The Tragedy of the Commons

Read Tragedy of the Commons by Garret Hardin.

Reflect on the following questions in your journal:

Why does Hardin call cases in which there is open access to a common-property resource “tragic”?

At one point, Hardin argues that an unenforced appeal to conscience is an unworkable solution to the population problem. What do you think of this argument?

Does this argument rule out the general effectiveness of shifts in attitude or ideology?

What general solutions does Hardin think will get us out of a tragedy of the commons?

With the last question in mind, why is it so difficult to deal with climate chagne (a classic tragedy of the commons issue)?