Reviving the Commons implies planting seeds of transformational change, but only if these seeds are true to the Commons’ origins.
My paper/talk proposes to offer some historical research into the roots of the Commons in the Highlands of Scotland where there is evidence of continuity from before the feudalization of land. It will describe some persistent practices and protocols that gave ongoing meaning to Gaelic words like: tuath, which means both people and land and people and land together; nabacha, which means ‘neighbourliness’ and was the name for Commons’ seasonal decision-making assemblies/meetings; and duthchas/dualchas, which means heritage, birthright in shared land and responsibilities toward the land/place to which one belongs. At the core of this enduring heritage is the relationship between a community and shared land as place, plus shared responsibilities. These relationships and responsibilities were cultural and social as well as political and economic, constituting a way of life.
I will also reflect on my own personal experience from over 10 years’ involvement in the Gabriola Commons, which was founded in 2005 with a regional zoning innovation designating it as a “Community Commons.” I will combine this with reference to evaluations of at least two other Commons to comment on the ongoing relevance of certain core elements of pre-modern, pre-colonial and even pre-feudal commons – as evidenced by what I have discerned of the historical pattern in the Scottish Highlands.
I will end with some thoughts and questions around what I consider to be a necessary de-colonizing critique of the discourse on the Commons and some of the scholarly practices around it. This is essential, I think if the integrity of the historical commons is to be honoured, and for it to fulfill its potential as a genuinely helpful response to the Climate Crisis of our times.
