Garret Hardin: Tragedy of the Commons Assignment

Give 3 examples of commons that have been restricted or eliminated in our system.

- Farm land - The commons as a place for waste disposal - Restricting hunting and fishing areas

Give 3 other examples, from the essay or your own, which illustrate the author's thesis that private choice abuses public resources.

- Grand Banks fisheries - Bluefin tuna -Passenger pigeons

The author uses the idea of taxation as a coercive device. It makes certain behaviors more and more expensive to continue. Give 3 examples of how this policy is used to regulate behavior today.

- Parking meters to prevent people from staying for too long - Traffic fines for not following rules of the road - Fines for littering

What is Adam Smith's principle of "the invisible hand"? Does the author think that this is a workable system?

Adam Smith's principle of "the invisible hand" is the idea that an individual who "intends only his own gain is led by an invisible hand to promote... the public interest." Hardin believes "We can make little progress in working toward optimum population size until we explicitly exorcize the spirit of Adam Smith in the field of practical demography."

Compare the options given for managing Yosemite and other national parks. What would you do?

Choose one: - Sell the land off as private property - Keep the land as public property, but allocate the right to enter them.

How has overpopulation changed the rules about recycling and use of resources?

Due to our limited resources, overpopulation changed the rules about recycling to optimize our use of resources. We are aiming for sustainable development.

Are the world's resources finite or infinite? Give 3 examples to support your answer.

Finite beceause: - you cannot maximize 2 or more variables at the same time - we need food to live and if we are at max capacity, then each individual can only receive enough food for maintenance calories - ecosystem sources are limited, therefore the amount of resources available fo human use is limited

There is no country on earth with a growth rate of zero. What does the author say about growth rates in richer and poorer countries? what do you think are the implications of this trend?

Hardin claims that the optimum population is less than the maximum and that the mot rapidly growing populations on earth today are generally the most miserable. This is due to the fact that the rate at which food is produced cannot catch up to the growth of a population. Inevitably, a population will run out of food if it continues to grow at a steady rate.

The author makes biological arguments about what it would take to maximize population. Explain what this means in terms of lifestyle and consumption of resources. How does he distinguish between "maintenance calories" and "work calories"?

Hardin explains the human need to consume 1600 kilocalories for mere maintenance of life. He describes this as "maintenance calories." However, to have more energy for forms of enjoyment, we must consume more food, hence "work calories." Hardin claims that to maximize population, we must reduce "work calories" as close to zero as possible, meaning "no gourmet meals, no vacations, no sports, no music, no literature, no art" etc.

Give an example at home, at school, and out in the community about our tendency to "foul our own nest" while expecting someone else to bear the responsibility for cleaning it up.

Home - not taking out the trash on trash day School - not cleaning up your lunch and leaving it for the custodians Community - littering on the street instead of looking for a trash can to throw it out

When are common areas useful or workable?

In matters of pleasure (e.g. shopping malls, movie theaters, etc.)

The author states that because conditions change, we have resorted to large bureaucracies to help administer law, rather than relying on absolutes. Do you think this helps or hurts the situation? Does it help people take responsibility for their actions?

In resorting to large bureaucracies, societies have made themselves liable to corruption. As mentioned in the article, John Adams said that we must have "a government of laws and not men" in relation to Quis custodiet ipsos custodes? - who shall watch the watchers themselves? When implementing a system lacking absolutes, wrongdoings go unchecked, and therefore does not help people take responsibility for their actions.

Is it possible for everyone to agree on what is in "the common good"? How should we make decisions that concern natural resources?

It is not possible for everyone to agree on what is in "the common good" because gods are incommensurable. Concerning natural resources, we should conserve and optimize our natural resources so that we may reach the largest optimal population size.

The author uses the principles of natural selection to argue that people with conscience will be eliminated over time. Explain.

Over time, a population will have to change and adapt to ensure their survival, and Hardin explains that the desire to reproduce in large amounts will slowly dissipate over time in order to survive.

What is temperance in the context of this article?

Temperance, in the context of this article, requires "mutual coercion, mutually agreed upon by the majority."

Why will the herdsman always choose to add another animal to the herd?

The benefit outweighs the cost of the animal.

How are natural populations self-limiting?

The negative feedback of being unable to adequately care for children due to lack of resources

The author's central argument concerns the unlimited right to breed in a welfare state. Why is this a problem? What would you propose as a solution?

The unlimited right to breed is a problem because it leads to the depletion of resources at a faster rate. I would propose a policy like China's: one child per family unit.

Why do we accept taxes even though we don't like them?

We recognize that voluntary taxes would favor the conscienceless; to escape the horror of the commons