Noam Chomsky on the Destruction of the Commons

How the Magna Carta Became a Minor Carta

The Great Charter is being shredded before our eyes...."The first scholarly edition of Magna Carta was published by the eminent jurist William Blackstone. It was not an easy task. There was no good text available. As he wrote, “the body of the charter has been unfortunately gnawn by rats” -- a comment that carries grim symbolism today, as we take up the task the rats left unfinished."

The commons were the source of sustenance for the general population: their fuel, their food, their construction materials, whatever was essential for life. The forest was no primitive wilderness. It had been carefully developed over generations, maintained in common, its riches available to all, and preserved for future generations -- practices found today primarily in traditional societies that are under threat throughout the world.

http://www.salisburyjournal.co.uk/news/10316724.Council_buys_land_for_commoners/