Abstract
The tragedy of the commons as a food basket is averted by private property, or something formally like it. The pollution problem is a consequence of population. Analysis of the pollution problem as a function of population density uncovers a not generally recognized principle of morality, namely: the morality of an act is a function of the state of the system at the time it is performed. Those who have more children will produce a larger fraction of the next generation than those with more susceptible consciences. Perhaps the simplest summary of the analysis of man’s population problems is this: the commons, if justifiable at all, is justifiable only under conditions of low-population density. As the human population has increased, the commons has had to be abandoned in one aspect after another. The man who takes money from a bank acts as if the bank were a commons.
Keywords
Tragedy of the commonsTragedy (event)CommonsPolitical scienceEnvironmental ethicsEconomicsLaw and economicsPhilosophyLawSociologySocial science
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Publication Info
- Year
- 2009
- Type
- article
- Volume
- 1
- Issue
- 3
- Pages
- 243-253
- Citations
- 6404
- Access
- Closed
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Cite This
Garrett Hardin
(2009).
The Tragedy of the Commons*.
Journal of Natural Resources Policy Research
, 1
(3)
, 243-253.
https://doi.org/10.1080/19390450903037302
Identifiers
- DOI
- 10.1080/19390450903037302