Public Goods in an Ethnological and Evolutionary Anthropological Perspective

• Authors: Uhrin Michal

Title variants

SK

Verejné statky v etnologickej a evolučnoantropologickej perspektíve

• Languages of publication: SK

Abstracts

EN

Human life is characterized by cooperation of individuals but also by cooperation in large groups. People cooperate in pursuit of common goals and carry out activities beneficial to both the individual and the group. The issue of public goods, meaning resources that can be potentially used by entire society or a group within society, has been systematically studied since the sixties of the twentieth century. Since there is a risk of free-riding on and over-exploitation of public goods, there must be social mechanisms, rules, and norms to regulate their use in any society. In this text, the author draws attention to the analysis of public goods and common-pool resources from a broader evolutionary anthropological and ethnological perspective, focusing on local public goods and common-pool resources. Evolutionary anthropology provides insightful theories from which empirically testable hypotheses for ethnological research can be derived. The author concludes that long-term ethnographic research combined with the theoretical concepts of evolutionary anthropology can effectively contribute to the understanding of successfully managed and administered public goods and common-pool resources.

Keywords

EN

Common goods; cooperation; evolutionary anthropology; social norms; ethnographic research

• Publisher: The National Institute of Folk Culture
• Journal: Národopisná revue (Journal of Ethnology)
• Year: 2023
• Volume: 33
• Issue: 4
• Pages: 300 - 311

Contributors

author

Uhrin Michal