In The Commons in an Age of Uncertainty: Decolonizing Nature, Economy, and Society, Franklin Obeng-Odoom explores scholarship on the commons, showing the weaknesses of existing conceptions and pushing for a more radical vision of commoning land that is bound up in transforming our wider social, political, economic and environmental systems. This book opens an avenue for imagining the possibilities of a new world anchored on the commons, writes Maano Ramutsindela. The Commons in an Age of Uncertainty: Decolonizing Nature, Economy, and Society. Franklin Obeng-Odoom. University of Toronto Press, 2021

Ramutsindela, Maano

English

LSE Research Online

Book	Review:	The	Commons	in	an	Age	of	Uncertainty:Decolonizing	Nature,	Economy,	and	Society	byFranklin	Obeng-OdoomIn	The	Commons	in	an	Age	of	Uncertainty:	Decolonizing	Nature,	Economy,	and	Society,	Franklin	Obeng-Odoom	explores	scholarship	on	the	commons,	showing	the	weaknesses	of	existing	conceptions	and	pushing	for	amore	radical	vision	of	commoning	land	that	is	bound	up	in	transforming	our	wider	social,	political,	economic	andenvironmental	systems.	This	book	opens	an	avenue	for	imagining	the	possibilities	of	a	new	world	anchored	on	thecommons,	writes	Maano	Ramutsindela.The	Commons	in	an	Age	of	Uncertainty:	Decolonizing	Nature,	Economy,	and	Society.	Franklin	Obeng-Odoom.	University	of	Toronto	Press,	2021.Find	this	book	(affiliate	link):	The	planetary	emergency	of	our	time	has	galvanised	people	and	institutions	aroundthe	world	to	work	towards	preventing	the	looming	catastrophe.	The	message	fromscientists	is	clear:	Earth	has	reached	its	limits	and	both	the	planet	and	life	on	it	faceexistential	threats!	Many	of	the	suggestions	on	what	needs	to	be	done	are	not	newbut	can	be	traced	to	ideas	and	proposals	that	have	long	been	in	the	public	domain,including	the	vision	of	the	‘Club	of	Rome’	that	circulated	half	a	century	ago.	Acommon	thread	that	runs	through	past	and	present	ideas	of	saving	the	planet	and	theongoing	concerns	with	the	future	of	life	on	earth	is	the	global	question	of	how	to	laythe	foundation	for	a	socioecological,	just	society	in	a	world	characterised	byinequalities	and	the	exploitation	of	the	environment	as	well	as	people.In	The	Commons	in	an	Age	of	Uncertainty,	Franklin	Obeng-Odoom	tackles	thisquestion	by	juxtaposing	the	work	of	two	influential	theorists	of	the	commons,	GarrettHardin	and	Elinor	Ostrom,	and	their	adherents,	to	refresh	the	debates	on	thecommons.	To	do	this,	he	provides	the	reader	with	a	condensed	but	well-articulatedoverview	of	the	scholarship	on	the	commons	and	the	political	economy	of	natural	resources.This	overview	is	intended	to	highlight	the	weaknesses	of	well-known	theories	of	the	commons.	Obeng-Odoomcategorises	the	scholarship	on	the	commons	into	‘Conventional	Wisdom’	and	the	‘Western	Left	Consensus’.	TheConventional	Wisdom	associated	with	the	work	of	Hardin	denotes	the	well-established	belief	that	the	commons	canand	should	be	protected	and	sustained	by	turning	them	into	private	property.	It	advocates	the	use	of	markets	toresolve	social	problems.	Obeng-Odoom’s	critique	of	the	process	and	consequences	of	privatising	the	commons	isaligned	with	critical	social	science	research,	which	points	out	that	the	privatisation	of	nature	has	resulted	in	moreenvironmental	and	social	problems.LSE Review of Books: Book Review: The Commons in an Age of Uncertainty: Decolonizing Nature, Economy, and Society by Franklin Obeng-Odoom Page 1 of 3		Date originally posted: 2021-11-23Permalink: https://blogs.lse.ac.uk/lsereviewofbooks/2021/11/23/book-review-the-commons-in-an-age-of-uncertainty-decolonizing-nature-economy-and-society-by-franklin-obeng-odoom/Blog homepage: https://blogs.lse.ac.uk/lsereviewofbooks/Image	Credit:	‘Cloud	Shadows’	by	Christopher	Griner	licensed	under	CC	BY	2.0But	Obeng-Odoom	add	two	important	insights	to	this	research.	First,	he	brings	land	into	the	centre	of	the	analysis	ofthe	commons	to	argue	that	commodified	land	ceases	to	be	common.	Second,	he	highlights	that	framing	theproblems	of	the	Global	South	in	ecological	terms	not	only	entrenches	the	power	of	the	Global	North	over	the	regionbut	also	enables	the	privatisation	of	the	Global	South.	This	way,	the	privatisation	of	nature	has	demographic	andgeographical	attributes.Turning	to	the	Western	Left	Consensus	associated	with	the	work	of	Ostrom,	Obeng-Odoom	views	cities	ascommons	because	they	are	commonly	created	and	shared	around	urban	land,	and	city	residents	have	the	commonrights	to	the	soil	as	clearly	expressed	by	activists,	who	push	for	the	right	to	the	city.However,	Obeng-Odoom	is	not	convinced	that	Ostrom’s	analysis	of	the	urban	commons	provides	an	alternative	toHardin’s	view	on	privatisation.	He	traces	Ostrom’s	analysis	to	the	idea	of	urban	commons	and	the	notion	ofconsumer	sovereignty	to	argue	that	the	analysis	overemphasises	a	public	choice	approach	to	socioecologicalproblems.	It	is	premised	on	the	belief	that	small	urban	communities	can	successfully	govern	themselves	in	gatedestates	through	rules	without	the	intervention	of	the	state.	According	to	him,	Ostrom	considers	gated	communities,informal	economies	and	slums	as	urban	commons	and	preferred	to	use	environmental	taxes	and	a	change	ofbehaviour	in	residents	in	urban	commons	as	a	solution	to	urban	ecological	crisis.	In	doing	so,	argues	Obeng-Odoom,	the	Western	Left	Consensus	ignores	that	informal	economies	grow	from	oppression	rather	than	freedom,are	maintained	by	oppression,	segregate	communities	and	destroy	the	environment.Throughout	the	book,	Obeng-Odoom	uses	the	critique	of	the	Conventional	Wisdom	and	the	Western	LeftConsensus	to	lay	the	foundation	for	his	proposed	‘Radical	Alternative’.	The	pillars	of	the	Radical	Alternative	includejust	land,	the	creation	of	the	social	state	and	replacing	rentier	capitalism	and	its	institutions	with	commons-basedsystems.	Just	land	denotes	commoning	land	by	reclaiming	it	as	the	commons	and	protecting	it	fromcommodification.	Here,	commoning	land	is	a	necessary	condition	for	transforming	our	social,	political,	economicand	environmental	systems.	Obeng-Odoom	uses	conceptions	of	land	rooted	in	pre-colonial	Africa	to	demonstratethe	value	of	this	process.	This	raises	questions	of	how	commoning	land	in	Africa	and	the	wider	Global	South	takesplace	after	the	disruption	of	landed	relations	by	both	colonialism	and	the	world	capitalist	system.	Ongoing	landreform	programmes	driven	by	post-independent	states	complicate	the	process	and	purpose	of	commoning.LSE Review of Books: Book Review: The Commons in an Age of Uncertainty: Decolonizing Nature, Economy, and Society by Franklin Obeng-Odoom Page 2 of 3		Date originally posted: 2021-11-23Permalink: https://blogs.lse.ac.uk/lsereviewofbooks/2021/11/23/book-review-the-commons-in-an-age-of-uncertainty-decolonizing-nature-economy-and-society-by-franklin-obeng-odoom/Blog homepage: https://blogs.lse.ac.uk/lsereviewofbooks/For	its	part,	the	social	state	should	underpin	the	Radical	Alternative	by	reflecting	the	values	and	aspirations	of	thesociety	it	serves.	In	other	words,	the	social	state	should	drive	the	march	to	the	commons	and	inclusive	prosperity.This	way,	it	should	be	an	antithesis	of	the	capitalist	state.	This	is	a	bold	proposal	that	requires	the	transformation	ofthe	state	in	the	Global	South.	The	proposal	begs	the	question	of	how	such	a	state	could	emerge	in	a	world	systemthat	constrains	the	functioning	of	states	while	also	transforming	them.	This	question	is	more	pertinent	in	Africa,where	the	author	draws	most	of	his	examples.	Social	scientists	would	be	interested	in	how	such	a	state	takes	itsform	since	it	is	neither	market	socialism	nor	state	socialism.	The	third	pillar,	of	commoning	rent,	has	the	potential	toreverse	the	social,	economic	and	ecological	ills	caused	by	rent	theft.	Such	theft	takes	place	when	rent	created	bysociety	is	extracted	and	appropriated	privately.Throughout	the	book,	Obeng-Odoom	emphasises	that	both	Hardin	and	Ostrom	and	their	followers	havemisdiagnosed	the	socioecological	problems	and	offered	misinformed	solutions.	They	neglect	the	internal	andexternal	conditions	of	the	commons	that	account	for	the	distribution	and	control	of	natural	resources.	The	author	isprovocative	and	provides	a	nuanced	analysis	of	the	political	ecology	of	cities,	technologies,	oil	and	water.	Hechallenges	land	economists	and	suggests	a	new	ecological	political	economy	founded	on	the	conceptualisation	ofland	as	a	methodological	approach.	For	him,	landed	property	relations	should	be	considered	a	research	approachby	which	we	can	deepen	our	understanding	of	land	not	only	as	one	of	the	key	factors	of	production	but	also	as	theidentity	of	Africans	and	black	societies	globally.	In	The	Commons	in	an	Age	of	Uncertainty,	Obeng-Odoom	opensan	avenue	for	imagining	the	possibilities	of	a	new	world	anchored	on	the	commons.Note:	This	review	gives	the	views	of	the	author,	and	not	the	position	of	the	LSE	Review	of	Books	blog,	or	of	theLondon	School	of	Economics	and	Political	Science.	The	LSE	RB	blog	may	receive	a	small	commission	if	youchoose	to	make	a	purchase	through	the	above	Amazon	affiliate	link.	This	is	entirely	independent	of	the	coverage	ofthe	book	on	LSE	Review	of	Books.	LSE Review of Books: Book Review: The Commons in an Age of Uncertainty: Decolonizing Nature, Economy, and Society by Franklin Obeng-Odoom Page 3 of 3		Date originally posted: 2021-11-23Permalink: https://blogs.lse.ac.uk/lsereviewofbooks/2021/11/23/book-review-the-commons-in-an-age-of-uncertainty-decolonizing-nature-economy-and-society-by-franklin-obeng-odoom/Blog homepage: https://blogs.lse.ac.uk/lsereviewofbooks/

Book review: The commons in an age of uncertainty: decolonizing nature, economy, and society by Franklin Obeng-Odoom

Book	Review:	The	Commons	in	an	Age	of	Uncertainty:Decolonizing	Nature,	Economy,	and	Society	byFranklin	Obeng-OdoomIn	The	Commons	in	an	Age	of	Uncertainty:	Decolonizing	Nature,	Economy,	and	Society,	Franklin	Obeng-Odoom	explores	scholarship	on	the	commons,	showing	the	weaknesses	of	existing	conceptions	and	pushing	for	amore	radical	vision	of	commoning	land	that	is	bound	up	in	transforming	our	wider	social,	political,	economic	andenvironmental	systems.	This	book	opens	an	avenue	for	imagining	the	possibilities	of	a	new	world	anchored	on	thecommons,	writes	Maano	Ramutsindela.The	Commons	in	an	Age	of	Uncertainty:	Decolonizing	Nature,	Economy,	and	Society.	Franklin	Obeng-Odoom.	University	of	Toronto	Press,	2021.Find	this	book	(affiliate	link):	The	planetary	emergency	of	our	time	has	galvanised	people	and	institutions	aroundthe	world	to	work	towards	preventing	the	looming	catastrophe.	The	message	fromscientists	is	clear:	Earth	has	reached	its	limits	and	both	the	planet	and	life	on	it	faceexistential	threats!	Many	of	the	suggestions	on	what	needs	to	be	done	are	not	newbut	can	be	traced	to	ideas	and	proposals	that	have	long	been	in	the	public	domain,including	the	vision	of	the	‘Club	of	Rome’	that	circulated	half	a	century	ago.	Acommon	thread	that	runs	through	past	and	present	ideas	of	saving	the	planet	and	theongoing	concerns	with	the	future	of	life	on	earth	is	the	global	question	of	how	to	laythe	foundation	for	a	socioecological,	just	society	in	a	world	characterised	byinequalities	and	the	exploitation	of	the	environment	as	well	as	people.In	The	Commons	in	an	Age	of	Uncertainty,	Franklin	Obeng-Odoom	tackles	thisquestion	by	juxtaposing	the	work	of	two	influential	theorists	of	the	commons,	GarrettHardin	and	Elinor	Ostrom,	and	their	adherents,	to	refresh	the	debates	on	thecommons.	To	do	this,	he	provides	the	reader	with	a	condensed	but	well-articulatedoverview	of	the	scholarship	on	the	commons	and	the	political	economy	of	natural	resources.This	overview	is	intended	to	highlight	the	weaknesses	of	well-known	theories	of	the	commons.	Obeng-Odoomcategorises	the	scholarship	on	the	commons	into	‘Conventional	Wisdom’	and	the	‘Western	Left	Consensus’.	TheConventional	Wisdom	associated	with	the	work	of	Hardin	denotes	the	well-established	belief	that	the	commons	canand	should	be	protected	and	sustained	by	turning	them	into	private	property.	It	advocates	the	use	of	markets	toresolve	social	problems.	Obeng-Odoom’s	critique	of	the	process	and	consequences	of	privatising	the	commons	isaligned	with	critical	social	science	research,	which	points	out	that	the	privatisation	of	nature	has	resulted	in	moreenvironmental	and	social	problems.USApp – American Politics and Policy Blog: Book Review: The Commons in an Age of Uncertainty: Decolonizing Nature, Economy, and Society by FranklinObeng-OdoomPage 1 of 3		Date originally posted: 2021-11-28Permalink: https://blogs.lse.ac.uk/usappblog/2021/11/28/book-review-the-commons-in-an-age-of-uncertainty-decolonizing-nature-economy-and-society-by-franklin-obeng-odoom/Blog homepage: https://blogs.lse.ac.uk/usappblog/Image	Credit:	‘Cloud	Shadows’	by	Christopher	Griner	licensed	under	CC	BY	2.0But	Obeng-Odoom	add	two	important	insights	to	this	research.	First,	he	brings	land	into	the	centre	of	the	analysis	ofthe	commons	to	argue	that	commodified	land	ceases	to	be	common.	Second,	he	highlights	that	framing	theproblems	of	the	Global	South	in	ecological	terms	not	only	entrenches	the	power	of	the	Global	North	over	the	regionbut	also	enables	the	privatisation	of	the	Global	South.	This	way,	the	privatisation	of	nature	has	demographic	andgeographical	attributes.Turning	to	the	Western	Left	Consensus	associated	with	the	work	of	Ostrom,	Obeng-Odoom	views	cities	ascommons	because	they	are	commonly	created	and	shared	around	urban	land,	and	city	residents	have	the	commonrights	to	the	soil	as	clearly	expressed	by	activists,	who	push	for	the	right	to	the	city.However,	Obeng-Odoom	is	not	convinced	that	Ostrom’s	analysis	of	the	urban	commons	provides	an	alternative	toHardin’s	view	on	privatisation.	He	traces	Ostrom’s	analysis	to	the	idea	of	urban	commons	and	the	notion	ofconsumer	sovereignty	to	argue	that	the	analysis	overemphasises	a	public	choice	approach	to	socioecologicalproblems.	It	is	premised	on	the	belief	that	small	urban	communities	can	successfully	govern	themselves	in	gatedestates	through	rules	without	the	intervention	of	the	state.	According	to	him,	Ostrom	considers	gated	communities,informal	economies	and	slums	as	urban	commons	and	preferred	to	use	environmental	taxes	and	a	change	ofbehaviour	in	residents	in	urban	commons	as	a	solution	to	urban	ecological	crisis.	In	doing	so,	argues	Obeng-Odoom,	the	Western	Left	Consensus	ignores	that	informal	economies	grow	from	oppression	rather	than	freedom,are	maintained	by	oppression,	segregate	communities	and	destroy	the	environment.Throughout	the	book,	Obeng-Odoom	uses	the	critique	of	the	Conventional	Wisdom	and	the	Western	LeftConsensus	to	lay	the	foundation	for	his	proposed	‘Radical	Alternative’.	The	pillars	of	the	Radical	Alternative	includejust	land,	the	creation	of	the	social	state	and	replacing	rentier	capitalism	and	its	institutions	with	commons-basedsystems.	Just	land	denotes	commoning	land	by	reclaiming	it	as	the	commons	and	protecting	it	fromcommodification.	Here,	commoning	land	is	a	necessary	condition	for	transforming	our	social,	political,	economicand	environmental	systems.	Obeng-Odoom	uses	conceptions	of	land	rooted	in	pre-colonial	Africa	to	demonstratethe	value	of	this	process.	This	raises	questions	of	how	commoning	land	in	Africa	and	the	wider	Global	South	takesplace	after	the	disruption	of	landed	relations	by	both	colonialism	and	the	world	capitalist	system.	Ongoing	landreform	programmes	driven	by	post-independent	states	complicate	the	process	and	purpose	of	commoning.USApp – American Politics and Policy Blog: Book Review: The Commons in an Age of Uncertainty: Decolonizing Nature, Economy, and Society by FranklinObeng-OdoomPage 2 of 3		Date originally posted: 2021-11-28Permalink: https://blogs.lse.ac.uk/usappblog/2021/11/28/book-review-the-commons-in-an-age-of-uncertainty-decolonizing-nature-economy-and-society-by-franklin-obeng-odoom/Blog homepage: https://blogs.lse.ac.uk/usappblog/For	its	part,	the	social	state	should	underpin	the	Radical	Alternative	by	reflecting	the	values	and	aspirations	of	thesociety	it	serves.	In	other	words,	the	social	state	should	drive	the	march	to	the	commons	and	inclusive	prosperity.This	way,	it	should	be	an	antithesis	of	the	capitalist	state.	This	is	a	bold	proposal	that	requires	the	transformation	ofthe	state	in	the	Global	South.	The	proposal	begs	the	question	of	how	such	a	state	could	emerge	in	a	world	systemthat	constrains	the	functioning	of	states	while	also	transforming	them.	This	question	is	more	pertinent	in	Africa,where	the	author	draws	most	of	his	examples.	Social	scientists	would	be	interested	in	how	such	a	state	takes	itsform	since	it	is	neither	market	socialism	nor	state	socialism.	The	third	pillar,	of	commoning	rent,	has	the	potential	toreverse	the	social,	economic	and	ecological	ills	caused	by	rent	theft.	Such	theft	takes	place	when	rent	created	bysociety	is	extracted	and	appropriated	privately.Throughout	the	book,	Obeng-Odoom	emphasises	that	both	Hardin	and	Ostrom	and	their	followers	havemisdiagnosed	the	socioecological	problems	and	offered	misinformed	solutions.	They	neglect	the	internal	andexternal	conditions	of	the	commons	that	account	for	the	distribution	and	control	of	natural	resources.	The	author	isprovocative	and	provides	a	nuanced	analysis	of	the	political	ecology	of	cities,	technologies,	oil	and	water.	Hechallenges	land	economists	and	suggests	a	new	ecological	political	economy	founded	on	the	conceptualisation	ofland	as	a	methodological	approach.	For	him,	landed	property	relations	should	be	considered	a	research	approachby	which	we	can	deepen	our	understanding	of	land	not	only	as	one	of	the	key	factors	of	production	but	also	as	theidentity	of	Africans	and	black	societies	globally.	In	The	Commons	in	an	Age	of	Uncertainty,	Obeng-Odoom	opensan	avenue	for	imagining	the	possibilities	of	a	new	world	anchored	on	the	commons.This	review	first	appeared	at	LSE	Review	of	Books.Please	read	our	comments	policy	before	commenting.Note:	This	article	gives	the	views	of	the	author,	and	not	the	position	of	USAPP	–	American	Politics	and	Policy,	norof	the	London	School	of	Economics.	Shortened	URL	for	this	post:	https://bit.ly/3o1TZW1About	the	reviewerMaano	Ramutsindela	–	University	of	Cape	TownMaano	Ramutsindela	is	Professor	of	Geography	at	the	University	of	Cape	Town.	His	research	is	on	the	politicalecology	of	transborder	environments	and	green	violence.	He	is	co-editor	of	Politics,	Territory,	Governance	and	leadeditor	of	The	Violence	of	Conservation	in	Africa.USApp – American Politics and Policy Blog: Book Review: The Commons in an Age of Uncertainty: Decolonizing Nature, Economy, and Society by FranklinObeng-OdoomPage 3 of 3		Date originally posted: 2021-11-28Permalink: https://blogs.lse.ac.uk/usappblog/2021/11/28/book-review-the-commons-in-an-age-of-uncertainty-decolonizing-nature-economy-and-society-by-franklin-obeng-odoom/Blog homepage: https://blogs.lse.ac.uk/usappblog/

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Book review: The commons in an age of uncertainty: decolonizing nature, economy, and society by Franklin Obeng-Odoom

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