WHAT ARE COMMON GOODS (BENI COMUNI)? PICTURES FROM THE ITALIAN DEBATE - 10.12818/P.0304-2340.2017vBIp121

Abstract

This paper is composed of two parts and a conclusion. The first part offers an overview of the Italian debate on common goods (beni comuni), highlighting the different authors and main schools of thought, illustrating the most significant definitions on a legal and case-law level, while homing in on the core of the underlying methodological approaches and the relations between the most common interpretations and a numberof well-known economic theories. The second part aims to highlight the deep roots of the interpretative differences, on the one hand drawing connections with theories on the form of State and citizenship, on the other showing its relationship to the debate on public goods and to the evolution of the relevant legislation. The review ends with a description of a few fundamental and cross-functional characteristics of “common goods doctrines”, present in all the available literature, but valued and promoted in different ways according to the objectives of the different interpretations. The examination of these traits allows us to evaluate briefly the degree of compatibility between these different views and the current legislation, and the concrete possibility that the relative needs are actually met.