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Who Should Own Natural Resources?
The natural resources of the earth – from oil and water to minerals and land – are crucial to our basic economic and social existence. But who is entitled to control, use and benefit from them? Should anyone ‘own’ the natural bounty of our planet?
In this book, distinguished political theorist Margaret Moore tackles these questions and examines the different positions in the debate. States claim the right to control the natural resources within their territory. Liberals argue for a system of private ownership rights, including over natural resources, while egalitarians dispute such claims and argue for equal rights to natural resources. Moore shows why these standard approaches to resource justice are wanting, and offers an original approach that examines the different ways in which people interact with resources in order to determine what good is at stake in any particular case.
In the context of serious environmental crisis and looming resource conflicts, this innovative and timely book will be essential reading for all students and scholars interested in the environment, property, distributive justice, and future generations.
In this book, distinguished political theorist Margaret Moore tackles these questions and examines the different positions in the debate. States claim the right to control the natural resources within their territory. Liberals argue for a system of private ownership rights, including over natural resources, while egalitarians dispute such claims and argue for equal rights to natural resources. Moore shows why these standard approaches to resource justice are wanting, and offers an original approach that examines the different ways in which people interact with resources in order to determine what good is at stake in any particular case.
In the context of serious environmental crisis and looming resource conflicts, this innovative and timely book will be essential reading for all students and scholars interested in the environment, property, distributive justice, and future generations.
140 pages, Paperback
Published July 29, 2019
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Margaret Moore
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
September 24, 2023
As someone approaching this conversation from the ecology side: Moore tries. I’ll give her that. She constantly brings up little things like “we might also have duties to other species on this planet” or casually drops that she thinks biodiversity is intrinsically valuable. She makes gestures toward non-anthropocentric value systems. She focuses quite a lot on the ways in which natural systems might be valuable to us in ways that don’t have to do with resource extraction (like cultural and emotional significance) which is great.
But she never actually explores these views in great detail, and instead consistently slips back into a worldview where the natural world is just a bunch of resources for humans to utilize (as the title of the book might imply). Admittedly, her points about non-substitutability are great—I just wish she would take it further and embrace the views that she seems to be hinting at but not willing to dive into. I think it’s telling that in the second-to-last page she admits that she has a strong intuition that biodiversity is intrinsically valuable but doesn’t know how to argue for that view. I get the feeling that a lot of these little hints are like that—things that she intuits are important, but doesn’t know how to fit into her argument. Probably because if you’re dealing with a topic like division of resources, mostly from an economic/political viewpoint, massive framework revision is needed to integrate these well.
BUT! It’s important! Because if you’re treating the Amazon rainforest as a “resource” (like Moore does) you need to acknowledge that it’s also a CONSUMER—perhaps most importantly of land and water. Same for resources like fisheries: they are consumers of habitat in the oceans, lakes, and rivers. And if you value that resource, then that resource itself makes claims on other resources, and THAT changes the math of what sustainability should look like.
Anyway. Overall good writing, interesting read, just wish she had gone further.
But she never actually explores these views in great detail, and instead consistently slips back into a worldview where the natural world is just a bunch of resources for humans to utilize (as the title of the book might imply). Admittedly, her points about non-substitutability are great—I just wish she would take it further and embrace the views that she seems to be hinting at but not willing to dive into. I think it’s telling that in the second-to-last page she admits that she has a strong intuition that biodiversity is intrinsically valuable but doesn’t know how to argue for that view. I get the feeling that a lot of these little hints are like that—things that she intuits are important, but doesn’t know how to fit into her argument. Probably because if you’re dealing with a topic like division of resources, mostly from an economic/political viewpoint, massive framework revision is needed to integrate these well.
BUT! It’s important! Because if you’re treating the Amazon rainforest as a “resource” (like Moore does) you need to acknowledge that it’s also a CONSUMER—perhaps most importantly of land and water. Same for resources like fisheries: they are consumers of habitat in the oceans, lakes, and rivers. And if you value that resource, then that resource itself makes claims on other resources, and THAT changes the math of what sustainability should look like.
Anyway. Overall good writing, interesting read, just wish she had gone further.
February 27, 2021
3.5/5
I picked this up because my sister had brought it home, and what's hers is mine. Obviously. A resource fairly shared.
I really don't know a lot about a lot, but Moore opens up a really thought provoking conversation about natural resources and the politics we place on their ownership, and I feel as though it challenges perceptions of what seems like obvious solutions, and why in fact face value needs to be challenged.
We are a reactive species; I think it's definitely time to be more proactive in order to care for the whole of the global population, not just entertain the standards of living the elite have produced for themselves.
I picked this up because my sister had brought it home, and what's hers is mine. Obviously. A resource fairly shared.
I really don't know a lot about a lot, but Moore opens up a really thought provoking conversation about natural resources and the politics we place on their ownership, and I feel as though it challenges perceptions of what seems like obvious solutions, and why in fact face value needs to be challenged.
We are a reactive species; I think it's definitely time to be more proactive in order to care for the whole of the global population, not just entertain the standards of living the elite have produced for themselves.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews