Common Property Rights Essay

Total Length: 1191 words ( 4 double-spaced pages)

Total Sources: 1+

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property resources, as aptly named, are resources that are shared by a group of people in order to receive benefits from the collecting of these resources. These resources are often in demand and require regulation and monitoring in order control the amount that is taken. Restricting who shares these resources and how much they share lead to preservation of resources. To impose limits, property rights must be implemented. These property rights are managed by members of a group and are labeled common property rights. Articles like those written by Cinder, explain common property rights, and more specifically, marine tenure to control who fishes in the areas navigated and used by locals. Articles by Seabright, Hardin, and Cinder establish what transpires within the setting of common property and how members of a group who share the rights and resources perceive the concept of common property in connection to needs and activities.

Seabright explains the terms common property resources and common property rights. As illustrated earlier, common property refers to the actions established for the betterment of the collective not the individual, though individuals work together to achieve their goals, the overall aim is to preserve the collective goal of continual use and sustenance as no control over individual action may lead to depletion and competition of resources. "What makes the right of control collective, rather than individual, is simply the absence of a complete set of contractual relations governing which member of the group is entitled or required to do what." (Seabright 113) What this signifies is, although it seems elective to adhere to procedures and guidelines related with common property, it must be obeyed for the overall benefit of the group and ultimately, the individual. There is no set observance when it comes to these kinds of rules but because the majority wants what's best, if members of the group do not want to follow the majority, they will be forced out and not allowed to partake in the resources available.
It would be like a fisherman overfishing because he wants more of the resources, and then getting banned from fishing in the area for not following customs. Although he got a lot of fish that one time, he won't be able to fish there again, making it difficult for him to continually acquire fish.

There are different types of commons such as global and local. As Seabright explains, local commons are typically used for small communities, like towns and villages. "The typical examples of local commons, as opposed to other types of commons, are often assets owned by reasonably small communities, such as villages." (Seabright 114) These are separated from global commons by two central means. Most prominently, the chief members within local communities are limited enough that they know each other and can recognize each other within the population. This means that some of their behaviors are able to be monitored better and any actions taken against them may be faster than let's say on a grander scale such as in a global commons situation. Furthermore, because of the better recognition within the small population, people have more enticement to construct good reputations for working accordingly. Global commons present many hurdles compared to local commons that can only be controlled or monitored by government. Issues like global warming and overfishing involve the world population, not just a small local one leading to limited control and even further limited access. "What distinguishes these cases from classic local commons is a second feature, namely the absence of even the potential for intervention by….....

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