Greetings,
Below is a short discussion of Hardin's general position and a review of
his soon to be released new book. "assails the recklessness and basic
ecological ignorance of
economists and others who champion the idea of unbounded growth."
Steve
http://dieoff.org/page121.htm
An Abstract of "A General Statement of Hardin's Tragedy of the Commons"
Although "The Tragedy of the Commons" is widely acclaimed, activists in
environmental causes as well as professionals in ethics continue to act as
if the essay had never been written. They ignore the central thesis that
traditional, a priori thinking in ethics is mistaken and must be discarded.
Hence the need remains to give the tragedy of the commons a more general
statement--one which can convince a wide public of the correctness of its
method and principles. In essence Hardin's essay is a thought experiment.
Its purpose is not to make a historical statement but rather to demonstrate
that tragic consequences can follow from practicing mistaken moral
theories. Then it proposes a system-sensitive ethics that can prevent
tragedy. The general statement of the tragedy of the commons demonstrates
that an a priori ethics constructed on human-centered moral principles and
a definition of equal justice cannot prevent and indeed always supports
growth in population and consumption. Such growth, though not inevitable,
is a constant threat. If continual growth should ever occur, it eventually
causes the breakdown of the ecosystems which support civilization.
Henceforth, any viable ethics must satisfy these related requirements:
(1) An acceptable system of ethics is contingent on its ability to
preserve the ecosystems which sustain it.
(2) Biological necessity has a veto over the behavior which any set of
moral beliefs can allow or require.
(3) Biological success is a necessary (though not a sufficient) condition
for any acceptable ethical theory. In summary, no ethics can be grounded in
biological impossibility; no ethics can be incoherent in that it requires
ethical behavior that ends all further ethical behavior. Clearly any ethics
which tries to do so is mistaken; it is wrong.
February 26, 1997
Herschel Elliott
Emeritus Philosophy
University of Florida
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http://www.oup-usa.org/docs/0195122747.html
A leading figure in the debate on overpopulation tackles a host of
unpopular issues as he critiques the dangerous trend toward unchecked
growth
The Ostrich Factor
Our Population Myopia
GARRETT HARDIN
Garrett Hardin, one of our leading thinkers on problems of human
overpopulation, here assails the recklessness and basic ecological
ignorance of economists and others who champion the idea of unbounded
growth. Hardin delivers an uncompromising critique of mainstream economic
thinking. Science has long understood the limits of our environment, he
notes, and yet economists consistently turn a blind eye to one feature we
share with all of our planet's inhabitants--the potential for irreversible
environmental damage through overcrowding.
And as humankind draws ever closer to its goal of conquering our
final natural enemy--disease--the fallacy of sustainable unchecked
population
growth becomes more and more dangerous. Moreover, Hardin argues, rampant
growth
will soon force us to face many issues that we will find quite
unpalatable--most
notably, that since volunteer population control will not work, we will
have to turn to
"democratic coercion" or "mutual coercion, mutually agreed upon" to limit
growth, a policy that directly threatens long cherished personal rights.
Challenging an
array of powerful taboos, Hardin takes aim at sacred cows on both sides of
the
political fence--affirmative action, multiculturalism, current immigration
policies, and the greed and excess of big business and "growth intoxicated
industrialists."
Hardin's forceful and cogent argument for the union of ecology and
economics is a must for anyone concerned with the goal of a bountiful, yet
sustainable
world. Sure to spark controversy, this book underscores the urgency of our
situation and
reveals practical steps we must take to ensure the long term survival of
humankind.
Garrett Hardin is Professor Emeritus of Human
Ecology at the University of California, Santa
Barbara. The founder of the field of human
ecology, he is the author of the seminal essay "The
Tragedy of the Commons," which has been
reprinted in over 100 anthologies, and the book
Living Within Limits (Oxford), which won the
1993 Award in Science from the Phi Beta Kappa
Society. He lives in Santa Barbara.
176 pp. 2 linecuts; 5-1/2 x 8-1/4
$22.00t 0-19-512274-7
February 1999 (tentative)
