Everybody needs water. But this resource is scarce (UN, 2014). However, there is a controversy about whether water should be treated as human right or not. In the human rights discussion, the term “public good” is important because resources of this kind must be made accessible to everyone in sufficient quantity and quality (basic supply). Moreover, it is essential to human life and health. But according to the economic definition, this scarce resource does not meet all of the economic criteria of a public good (in which no one could be excluded from its consumption) (Arce, C., & Maume, A. 2005). Traditionally, water has been considered a free good, and charges for its use have been related to the costs of treatment prior to use, distribution and pollution abatement. In reviewing the literature from the 1970 's and the 1980 's, the scholars identified two ideas of efficiency and externalities to support the argument that the value of water needs to be increased. Regarding efficiency, Environment Canada (1983) noted from the angle of economic principles that when a good is undervalued it tends to be overused. The best example of the implications of this for natural resource management was described by Hardin (1968) regarding the 'tragedy of the commons". Hardin noted that in Britain, a common pasture was overgrazed because each herdsman thought about his interest and gradually increased the number of grazing animals. As a result the common pasture was destroyed. Tate (1984)
Throughout history there have been many examples of tragedy of the commons. Tragedy of the commons is when people in a certain area over exploit a common resource which leads toa higher problem. Tragedy of the commons normally happens when people get greedy and get more than they really need. For example, if one farmer is public grazing area were to add a cow over the limit the field can sustain it won’t do much damage but if the other farmers also add another cow to the field it could end up harming it to the point where it is no longer usable.This comes to show that if even a single person becomes greedy it could ruin so many things for other people. Ideas will be pulled out from Hardin’s “The Tragedy of the Commons” to be used in this essay.
A. In a world the values “keeping up with the Jones”, it is understandable why a theory such as the Tragedy of the Commons would be introduced. Bell uses Garrett Hardin’s ideas to paint a picture when the Tragedy of the Commons occurs. When a common area for group of people is in use, it is likely to exploited because of the selfish mindset of “What can I get out of this?” rather than “What can we get out of this?” This causes the common place, be it a pasture, road, air, or ocean to become unusable as a result of being overused by the very people it was meant to serve. It turns common places into a
Water scarcity is an environmental problem that reaches around the globe. This lack of water is called the World Water Crisis. In the U.S, people are privileged enough to be able to use clean water for many things. However, the U.S is effected by water scarcity as well as countries who are underdeveloped and aren 't as privileged as we are. Only 2.5 percent of Earth 's water is fresh water, of which industrial uses account for 22 percent of available fresh water, domestic use requires only 8 percent, and the rest-over two-thirds of our demand-is used for agriculture. Water is said to be a right for all living things, however, many underdeveloped countries in the world, such as Ghana or Rajasthan, are victims of corporations who come
What we gained from this research was not a thorough understanding of the legislative measures that governments are taking to provide water to the citizens within their borders. Rather, we learned the general lesson that governments, regardless of their resources or political structure, are not the most reliable or capable entities to provide for human beings
Dame, U. o. (2006, November 28). Public Goods and Common Resources. Retrieved from University of Notre Dame: https://www3.nd.edu/~adutt/courses/documents/19PublicGoodsandCommonResources_Lecture.pdf
Economists are often asked to prepare reports with objective analyses balancing the cost and potential damage to the water sources against economic benefits to the local and national communities. These requests for analysis can provide interesting ethical questions for those
Another problem with public goods is the tragedy of the commons. The tragedy of the commons occurs when individual people or parties disregard the well-being of the society in pursuing personal gains. When every country tries to gain the most benefits from abusing the climate, the demand will rapidly consume the supply of the resource, due to the country not
Whether water is a human commodity or basic human right has become a large problem around the world while dealing with the availability of clean drinking water in developing societies. If water is either recognized to be a right or a commodity, many complications come to these developing countries in several social and political aspects. A human right is a freedom and a right that belongs to everyone in the world. Water as a human right gives everyone the right to water as
Among all of the resources in the world, there is one that we do not often consider to be diminishing. The masses take this resource, water, for granted. When the average person takes a single look at a world map, they see multiple blue oceans covering the Earth. But, although we are surrounded by water, our clean water reserves dwindle rapidly. In her article, “Water Works”, Cynthia Barnett attempts to bring this issue to greater light and offers her own solutions. While I agree with many of Barnett’s points, she fails to look at the arguments of her detractors to the detriment of her already flawed case.
Garrett Hardin wrote an essay titled “Lifeboat Ethics: The Case Against Helping the Poor”. In this essay he spoke of the Earth being similar to a lifeboat in which it has limited capacity and resources. This is a fair assumption, as the Earth does have limited resources and carrying capacity. He mentions that we are “adrift in a moral sea” saying that in today’s world it is morally abhorrent to not help a person in need but that we should do what we have to in order to survive ourselves. Hardin mentions a “tragedy of the commons” he states that if a pasture were to become a commons it would only take one person to not show restraint to ruin the system and cause mass suffering. He uses the world’s air and water as an example claiming that they
Garrett Hardin first proposed in 1998 that the tragedy of the commons cannot be solved with a technical solution, which he claims is the most socially acceptable type of solution. Hardin goes on to point out and question social boundaries by challenging his reader to ask him or herself what is “good” (Hardin 1244). He acknowledges that “good” is usually considered to be a varied concept that is open to human interpretation and construction; however, “natural selection commensurates the incommensurable” (1244). Hardin’s proposal that freedom is the catalyst for ruin in a communal society is one of his most controversial claims because he argues that autonomy leaves room for selfish motivations that lead to the destruction of the overall good. For example, Hardin briefly discusses world pollution. The atmosphere and oceans are shared resourced or “commons” for which many people do not feel responsible, and thus, they are commons which have been damaged and polluted, affecting both those culpable and inculpable of the created “cesspool” (1245). Hardin’s interpretation challenges traditional morals that stem
In his essay “The Tragedy of the Commons” author Garrett Hardin presents several points for his argument against the population problem. The population is growing at an exponential rate leading to a decline in the quality of life for mankind. Due to the fact that the population is growing so must the energy available, if mankind is to survive. Hardin’s argument is that if the population continues to grow with the laws that are currently set in place, the quality of life will eventually decline. Hardin states “Freedom in a commons brings ruin to all” (Hardin 23).
Capitalism in Lifeboat Ethics: the Case Against Helping the Poor “In a crowded world of less than perfect human beings, mutual ruin is inevitable if there are no controls. This is the tragedy of the commons” (Hardin). In his excerpt, Garrett Hardin discusses the responsibility of individuals to take care of earth’s natural resources, such as parks, rivers, and pasture lands. When treated as commons, where anyone and everyone is allowed access to them, these specific resources will not receive proper care. The tragedy of the commons is a direct outcome of a society that is lacking in control.
Environmentalist believe that a single individual should not be allowed to overuse resources that are lacking in third world countries. The rich are under no authority to obligate or have enough knowledge to helping the poor with world hunger, this has been a problem for many years. World Hunger is sustainable and everyone would like to resolve it, but it is overwhelming and there is no simple resolution. Garrett Hardin, an ecologist addresses this concern in an article titled “Lifeboat Ethics: the Case Against Helping the Poor,” that first appeared in a 1974 issue of Psychology Today. Hardin argues in that the rich is under no obligation to help the poor when it comes to them not having enough resources. That if the rich helps the poor, the
Life springs up around water sources. It is no coincidence that some of the greatest civilizations have been build need fertile bodies of water. Known life relies on water to sustain that life. So it is no surprise when a debate arose in 2013 around comments made by Nestlé Chairman Peter Brabeck regarding privatization of water and the fundamental human right to survive from dehydration and illness from non-portal water consumption. Although the context of Brabeck’s comment was taken out of context, issues surrounding the access companies like Nestlé have been given to bottle their water when people do not have access to clean water and droughts are threatening crop production. Adding a price tag is not the answer. The market, both these companies and their consumers have a major role to play in the management of water; a role that requires a change in mindset of privilege many citizen of the United States, and other countries that do not see the direct effects that serious clean water issue have on people that do not have it.