Tragedy of the Common
Although Garrett Hardin's essay entitled "The Tragedy of the Commons" was written nearly 40 years ago, it has even more impact today than when it was written as we watch the population of the world continue to climb exponentially. His concern with overpopulation caused by, as he terms it, "the freedom to breed" is prevalent in all parts of the world today. In the third world where population is increasing at the greatest rate, starvation and disease run rampant. In the industrial world, the current population is beginning to tax natural resources such as fossil fuels, land and water just as Hardin predicted. Hardin begins by attacking the way in which the world would like to deal with the problem of overpopulation. In the modern world, we seek a technical solution by looking to improvements in agriculture or exploration of the sea. Hardin says that these measures will not solve the problem. He clearly states that there is no technical solution or, in other words, no easy way out. We do not know if the Earth's resources are finite; however, we do know that population, if left unchecked, will increase at such a rate t
Adding one more animal to the grazing land will cause it to be overpopulated. hat it will be impossible to keep up with it. Hardin says this is absolutely false and needs to be disregarded. In order to illustrate his point, Hardin introduces two antithetical concepts. The United Nations no doubt felt that they were supporting human rights which they were. The first is the idea of the "invisible hand" which was put forth by Adam Smith in The Wealth of Nations. If people would recognize the dangers of "the freedom to breed", then perhaps, through mutual coercion, the problem could be brought under control. To give this example more impact, Hardin looks to the National Parks as a modern example of how the lack of limits placed on individuals can destroy something. Nevertheless, the individual herders weigh their options and determine that they will benefit more personally by adding additional animals and the negative consequences are slight in comparison. Those who do not care or have no conscience will continue to reproduce irresponsibly and only make the problem worse in future generations. Hardin establishes the problem and eliminates the possible solutions that so many would rely upon such as the conscience of the individuals. Although he spends much of his essay establishing the seemingly hopeless situation, near the end he begins to put forth an idea of how to deal with the problem of overpopulation. What Hardin saw 40 years ago is still true today, population growth must be controlled.
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Acceptance Essays
