Merovius reviewed Elinor Ostrom's rules for radicals by Derek Wall
Excellent overview over Ostrom's work
5 stars
The only criticism I have is the title. It seems to me that most people who would consider themselves “radicals” will (unjustly) consider Elinor Ostrom's positions to be too reformist and moderate, while many moderates will be turned off by what sounds like leftist rhetoric.
But I really think the book has much to offer to anyone. For leftists, I do think that Ostrom's focus on practical problem solving and application can be very helpful to apply to their own thinking. And being written from a leftist perspective, it is a good starting point for moderates who wish to go beyond the caricatures, when it comes to understanding anarchist ideas - precisely because Ostrom was not a leftist herself.
Ostrom built a case that not being regulated by the state does not imply there are no institutions and no enforcement of rules. And by being empirical and practical and moderate …
The only criticism I have is the title. It seems to me that most people who would consider themselves “radicals” will (unjustly) consider Elinor Ostrom's positions to be too reformist and moderate, while many moderates will be turned off by what sounds like leftist rhetoric.
But I really think the book has much to offer to anyone. For leftists, I do think that Ostrom's focus on practical problem solving and application can be very helpful to apply to their own thinking. And being written from a leftist perspective, it is a good starting point for moderates who wish to go beyond the caricatures, when it comes to understanding anarchist ideas - precisely because Ostrom was not a leftist herself.
Ostrom built a case that not being regulated by the state does not imply there are no institutions and no enforcement of rules. And by being empirical and practical and moderate, she demonstrated that it's entirely plausible for such institutions to be stable and realistic.
Derek Wall does a good job of summarizing Ostrom's corpus of work. And he does so in a way that is pretty broadly accessible and useful. His book deepened my admiration for Ostrom even further. I can not recommend it highly enough, to anyone at all interested in political economy.
