventional wisdom by examining how people interact over resources on the ground - an approach that enables her to identify recurring institutional features associated with long-term success. In this essay, I trace some of the ways that Ostrom's focus on situated examples has advanced interdisciplinary dialogue about property as a legal institution and as a human invention for solving practical problems. I begin by highlighting the attention to detail that characterizes Ostrom's methodology. I then examine how Ostrom's scholarship yields insights for, and employs insights from, property theory. Next, I consider the question of scale, an important focal point of Ostrom's work, and one that carries profound implications for law. I conclude with some observations about interdisciplinarity as it relates to research on the commons. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-19T13:41:24Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-a827bdc4c1074b1387469454642ed9ea |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1875-0281 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-19T13:41:24Z |
| publishDate | 2011-03-01 |
| publisher | Utrecht University Library Open Access Journals (Publishing Services) |
| record_format | Article |
| series | International Journal of the Commons |
| spelling | doaj.art-a827bdc4c1074b1387469454642ed9ea2022-12-21T20:19:00ZengUtrecht University Library Open Access Journals (Publishing Services)International Journal of the Commons1875-02812011-03-015192710.18352/ijc.252109Ostrom’s Law: Property rights in the commonsLee Anne Fennell0University of Chicago Law SchoolElinor Ostrom's work has immeasurably enhanced legal scholars' understanding of property. Although the richness of these contributions cannot be distilled into a single thesis, their flavor can be captured in a maxim I call Ostrom's Law: A resource arrangement that works in practice can work in theory. Ostrom's scholarship challenges the conventional wisdom by examining how people interact over resources on the ground - an approach that enables her to identify recurring institutional features associated with long-term success. In this essay, I trace some of the ways that Ostrom's focus on situated examples has advanced interdisciplinary dialogue about property as a legal institution and as a human invention for solving practical problems. I begin by highlighting the attention to detail that characterizes Ostrom's methodology. I then examine how Ostrom's scholarship yields insights for, and employs insights from, property theory. Next, I consider the question of scale, an important focal point of Ostrom's work, and one that carries profound implications for law. I conclude with some observations about interdisciplinarity as it relates to research on the commons.https://www.thecommonsjournal.org/articles/252anticommonscommonsinterdisciplinaritymodelsscalesemicommons |
| spellingShingle | Lee Anne Fennell Ostrom’s Law: Property rights in the commons International Journal of the Commons anticommons commons interdisciplinarity models scale semicommons |
| title | Ostrom’s Law: Property rights in the commons |
| title_full | Ostrom’s Law: Property rights in the commons |
| title_fullStr | Ostrom’s Law: Property rights in the commons |
| title_full_unstemmed | Ostrom’s Law: Property rights in the commons |
| title_short | Ostrom’s Law: Property rights in the commons |
| title_sort | ostrom s law property rights in the commons |
| topic | anticommons commons interdisciplinarity models scale semicommons |
| url | https://www.thecommonsjournal.org/articles/252 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT leeannefennell ostromslawpropertyrightsinthecommons |