Workshop: Private property and public commons – narrowing the gap

In June, Klaus Bosselmann is a Mercator Fellow at the SFB. We are organizing a workshop with him on the topic of "Private Property and Public Commons" on June 13, 10 am to 5 pm, in Jena. The workshop is based on an essay by Klaus Bosselmann on the 'hidden logic' of environmental law and on some of the history of property and the commons in the European context. The workshop itself will explore the following questions: Can property and commons be made ecologically sustainable? What approaches are there to an ecologically expanded concept of property? How can rights of nature be formulated in constitutions and laws?

Private property and public commons each represent strong social concepts but in very different ways. While the protection of private property is at the heart of the capitalist system and is deeply embedded in our laws, the protection of public commons (air, water, biodiversity) is only a sub-area of policy with often inadequate regulations. Environmental laws regulate the use and protection of natural resources but ignore any intrinsic value of nature.

Contributors are: Jacob Blumenfeld (SFB, project A06), Klaus Bosselmann, Petra Gümplova (SFB, JRT01), Magdalena Riedl (Thuringian Water Innovation Cluster), Hartmut Rosa (SFB speaker, project C06), Tilo Wesche (SFB, project A06) and Verena Wolf (SFB, JRT01).

Guests are very welcome. Please register at: koordination.sfb-eigentum@uni-jena.de