The Arctic as civil commons

The present short chapter builds upon, and engages with, Ko Hasegawa's contribution to the 2016 e-book by the University of the Arctic sub-group of Philosophy of Law, i.e. the chapter entitled "The Arctic as Common Good". Specifically, Hasegawa's claims about the holistic and invaluable character of any genuine common good are deepened and articulated further by means of the notion of civil commons, which life-value onto-axiology considers paramount, as exemplified in the compendium of philosophical works on sustainable development comprised within UNESCO's monumental Encyclopedia of Life Support Systems. By exploring and explaining how the common good can be identified and best served qua civil commons, i.e. all social constructs enabling universal access to life goods, the present paper also refers to, and makes use of, Karol Dobrzeniecki’s’s chapter in the same 2016 e-book, “Legal Pluralisms”.