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Avoiding tragedies: a Flemish common and its commoners under the pressure of social and economic change during the eighteenth century1

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  • TINE DE MOOR

Abstract

Despite the wide application of the metaphor of ‘the tragedy of the commons’, there is little historical literature that points to the weaknesses of its historical basis. There is, however, sufficient qualitative and quantitative evidence to prove that commons were well regulated and organized in order to achieve a sustainable management, that also took into account the needs and wishes of its commoners. This case study of a common in Flanders looks at the evidence for this in the eighteenth century, examining bookkeeping and other archival sources. A model that incorporates the different functions of the commons (sustainability, efficiency, and utility) is explained and applied.

Suggested Citation

  • Tine De Moor, 2009. "Avoiding tragedies: a Flemish common and its commoners under the pressure of social and economic change during the eighteenth century1," Economic History Review, Economic History Society, vol. 62(1), pages 1-22, February.
    • Handle: RePEc:bla:ehsrev:v:62:y:2009:i:1:p:1-22
    DOI: 10.1111/j.1468-0289.2008.00426.x
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. McCloskey, Donald N., 1991. "The Prudent Peasant: New Findings on Open Fields," The Journal of Economic History, Cambridge University Press, vol. 51(2), pages 343-355, June.
    2. Humphries, Jane, 1990. "Enclosures, Common Rights, and Women: The Proletarianization of Families in the Late Eighteenth and Early Nineteenth Centuries," The Journal of Economic History, Cambridge University Press, vol. 50(1), pages 17-42, March.
    3. Shaw-Taylor, Leigh, 2001. "Parliamentary Enclosure And The Emergence Of An English Agricultural Proletariat," The Journal of Economic History, Cambridge University Press, vol. 61(3), pages 640-662, September.
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    1. De Vijlder, Nicolas, 2012. "A macroeconomic analysis of the land market in the count of Flanders and the duchy of Brabant. (fifteenth and sixteenth century)," MPRA Paper 39283, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    2. M. Casari & M. Lisciandra, 2013. "Gender Discrimination in Property Rights," Working Papers wp914, Dipartimento Scienze Economiche, Universita' di Bologna.
    3. Orsi, Fabienne, 2013. "Elinor Ostrom et les faisceaux de droits : l’ouverture d’un nouvel espace pour penser la propriété commune," Revue de la Régulation - Capitalisme, institutions, pouvoirs, Association Recherche et Régulation, vol. 14.
    4. Casari, Marco & Lisciandra, Maurizio & Saral, Ali Seyhun, 2026. "From open to closed societies: Inequality, migration, and women's rights," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 178(C).
    5. Josemiguel Lana Berasain & Miguel Laborda Pemán, 2013. "El anidamiento institucional y su dinámica histórica en comunidades rurales complejas. Dos estudios de caso (Navarra, siglos XIV-XX)," Documentos de Trabajo de la Sociedad de Estudios de Historia Agraria 1307, Sociedad de Estudios de Historia Agraria.

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