Reading Notes by Christopher Lay

Los Angeles Pierce College

Department of History, Philosophy, and Sociology

Garrett Hardin's "The Tragedy of the Commons"

Resource Management	What is the best way to manage the range?	"In 1974 the general public got a graphic illustration of the 'tragedy of the commons' in satellite photos of the earth. Pictures of northern Africa showed an irregular dark patch 390 square miles in area. Ground-level investigation revealed a fenced area inside of which there was plenty of grass. Outside, the ground cover had been devastated."
Owned Land	When one owns land there is an incentive to care for it in a particular way. Allowing, for instance, a field to lie fallow for a number of years gives it time to "recover from grazing."	"The explanation was simple. The fenced area was private property, subdivided into five portions. Each year the owners moved their animals to a new section. Fallow periods of four years gave the pastures time to recover from the grazing. The owners did this because they had an incentive to take care of their land."
Unowned Land	The land is open to anyone. When not managed, then the users needs are uncontrolled and grow as much as the land can sustain. Supply is governed by nature, and can be influenced by things like droughts. After one such drought "herds exceeded the natural 'carrying capacity' of their environment, soil was compacted and eroded, and 'weedy' plants, unfit for cattle consumption, replaced good plants." "Many cattle died, and so did humans."	"But no one owned the land outside the ranch. It was open to nomads and their herds. Though knowing nothing of Karl Marx, the herdsmen followed his famous advice of 1875: 'To each according to his needs.' Their needs were uncontrolled and grew with the increase in the number of animals. But supply was governed by nature and decreased drastically during the drought of the early 1970s. The herds exceeded the natural 'carrying capacity' of their environment, soil was compacted and eroded, and 'weedy' plants, unfit for cattle consumption, replaced good plants. Many cattle died, and so did humans."
Whence the Difference	Self-interest seems to account for this. "At the point when the carrying capacity of the commons was fully reached, a herdsman might ask himself, 'Should I add another animal to my herd?'" If the herdsman owns his animals then any gains from adding an animal will be all his. If the herdsman doesn't own the common pasture then any losses to the common pasture from adding an animal will be "'commonized'" to all those who rely on the common pasture. "Because the privatized gain would exceed his share of the commonized loss, a self-seeking herdsman would add another animal to his herd." Any self-interested herdsman would do the same. This destroys the common.	It seems at least "that each human exploiter of the common was guided by self-interest. At the point when the carrying capacity of the commons was fully reached, a herdsman might ask himself, 'Should I add another animal to my herd?' Because the herdsman owned his animals, the gain of so doing would come solely to him. But the loss incurred by overloading the pasture would be 'commonized' among all the herdsmen. Because the privatized gain would exceed his share of the commonized loss, a self-seeking herdsman would add another animal to his herd. And another. And reasoning in the same way, so would all the other herdsmen. Ultimately, the common property would be ruined."
Management	In the absence of "some coercive means of controlling the actions of each individual," folks seem individually powerless to prevent that outcome.	"Even when herdsmen understand the long-run consequences of their actions, they generally are powerless to prevent such damage without some coercive means of controlling the actions of each individual."
	Knowing the long-term consequences of behavior does nothing when one is firstly concerned with short-term survival.	"Idealists may appeal to individuals caught in such a system, asking them to let the long-term effects govern their actions. But each individual must first survive in the short run."
Challenge	"An unmanaged commons in a world of limited material wealth and unlimited desires inevitably ends in ruin." "[E]very workable distribution system must meet the challenge of [competitive] human self-interest."
Fish-Ownership	When oceans or fish are owned for instance, " an owner could sue those who encroach on his fish, owners would have an incentive to refrain from overfishing."	"If each government allowed ownership of fish within a given area, so that an owner could sue those who encroach on his fish, owners would have an incentive to refrain from overfishing."
Fish-Non-Ownership	Governments instead restrict the number of fish or the amount of time one can fish. This results in "a vast overinvestment in fishing boats and equipment as individual fishermen compete to catch fish quickly."	"But governments do not do that. Instead, they often estimate the maximum sustainable yield and then restrict fishing either to a fixed number of days or to a fixed aggregate catch. Both systems result in a vast overinvestment in fishing boats and equipment as individual fishermen compete to catch fish quickly."
Socialism	What if there was a tradition wherein herdsmen are limited to a set number of animals? "Such cases are spoken of as 'managed commons,' which is the logical equivalent of socialism." "Viewed this way, socialism may be good or bad, depending on the quality of the management." "As with all things human, there is no guarantee of permanent excellence. The old Roman warning must be kept constantly in mind: Quis custodiet ipsos custodes? (Who shall watch the watchers themselves?)"	"Some of the common pastures of old England were protected from ruin by the tradition of stinting—limiting each herdsman to a fixed number of animals (not necessarily the same for all). Such cases are spoken of as 'managed commons,' which is the logical equivalent of socialism. Viewed this way, socialism may be good or bad, depending on the quality of the management. As with all things human, there is no guarantee of permanent excellence. The old Roman warning must be kept constantly in mind: Quis custodiet ipsos custodes? (Who shall watch the watchers themselves?)"
Common-Ownership	Communes sometimes appear to instances of "unmanaged commons." But their success depends on not exceeding an upper population limit of around 150 people. "[B]elow 150 people, the distribution system can be managed by shame; above that approximate number, shame loses its effectiveness."	"At first glance Hutterite colonies appear to be truly unmanaged commons. But appearances are deceiving. The number of people included in the decision unit is crucial. As the size of a colony approaches 150, individual Hutterites begin to undercontribute from their abilities and overdemand for their needs. The experience of Hutterite communities indicates that below 150 people, the distribution system can be managed by shame; above that approximate number, shame loses its effectiveness."
Atmosphere E.G.	"No one owns the Earth’s atmosphere." "Therefore, it is treated as a common dump into which everyone may discharge wastes." "Among the unwanted consequences of this behavior are acid rain, the greenhouse effect, and the erosion of the Earth’s protective ozone layer." "Industries and even nations are apt to regard the cleansing of industrial discharges as prohibitively expensive." "The oceans are also treated as a common dump." "Yet continuing to defend the freedom to pollute will ultimately lead to ruin for all." "Nations are just beginning to evolve controls to limit this damage."	"Even when the shortcomings of the commons are understood, areas remain in which reform is difficult."
Traffic E.G.	"Congestion on public roads that do not charge tolls is another example of a government-created tragedy of the commons." "If roads were privately owned, owners would charge tolls and people would take the toll into account in deciding whether to use them." "Owners of private roads would probably also engage in what is called peak-load pricing, charging higher prices during times of peak demand and lower prices at other times." "But because governments own roads that they finance with tax dollars, they normally do not charge tolls." "The government makes roads into a commons." "The result is congestion."

Cartoon: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4RE9PMwwaFc

Hardin himself: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L8gAMFTAt2M