Although written in 1968, “The Tragedy of the Commons,” by Garrett Hardin applie

Question

Although written in 1968, “The Tragedy of the Commons,” by Garrett Hardin applies to many of the economic, political, and social struggles we are experiencing today like the debates about health care reform, deficit spending and the debt, tax reform, immigration, etc. In a short essay, explain what Hardin means by the following quotes. • “It is one of the peculiarities of the warfare between reform and the status quo that it is thoughtlessly governed by a double standard.” • “Freedom is the recognition of necessity.” In particular, what is the “double standard” and what implication does this have on the political economy and how does Hardin interpret the word “freedom” and what is its implication on the political economy?

Explanation / Answer

Answer:

  “It is one of the peculiarities of the warfare between reform and the status quo that it is thoughtlessly governed by a double standard.”

   Whenever a reform measure is proposed it is often defeated when its opponents triumphantly discover a flaw in it. As Kingsley Davis has pointed out, worshipers of the status quo sometimes imply that no reform is possible without unanimous agreement, an implication contrary to historical fact. As nearly as I can make out, automatic rejection of proposed reforms is based on one of two unconscious assumptions:

(1) The status quo is perfect; or

(2) The choice we face is between reform and no action.

       If the proposed reform is imperfect, we presumably should take no action at all, while we wait for a perfect proposal. But we can never do anything. That which we have done for thousands of years is also action. It also produces evils. Once we are aware that the status quo is action, we can then compare its discoverable advantages and disadvantages with the predicted advantages and disadvantages of the proposed reform, discounting as best we can for our lack of experience. On the basis of such a comparison, we can make a rational decision which will not involve the unworkable assumption that only perfect systems are tolerable.

     Perhaps the simplest summary of this 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.

     First we abandoned the commons in food gathering, enclosing farm land and restricting pastures and hunting and fishing areas. These restrictions are still not complete throughout the world. Every new enclosure of the commons involves the infringement of somebody's personal liberty. Infringements made in the distant past are accepted because no contemporary complains of a loss. It is the newly proposed infringements that we vigorously oppose; cries of "rights" and "freedom" fills the air. But what does "freedom" mean? When men mutually agreed to pass laws against robbing, mankind became more free, not less so. Individuals locked into the logic of the commons are free only to bring on universal ruin; once they see the necessity of mutual coercion, they become free to pursue other goals. I believe it was Hegel who said, "Freedom is the recognition of necessity."

    The most important aspect of necessity that we must now recognize, is the necessity of abandoning the commons in breeding. No technical solution can rescue us from the misery of overpopulation. Freedom to breed will bring ruin to all. At the moment, to avoid hard decisions many of us are tempted to propagandize for conscience and responsible parenthood. The temptation must be resisted, because an appeal to independently acting consciences selects for the disappearance of all conscience in the long run, and an increase in anxiety in the short.

     The only way we can preserve and nurture other and more precious freedoms is by relinquishing the freedom to breed and that very soon. "Freedom is the recognition of necessity" -- and it is the role of education to reveal to all the necessity of abandoning the freedom to breed. Only so, can we put an end to this aspect of the tragedy of the commons.

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