“Stealing the Common from the Goose”
“Stealing the Common from the Goose” This 17th Century folk poem is one of the pithiest condemnations of the English enclosure movement—the process of fencing off common land and turning it into private property. In a few lines, the poem manages to criticize double standards, expose the artificial and controversial nature of property rights, and take a slap at the legitimacy of state power. And it does it all with humor, without jargon, and in rhyming couplets. —James Boyle, Duke Law School Professor This 17th Century folk poem is one of the pithiest condemnations of the English enclosure movement—the process of fencing off common land and turning it into private property. In a few lines, the poem manages to criticize double standards, expose the artificial and controversial nature of property rights, and take a slap at the legitimacy of state power. And it does it all with humor, without jargon, and in rhyming couplets. —James Boyle, Duke Law School Professor
Size: 7952px × 5304px
Location: Lancaster, Lancashire, UK
Photo credit: © PJB Images / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
Keywords: 17th, ban, barrier, caution, century, common, concept, crime, danger, enclosed, enclosure, fence, folk, goose, high, information, lancaster, land, livestock, location, message, metal, nature, notice, perimeter, poem, poetry, private, protect, quirky, rights, security, sharp, sign, spikes, texture, unusual, warning, wood
