The Tragedy of the Commons
Within Garrett Hardin’s The Tragedy of the Commons, he discusses how there is no technical solution to the problem of population growth and eventual overpopulation. Instead, he concludes that the population must be controlled through possible solutions that he provides while dismissing other illogical solutions such as advancing food production technology to allow continued population growth. He conveys his message critically through the metaphor of The Tragedy of the Commons, where he argues that people must stop producing offspring in excess. They see the world as a “common” resource as they are inevitably overloading the Earth’s ecosystems, and they will destroy the common good (Earth). However, Hardin’s argument that the relationship between people and the Earth represents the dilemma of The Tragedy of the Commons can be applied not only to population growth but also to climate change.
Although regulating population growth and climate change are very similar and interconnected topics, applying The Tragedy of the Commons to climate change can help people better understand the necessity for sustainable practices. Hardin articulates that “A finite world can support only a finite population” (Hardin 1243). There are a finite amount of resources available to be used by humans before the population can no longer be supported. Furthermore, Hardin hinted that if the Earth is our “commons,” we as independent and rational beings are depleting and ruining our resources through overpopulation, mass consumption, and pollution. Hardin even touches upon pollution, not concerning climate change but more so as a byproduct of overpopulation. He states, “But as the population became denser, the natural chemical and biological recycling processes became overloaded, calling for a redefinition of property rights” (Hardin 1245). Hardin already understood the irreversible consequences of pollution as a byproduct of overpopulation during this time. At the same time, he also cited one of the major causes of global warming and climate change.
Similarly, when discussing the overfishing of oceans, he notes, “Professing to believe in the ‘inexhaustible resources of the oceans,’ they bring species after species of fish and whales closer to extinction” (Hardin 1245). Focusing on the habits of fishers, Hardin begins to speculate how this behavior is unsustainable and is only depleting the Earth of fish at a faster rate than they can be replenished. Nevertheless, again, Hardin is only making this observation concerning how the philosophy of the commons ruins the supply of fish for people, not for how it could affect the Earth in the long run. He is more concerned with the overproduction of offspring and their fish consumption, not so much about how the depletion of the fish would affect the Earth as a whole. However, Hardin is advising people against unsustainable behavior that would contribute to climate change while being unaware of the topic of climate change at the same time.
In conclusion, Hardin writes The Tragedy of the Commons as a way to alert his contemporary society about the hazards of overpopulation and a plea against having offspring at their current rate. Furthermore, he advises his readers about the repercussions that the oceans, atmosphere, and landscapes would feel due to their unsustainable practices. Hardin’s argument seamlessly translates to the debate surrounding climate change almost 50 years later. Although written in 1968, before climate change became a widely discussed topic, it seems that Hardin was unknowingly promoting solutions to a problem that we have still yet solved.Hardin, Garrett. “The Tragedy of the Commons.” Science, vol. 162, no. 3859, 1968, pp. 1243–1248., https://doi.org/10.1126/science.162.3859.1243.
I think it is interesting to look at this article as early solutions to climate change before it had even been widely talked about. Based on the information presented in your paper do you think that overpopulation is the main problem regarding climate change? If so, is it ethical to place a cap on the amount of kids people can have? If not, in your opinion, what is the best way to combat this issue?
ReplyDeleteThe application of the Tragedy of the Commons to an overarching issue such as modern-day climate change is very thought-provoking. I completely agree with the connections you made, as it does apply. The earth will slowly die out due to human intervention and interruption of the naturally occurring ecosystems that sustain the Earth's health. Not only will humanity suffer due to the lack of resources but so will various animal and vegetative species that diversify life. To prevent any more climate change and save humanity from overpopulation that results in a lack of resources, there must be methods in place such as the Chinese one-child law, that help lower the populations of countries over time.
ReplyDeleteI agree with both you and Hardin that overpopulation is a tremendous issue that needs to be remedied before it is too late. I think that issues like climate change, pollution, famine, etc can all be linked to the out of control population of the world. Furthermore, I think you bring up a great point that Hardin was warning people when he was writing "The Tragedy of the Commons" of the problems that could happen because of overpopulation that ended up becoming reality today. This demonstrates that we need to start listening to the warnings of writers and scientists of our time, before people in the future are reading our scientists warnings, which will become their reality.
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