The War Against the Commons
by Ian Angus
A unique historical account of poor peoples' self-defence strategies in the face of the plunder of their lands and labor For five centuries, the development of capitalism has been inextricably connected to the expropriation of working people from the land they depended on for subsistence. Through ruling class assaults known as enclosures or clearances, shared common land became privately-owned capital, and peasant farmers became propertyless laborers who could only survive by working for the owners of land or capital. As Ian Angus documents in The War Against the Commons, mass opposition to dispossession has never ceased. His dramatic account provides new insights into an opposition that ranged from stubborn non-compliance to open rebellion, including eyewitness accounts of campaigns in which thousands of protestors tore down fences and restored common access to pastures and forests. Such movements, he shows, led to the Diggers' call for a new society based on shared ownership and use of the land, an appeal that was more sophisticated and radical than anything else written before the 1800s. Contrary to many accounts that treat the reorganization of agriculture as a purely domestic matter, Angus shows that there were close connections between the enclosures in Britain and imperial expansion. The consolidation of some of the largest estates in England and Scotland was directly financed by the forced labor of African slaves and the colonial plunder of India. This unique historical account of ruling class robbery and poor peoples' resistance offers answers to key questions about the history of capitalism. Was enclosure a "necessary evil" that enabled economic growth? What role did deliberate promotion of hunger play in the creation of the working class? How did Marx and Engels view the separation of workers from the land, and how does resistance to enclosure continue in the 21st century?
Paperback
English
Brand New
Author Biography
Ian Angus is the author of Facing the Anthropocene (Monthly Review Press, 2016) editor of the online ecosocialist journal Climate and Capitalism, and co-author of the Belm Ecosocialist Declaration. His previous books include Too Many People? Population, Immigration, and the Environmental Crisis (with Simon Butler) and The Global Fight for Climate Justice.
Review
"The War Against the Commons is a superb study of how capitalism grew out of the systematic destruction of communal societies. It is a fantastic resource for anyone trying to understand how our modern world came to be, and a tremendous and inspiring work for those struggling to build a new world that is not based on the rapacious quest for profits."--MARTIN EMPSON, author of Kill all the Gentlemen: Class Struggle and Change in the English Countryside
"A potent antidote to the naturalization of capitalist property relations. The War Against the Commons reveals the long history of struggle against the expropriation of land and labor that is at the root of current social and ecological crises. This history is important, not only to better understand today's world, but to better imagine the future we require--beyond capital's deadly, imperial grip on the earth."-- "--HANNAH HOLLEMAN, sociologist and author of Dust Bowls of Empire: Imperialism, Environmental Politics, and the Injustice of "Green" Capitalism"
"An impressive account of the real tragedy of the commons. Ian Angus shows how enclosure shaped agrarian capitalism and created an overexploited working class--and how working people fought back. The War Against the Commons emphasizes that it is essential to overcome the rural-urban divide to properly address the ecological crisis that threatens human and non-human life in this century."--SABRINA FERNANDES, sociologist and ecosocialist activist; author of Sintomas Mrbidos: A encruzilhada da esquerda brasileira (Morbid Symptoms: The Crossroads of the Brazilian Left)
"I have long wanted a volume that shows how the destruction of the commons paved the way for capitalism and environmental crisis. Thanks to Ian Angus we now have that book. The War Against the Commons is a hard-hitting and highly accessible account of what ails our world and how we might fix it. Based on deep historical knowledge, Angus demonstrates that the struggle to rebuild the commons is essential to a world of justice and sustainability. This is a book for everyone who seeks to truly change the world."--DAVID MCNALLY, NEH-Cullen Chair in History and Business, University of Houston
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