ABSTRACT
This chapter discusses the argument that the larger tragedy of the commons is one of enclosure by the rich and powerful. James Buchanan coined the phrase politics without romance to explain his understanding that politics should not be seen as a morally pure space based on the wish to serve others. European colonialism in the Americas, Australia and New Zealand saw indigenous populations driven away from land, which they had governed with common pool property regimes. Vincent Ostrom participation in the Alaska Constitutional Convention of 1787 made him aware of how important it was for contending groups to attempt to establish such frameworks. In the America, indigenous people were, to varying degrees, removed from their customary land. Elinor Ostrom certainly did not advocate the removal of common pool property rights, and this is reflected in her work, but she clearly found it most useful to focus on the micro politics and economics of commons management.
