The Politics of the Common Good

The Earth is a Common Treasury, proclaimed the English Revolutionaries in the 1640s. Does the principle of the commons offer us ways to respond now to the increasingly destructive effects of neoliberalism? With insight, passion and an eye on history, Jane Goodall argues that as the ravages of neo-liberalism tear ever more deeply into the social fabric, the principle of the commons should be restored to the heart of our politics. She looks in particular at land and public institutions in Australia and elsewhere. Many ordinary citizens seem prepared to support governments that increase national debt while selling off publicly owned assets and cutting back on services. In developed countries, extreme poverty is becoming widespread yet we are told we have never been so prosperous. This important book calls for a radically different kind of economy, one that will truly serve the common good. Topical and constructive this book argues for the restoration of the principle of the commons as a way of reclaiming the social fabric from the ravages of neo-liberalism Questions why so many citizens support governments that increase national debt while selling off publicly owned assets Asks how and why our political culture and economic policies have become so hostile to communal resources and public ownership Has an eye on the history of the commons as well as those who advocate for it in a modern form: Bill Shorten and Sally McManus for example in Australia; Jeremy Corbyn in the UK and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez in the US.