And Never the Twain Shall Meet? An Exchange on the Strengths and Weaknesses of Anthropology and Economics in Analyzing the Commons

Abstract

This is our contribution to the project on Conversations between Anthropologists and Economists, focusing on analysis of the Commons. The short note is in the form of a “talk and response” exchange, coming as close to a conversation as it is possible to do on the printed page. This is worth trying because most conversations in print turn out to be separate papers from economists and anthropologists, brought together in a volume. We start by specifying what each of us believes the Commons problem to be, and then, in perhaps a novel reversal, each of us specifies the weaknesses of our discipline and the strengths of the other in analyzing the problem as we have defined it. Finally, we discuss the way forward in light of the exchange.