The Tragedy Of The Commons Essay - 1649 Words

The Tragedy of the Commons American Earth: Environmental Writing Since Thoreau is a diverse yet interconnected collection of essays by renowned environmentalist authors who have been influential in literature, religion, science, and politics. Each piece has a specific purpose and role that it plays in conveying ideas and themes. Many authors share their personal opinions on issues such as the world’s declining forests, the extinction of species, as well their intimate experiences with nature. However, the most influential essay in this book is â€Å"The Tragedy of the Commons† by Garrett Hardin (438). A multitude of pieces in this book tie into the tragedy of the commons and support its ideas in one way or another. In his essay Hardin discusses how the rapid decline of the world’s common places, such as natural animal pastures, are the result of rapid, uncontrolled human population growth. Hardin suggests that environmental problems such as deforestation, crowding out of native species, loss of resources, pollution, poor job economy, etc., are the result of the loss of common spaces. He indicated that common spaces used to be plentiful enough for every person to have an abundant share, but that was when the human population was smaller than the current population of 7 billion people. Hardin’s powerful essay proposes many solutions and methods for solving the ever increasing tragedy of the commons. â€Å"Ruin is the destination towards which all men rush, each pursuing hisShow MoreRelatedThe Tragedy Of The Commons1672 Words   |  7 PagesThe Tragedy of the Commons American Earth: Environmental Writing Since Thoreau is a diverse yet interconnected collection of essays by renowned environmentalist authors who have been influential in literature, religion, science, and politics. Each piece has a specific purpose and role that it plays in conveying ideas and themes. Many authors share their personal opinions on issues such as the world’s declining forests, the extinction of species, such as birds in Gene Stratton-Porter’s â€Å"The LastRead MoreThe Tragedy Of The Commons2562 Words   |  11 Pagesthat are important to understanding human-environment relations, the most significant would have to be the tragedy of the commons. Before explaining why that may be, understanding what the tragedy of the commons is will help give a better understanding to its’ significance. In other words, the main reason for the tragedy of the commons is the fact that humans are selfish when it comes to common goods, which are places that are op en for everyone to use. People tend to act rationally in their own selfRead MoreThe Tragedy Of The Commons1971 Words   |  8 PagesFew decades ago, clean water was â€Å"commons† (Hardin, 1968) to us. It was a natural resource shared by everyone and not owned by anyone. This â€Å"commons† was taken for granted to the extent that people exploit clean water without considering its finiteness. Resorts and factories dumped wastewater and ruined nearby rivers and oceans. People carelessly littered garbage and substituted the dirty water with diminishing clean water. They definitely benefited in terms of financial cost and comfort from theirRead MoreThe Tragedy Of The Commons930 Words   |  4 PagesWithin the article â€Å"The Tragedy of the Commons,† ecologist Garrett Hardin asserts that eventually all resources used in common will encounter overexploitation or degradation as these difficult to enclose systems incentivize individuals to pursue their own self-int erest while simultaneously behaving contrary to the common good of all users (Anukwonke, 2015, p. 3). Affirming that the absence of both state regulation as well as privatization inescapably encourages individuals to act selfishly so asRead MoreThe Tragedy Of The Commons2099 Words   |  9 Pagesand the environment located in this area. Groundwater depletion in this region developed partly because of a problem represented by the idea of the tragedy of the commons, which is expounded upon by Thomas Dietz, Elinor Ostrom, and Paul Stern in â€Å"The Struggle to Govern the Commons† (Dietz, Ostrom, Stern, 2003). The concept of the tragedy of commons evolves from the belief that individuals will undoubtedly act in their own self-interest when a shared resource, such as water or air, is at stake asRead MoreThe Tragedy Of The Commons1871 Words   |  8 PagesThe paper introduces the general idea of the Tragedy of the Commons. This idea is basically that there are many cooperative situations, including many that crucially involve social and political issues, in which some or all of those cooperating have an incentive to abuse the explicit or tacit agreement at the foundation of the cooperation. This idea has proven fruitful in understanding many sorts of problems, though its application to specific problems varies in terms of how literally or directlyRead MoreTphady Of The Commons : The Tragedy Of The Commons1043 Words   |  5 PagesIt is easy to imagine when Hardin (1968) wrote the Tragedy of the Commons; he anticipated things would get progressively worse over time, particularly if people did not respect the earth (Hardin, 1968). Although he did not mention any particular common, Hardin (1968) envisioned the world’s resources dwindling, as a result of peoples mishandling of them. Hardin (1968) explained that â€Å"tragedy† in â€Å"The Tragedy of the Commons,† is the cruel way things work. It may have seemed as though things inRead MoreTragedy of the Commons Essays886 Words   |  4 PagesGarrett Hardin’s article â€Å"The Tragedy of the Commons† illustrates the continuing problem of the commons. The article clearly illustrates the effects of the exponentially increasing population such as pollution and food. Possible solutions to the problems are stated in the article, but any and all solution will be difficult to accomplish and may not be effective because of man’s sense of freedom and selfishness. The commons is an area of land that belongs to the public as opposed to being owned byRead MoreTragedy Of The Commons Summary931 Words   |  4 Pagesâ€Å"Tragedy of the Commons† What is Garrett Hardin’s central idea in this article? The central idea of â€Å"The Tragedy of the Commons† is that, to ensure an acceptable, general quality of life, the human race must limit its population growth, ultimately through means of coercion. To reach this conclusion, Hardin works through multiple assumptions and their various conclusions. First is that we live in a world of finite resources. No amount of technical, technological, or agricultural innovation willRead MoreTragedy and the Common Man1191 Words   |  5 PagesArticle â€Å"Tragedy and the Common Man† In Arthur Miller’s essay â€Å"Tragedy and the Common Man,† Miller mentions tragedy as man’s struggle to gain his â€Å"rightful† position in his society, and whoever that character may be—king or common man—that character is eventually brought down by his or her tragic flaws and that’s what makes that character a tragic hero. In the past, there have been many tragic heroes which can relate to Arthur Miller’s essay â€Å"Tragedy and the Common Man,† in