On Analysis Path of Right to Using Commons

There are two different paths for understanding the right to using commons: the individualist methodology and the holistic methodology. Individualist methodology stands on a micro perspective and believes that right to using commons is an individual right enjoyed by “the public as an individual” while the holistic methodology understands the basic attributes of commons from a macroscopic perspective and holds that the right to using commons is an integral right enjoyed by “the public as a whole”. The right to using commons is a new non-exclusive right determined by the non-specificity and openness of their subject and the publicity and sharing of their object. This characteristic of right determines that two methodologies should be used comprehensively to study “right to using commons”. In the research of right to using commons, the individualist methodology is embodied in the hypothesis of “ecological person”, claim-right theory, and legal and economic analysis while the holistic methodology is embodied in typification of commons and the comprehensive protection of right to using commons. The comprehensive application of the two methodologies is conducive to understanding the specific needs of individuals in commons and protecting them with the help of individual rights system, and to ensuring the sustainable supply of commons from the holistic and systematic perspective.