Topic > Examination of Garrett Hardin's arguments in 'Tragedy of the Commons'

The essay 'Tragedy of the Commons' describes a situation in which nearby shared environmental resources are overused and exploited and, because of this, depleted, posing risks to every person involved. Hardin argues that to accommodate this, there must be some restrictions on the extent of use, such as the imposition of property rights. We say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay that Hardin preferred to address the population problem. Others choose or hope to avoid the problems of overpopulation by preventing them from giving up any privileges they now enjoy. They assume that farming the seas or growing new traces of grain will solve the problem, technologically. He wants us to understand that the problems of the human population cannot be solved through the plausible way of technology. Hardin fears horrible sanctions when a population shares a limited useful resource excluding limits on the use of the recommended resource truly useful, honestly useful, inevitably to be spent. Hardin names several new tragedies of the commons. Maritime countries overexploit the oceans until species emerge as extinct. Music blares from car radios and intrusive billboards violate shared views. Without a framework for the commons, industries pour sewage, chemicals, heat and fumes into the air and water, leading to the degradation of the environment and the possible destruction of life. According to Hardin, these tragedies of the once-disappearing commons are the result of overpopulation. The action that Hardin says wants to be curbed is human farming. The obstacle to limiting population growth, he says, is that trust breeding is often a human right. Combining the “freedom to procreate with the belief that every man or girl born has an ideal equal to that of the commons” will lead to disaster. He criticizes the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights for declaring the right of every family to decide how many young adults to have. According to Hardin, social change is possible. It briefly traces how humans have given up positive freedoms in the past and used coercion to avoid the tragedy of the commons. Throughout history, humans have discovered techniques to protect resources, such as designating private property and legislation on hunting, fishing, and agriculture. As cities became more densely populated, coercive agreements prohibited throwing household waste into the streets. Once agreements are made, Hardin says, humans adapt to the new norms as if they had been constantly present. It insists that the way to maintain and cultivate other and increased precious freedoms is to give up the freedom to reproduce. Please note: this is just an example. Get a custom paper from our expert writers now. Get a Custom Essay In conclusion, Garrett Hardin in his essay “Tragedy of the Commons” argues that the unlimited use of common resources, such as land, water, and air, can lead to their depletion or destruction. He argues that this is caused by a lack of regulation on the use of shared resources and that the solution is to introduce some form of regulation such as laws, taxes or tariffs to limit the use of shared resources. He further argues that the tragedy of the commons does not only apply to physical resources but also to other types of resources such as knowledge and culture and that the tragedy of the commons is not only a problem of the present but also a problem..