UW-Rock County
Environmental Ethics
Hardin
“The Tragedy of the Commons”
Stephen E. Schmid
1
UW-Rock County
Environmental Ethics
Strategy
•
Hardin’s strategy is to argue that the population problem cannot
be solved by any other means than mutually agreed upon
coercion
Stephen E. Schmid
2
UW-Rock County
Environmental Ethics
Social Problems
•
Unlike many other problems, like how to clean an oil spill out of
San Francisco Bay, certain social problems have no
technological solution
•
A technological solution is one that requires some change in the techniques
of the natural sciences, but no corresponding change in human values or
ideals
•
Hardin thinks that the “population problem” is such a social
problem
•
Population is a problem because a finite world can support only a
finite population
Stephen E. Schmid
3
UW-Rock County
Environmental Ethics
Can a Finite World Support
a Maximized Population?
•
•
Hardin argues, somewhat incorrectly, that it cannot
•
Hardin’s mistake is in how he understands Bentham--Bentham is not
necessarily arguing for maximizing population but for maximizing
happiness for a given population
•
A utilitarian argument could be used to make Hardin’s point about
mutually agreed upon coercion
The core of his argument seems correct and is basically what
McKibben argues
•
The planet can produce only so much energy for consumption
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The larger the population, the fewer resources there are to go around
•
At some point, there simply are not enough resources to support a
growing population
Stephen E. Schmid
4
UW-Rock County
Environmental Ethics
How Do We Decide on
an Optimal Population?
•
What’s meant by “optimal”?
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Does “optimal” refer to the carrying capacity of the planet?
Does “optimal” refer to the population which would allow
happiness to be maximized for that population?
•
Given the different demands on happiness for each
individual, what might this require?
•
Setting aside wilderness, unlimited access to energy,
more leisure than work?
Stephen E. Schmid
5
UW-Rock County
Environmental Ethics
What Is the Criterion for Determining
Optimal Population?
•
Hardin suggests we look to nature
•
What criterion does nature use to determine the comparison of
goods?
•
Survival – natural selection is a process of weighing traits
valuable to a species survival
•
“Man must imitate this process.” (391)
Stephen E. Schmid
6
UW-Rock County
Environmental Ethics
Tragedy of Freedom in a Commons
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Tragedy: the remorseful recognition of the inevitable working of
things
•
Commons: the rational, self-interested action of the masses
•
“Ruin is the destination toward which all men rush, each
pursuing his own best interest in a society that believes in the
freedom of the commons. Freedom in a commons brings ruin to
all.”
Stephen E. Schmid
7
UW-Rock County
Environmental Ethics
Pollution
•
In and of itself, the generation of waste (or pollution) is not a
problem
•
The problem of pollution arises when too many people
contribute their waste to a system that is incapable of cleaning
the waste quickly enough
•
“The pollution problem is a consequence of population.” (393)
Stephen E. Schmid
8
UW-Rock County
Environmental Ethics
Tragedy is Not Simply Due to
the Freedom to Breed
•
•
Tragedy of the commons is not just due to the ability to procreate
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If families were to procreate without limit and families were
dependent on their own resources, fewer children would
survive because families would not be the resources available
to take care of their respective children
•
But in a welfare state where the commons protects its
members from the fatal consequences of its actions, there is
not a natural culling of members of over-breeding families
“To couple the concept of freedom to breed with the belief that
everyone born has an equal right to the commons is to lock the
world into a tragic course of action.” (395)
Stephen E. Schmid
UW-Rock County
9
Environmental Ethics
Will Conscience Eliminate Over-breeding?
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Conscience will not eliminate over-breeding
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Those with a conscience will voluntarily decide not to breed
or to breed less
•
•
Those without a conscience will breed more
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In time, there will be more people as a result of the
predominance of non-self-regulating individuals who overbreed
Eventually, there will be fewer people with the trait of
conscience self-regulation and more with a non-selfregulating conscience
Stephen E. Schmid
10
UW-Rock County
Environmental Ethics
Appeal to Conscience Sends
a Mixed Message
•
When one is asked to not exploit the commons “in the name of
conscience” one hears two messages
1. Intended message is that if one does not do what is asked,
then one will be openly condemned
2. Unintended message is that if one does what is asked, then
one will be secretly condemned for being a simpleton for
following one’s conscience when others continue to exploit the
commons
Stephen E. Schmid
11
UW-Rock County
Environmental Ethics
What Is the Solution?
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Mutually agreed upon coercion
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“The social arrangements that produce responsibility are
arrangements that create coercion, of some sort.” (396)
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Banks are not commons--we have moral coercions to keep it
from becoming a commons
•
•
For example, Thou shall not steal
Public spaces are commons--but we can restrict access to
those commons through taxing the use of the commons
•
Stephen E. Schmid
Parking downtown is not forbidden, but it is taxed--the
longer one parks downtown the more expensive it is
12
UW-Rock County
Environmental Ethics
What Kind of Coercion”
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“The only kind of coercion I recommend is mutual coercion,
mutually agreed upon by the majority of the people affected.”
(397)
•
•
One may not like the coercion
But, one favors the coercion (e.g., taxes) because lack of
coercion favors the conscienceless
Stephen E. Schmid
13
UW-Rock County
Environmental Ethics
Does Necessity Demand Rejection
of the Commons?
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“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.” (397)
•
•
First, land was divided to restrict hunting, fishing and farming
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Next, will restrictions be placed on the pollution of the air?
Then, water access was restricted to prevent pollution and
waste
Stephen E. Schmid
14
UW-Rock County
Environmental Ethics
Abandon the Commons of Breeding
•
Most importantly, Hardin thinks we need to abandon the
commons of breeding
•
Over-population creates stresses that the planet may not be
able to sustain
•
“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 over-population. Freedom to breed will bring ruin
to all.” (398)
Stephen E. Schmid
15