The Tragedy of the Commons

Problems with no technical solution Thomas Malthus ( , English political economist): Population grows exponentially, food supply can only increase arithmetically, so eventually we will starve (or decrease population via wars, disease or anarchy) Some problems cannot be solved with science, e.g. the arms race. Overpopulation and competition for resources is this kind of problem. Since no technical solution, the solution must be political. Focus: Why is exponential growth an issue for the Earth’s resources?

The Commons Commons: common land available to all for grazing animals, gathering wood, etc. Tragedy of the commons: every farmer will tend to maximize their own profits by increasing their herd or increasing their gathering of resources without regard to the long-term depletion of the land. This is rational because the benefit to the individual farmer (of, for example, grazing one more animal on the commons) is larger than that farmer’s share of the overall depletion of the shared resource (i.e. the commons). Historical commons: not really a free-for-all. Not public land. Only small number of farmers had inherited limited bundles of rights, numbers of animals were limited. Focus: Make sure to write down the main idea of the Tragedy of the Commons

The New Commons The tragedy of the commons is a metaphor for anything held in common, used by all freely and not regulated. Everyone will maximize his own benefit to the detriment of the whole. Modern “commons” include: The sea -- overfishing The air, the land, rivers -- pollution The public noise level -- sound pollution National parks – overuse The earth itself (energy, food supply, living standards) -- overpopulation Focus: Make sure to write down some examples of Commons!

Solution Hardin: appeals to individual conscience are bad because: 1) It discriminates against people of good conscience, and tends to eliminate them from the population. 2) It won’t work in the long run. Nature’s revenge. People without conscience with outbreed the others, and population will increase again eventually. 3) It is not psychologically healthy to force people to act against their own interests on the basis of conscience. So the only choice is “mutual coercion mutually agreed upon” Freedom must be limited. Focus: What are the some of the issues with Tragedy of the Commons?