Moving from unity to reality, Berry’s thought also points to limits: the Earth is finite, and our shared home has boundaries that cannot be negotiated away. The atmosphere cannot be partitioned into private skies, and rivers do not respect borders when pollution flows downstream. This makes “in common” a reminder that consequences travel.
The idea echoes earlier moral frameworks about shared ground and shared fate; for example, Garrett Hardin’s “The Tragedy of the Commons” (1968) warned that common resources can be exhausted when individuals pursue short-term gain. Berry’s tone is less cynical, but the implication is similar: belonging without restraint becomes damage that everyone inherits. [...]
