Nature for Sale uncovers the rich heritage of common ownership which existed
before the dominance of capitalist property relations. Giovanna Ricoveri argues
that the subsistence commons of the past can be reinvented today to provide an
alternative to the current destructive economic order. Ricoveri outlines the
distinct features of common ownership as it has existed in history: cooperation,
sustainable use of natural resources and decision-making through direct
democracy. In doing so, she shows how it is possible to provide goods and
services which are not commodities exchanged on the capitalistic market,
something still demonstrated today in village communities across the global
South.Tracing the erosion of the commons from