Cold-War Commons: Tragedy, Critique, and the Future of the Illiberal Problem Space

Theoretical Inquiries in Law 457, Volume 19, 2018

32 Pages Posted: 28 Dec 2021

See all articles by Monica E. Eppinger

Monica E. Eppinger

Saint Louis University - School of Law; Department of Sociology and Anthropology

Date Written: 2018

Abstract

Major twentieth-century social theories like socialism and liberalism depended on property as an explanatory principle, prefiguring a geopolitical rivalry grounded in differing property regimes. This article examines the Cold War as an under-analyzed context for the idea of 'the tragedy of the commons.' In Soviet practice, collectivization was meant to provide the material basis for cultivating particular forms of sociability and an antidote to the ills of private property. Outsiders came to conceptualize it as tragic in both economic and political dimensions. Understanding the commons as a site of tragedy informed Western 'answers' to the 'problem' of Soviet collective ownership when the Cold War ended. Privatization became a mechanism for defusing old tragedies, central to a post-Cold War project of advancing 'market democracy.' Meanwhile, the notion of an 'illiberal commons' stands ready for redeployment in future situations conceived as tragically problematic.

Keywords: commons, liberalism, illiberalism, property rights, economic development, Cold War, collectivization, privatization

Suggested Citation

Eppinger, Monica E., Cold-War Commons: Tragedy, Critique, and the Future of the Illiberal Problem Space (2018). Theoretical Inquiries in Law 457, Volume 19, 2018, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3943928

Monica E. Eppinger (Contact Author)

Saint Louis University - School of Law ( email )

100 N. Tucker Blvd.
St. Louis, MO 63101
United States

Department of Sociology and Anthropology ( email )

220 North Grand Boulevard
St. Louis, MO 63103
United States

Do you have negative results from your research you’d like to share?

Paper statistics

Downloads
19
Abstract Views
144
PlumX Metrics