Garrett Hardin
Ecologist, author of "The Tragedy of the Commons" (1915 to 2003); American ecologist and microbiologist who focused his career on human overpopulation; the paper appeared in Science in 1968.
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Garrett Hardin did not write this page.
We collected these quotes from things they published elsewhere, and every quote links to where it was said. They have no account here and have not endorsed this site. Quotes are word for word; the short line under each one is our own restatement, not their wording. Their own site. Is this you? Claim it or ask us to remove it. Or tell us what is wrong here.
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Our reading
The more population exceeds the environment's carrying capacity, the more freedoms must be given up
Their wordsIts message is, I think, still true today. Individualism is cherished because it produces freedom, but the gift is conditional: The more the population exceeds the carrying capacity of the environment, the more freedoms must be given up.
↗Extension of The Tragedy of the Commons (Science, 1998)garretthardinsociety.org 1st of 2 in this piece
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Our reading
The weightiest mistake in the tragedy of the commons paper was leaving out the word unmanaged
Their wordsTo judge from the critical literature, the weightiest mistake in my synthesizing paper was the omission of the modifying adjective "unmanaged."
↗Extension of The Tragedy of the Commons (Science, 1998)garretthardinsociety.org 2nd of 2 in this piece
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Their wordsThe population problem cannot be solved in a technical way, any more than can the problem of winning the game of tick-tack-toe.
↗The Tragedy of the Commons (Science, 1968)garretthardinsociety.org 1st of 6 in this piece
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Our reading
A finite world can support only a finite population, so population growth must eventually reach zero
Their wordsA finite world can support only a finite population; therefore, population growth must eventually equal zero.
↗The Tragedy of the Commons (Science, 1968)garretthardinsociety.org 2nd of 6 in this piece
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Our reading
Their wordsRuin 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.
↗The Tragedy of the Commons (Science, 1968)garretthardinsociety.org 3rd of 6 in this piece
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Their wordsIt is a mistake to think that we can control the breeding of mankind in the long run by an appeal to conscience.
↗The Tragedy of the Commons (Science, 1968)garretthardinsociety.org 4th of 6 in this piece
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Their wordsThe only kind of coercion I recommend is mutual coercion, mutually agreed upon by the majority of the people affected.
↗The Tragedy of the Commons (Science, 1968)garretthardinsociety.org 5th of 6 in this piece
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Our reading
Other, more precious freedoms can be preserved only by giving up the freedom to breed, and soon
Their wordsThe only way we can preserve and nurture other and more precious freedoms is by relinquishing the freedom to breed, and that very soon.
↗The Tragedy of the Commons (Science, 1968)garretthardinsociety.org 6th of 6 in this piece
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