Garrett Hardin's The Tragedy Of The Commons

Voice for the trees Lorax and logger Truax are considered heroes in their respective stories. Despite the two characters having such opposing views on the logging industry, they have many similarities when it comes to the delivery of their message. The Lorax shares a story of a persistent creature named Lorax who is frustrated with the Truffula trees being cut down by the evil Once-Ler. In the Truax a kind, gentle logger explains the countless benefits of logging to the grouchy Guardbark protector of the trees. This essay will compare and contrast the two stories.

A clear connection can be made regarding valuing other where the killing of the grey seals can be seen as having a non-instrumental value because the harm is done directly to the seals. While cod have an instrumental value “use value” because the decline in the cod stocks directly affect fishermen/fisherwomen. Also, the concept of flourishing apply to the wellbeing of marine life and the marine ecosystem. As Pannozzo argues that the wilderness area intended to all provide a refuge to all biodiversity species and not only protect the species that favoured by humans. The government failure to protect grey seals and marine ecosystem is a clear evidence of

Karl Jacoby. Crimes against Nature: Squatters, Poachers, Thieves, and the Hidden History of American Conservation. Berkley: University of California, 2001.

The author details much debate between the Department of Marine Resources and the fishermen to provide evidence that Garret Hardin was incorrect in several assumptions made in The Tragedy of the Commons. In this case study he attempts to disprove that users of open access resources have no vested interest in resource conservation and are unable to create regulatory controls themselves. Additionally, Acheson elucidates that resources can be sustainably and efficiently managed by communal or joint ownership in addition to private ownership as suggested by

This cultivation of a social reality can spark a fire in children to make them treasure the environment from a young age. It will raise the question of what would my world be like without trees and what can I do to prevent this. Another major concept of cultivation theory is the fear of criminal victimization, which is not necessarily present because The Lorax is geared towards children. There is the cliché bad guy, Mr. O’Hare, but he is not portrayed in a way that would make children very afraid. A persuasive element of cultivation theory present in The Lorax is resonance.

Page 1 of 4 ZOOM The tragedy of commons is a critical occurrence that affects the environment adversely. The tragedy of the commons is the idea that one person’s single action may not be bad but many of the same actions over a short period becomes a problem. The Lorax is a great representation of the tragedy of commons. It presents the onceler coming to the area where the Lorax lives and destroying it too fast for it to regenerate.

Thriving at the time, the islanders did not acknowledge the consequences their gluttonous habits had the potential of mustering, eventually overpopulating. Subsequently, the remaining resources were diminished rather quickly as the population began to struggle for the most basic of necessities, the situation so dire that cannibalism was a tangible option. Likewise, “The Lorax” displays the exact same form of shameless excess that ignites overpopulation as the Once-ler invites others to join him until said phenomena occurs. Unfortunately, the Once-ler does not realize the damage he has wrought until the final tree is chopped, a land once rich in flora entirely bare. Essentially, overpopulation bears the stigma for ruin as it creates an overabundance of need and craving, ultimately using resources at an alarmingly fast

The Treadmills of Consumption and Production together explain Hardin’s Tragedy of the Commons. According to the textbook An Innovation to Environmental Sociology, Treadmill of Consumption theory is the process of moving materially ahead without making any real gain. In other words it is the process of consumers fighting to stay ahead of neighbors, making more money to keep buying more and better items. However, these material things do not actually bring people much more happiness or personal gain, because once the consumer has consumed, he or she needs more. In the Tragedy of the Commons, there is a common grazing land for cattle. Each farmer eventually asks himself how he can best maximize his gain, the answer; adding more and more cattle to his herd. Eventually, the land does not support the amount of cattle that all the farmers have added, and the commons area is ruined. The treadmill of consumption theory explains the first part of the tragedy well, as it explains why the farmers wanted to expand their herds in the first place. Each farmer wanted the gains that came from adding cattle, and having a large herd than others. According to the textbook, Treadmill of Production is “mutual economic pinching that gets everyone running faster but without much advancement”, tending to only escalate production and push aside any concern for the environment. Treadmill of Production in the Tragedy of the Commons explains why the farmers continued to add cattle to their herds to the

The Lorax by Dr. Seuss depicts a world ravaged by deforestation and suffering from other environmental crises. In the town of Thneedville, an aspiring capitalist begins to sell his new product and as a result of booming business, the cornerstone of his business pays the price. The trees, the only natural resource used in production, are harvested to the point of extinction. The lack of trees leads to soil erosion, air pollution, and species extinction. While this is a children’s tale and Dr. Seuss’s illustration may be quite extreme, it is a reality for future generations of our planet. Human involvement in ecosystems by clearing land for urban development, logging, and agriculture have all exacerbated the rate of decline in the region’s natural systems. The deforestation of rainforests for the cultivation of palm oil is causing the possible extinction of orangutans and exacerbating air quality issues in Indonesia.

The story begins with the Once-ler, informing the reader of the local natural history of the now world and how it was once home to the Lorax. The Onceler discloses to us that the Lorax can speak for the trees because tress have no tongues. The Once-ler has greedily taken advantage of this natural habitat, which was once home to the Truffula Tress. The Once-ler cruelly destroyed all the Truffula Trees to merchandise “thneeds”. Pollution is evident through the deformation and pursuit of economic gain of the Once-ler. All the creatures who

The Lorax as an environmental study, then we can connect the themes in the story to

“The Tragedy of the Commons” written by Garret Hardin explains how the human population is degrading the environment. When Hardin refers to commons he is talking about a resource that is owned by no one and used by a group of people. Some examples of commons include the air we breathe, the water we drink, and the oceans we fish. The tragedy is that people don’t look at the bigger picture; the over use of commons for our own personal benefit leads to the destruction or extinction of these commons. For example if one fisherman wants to fish the oceans as much as possible that’s fine, but now imagine if every fisherman wants to fish the oceans as much as they can, this is one example of a common being destroyed by the human population. The

In reading Garrett Hardin’s “The Tragedy of the Commons,” and through my participation in the Kivulini Simulation lab completed in class, my knowledge and understanding of the psychological factors that contribute to the logic behind the decisions made by humans that negatively impact the planet we inhabit have significantly expanded. Many of these decisions are made out of ignorance, while others are made despite knowledge of the harm that results from them. There are some ways that I can apply this knowledge to my life in order to contribute to the effort to preserve this planet in the hopes of allowing it to sustain future generations.

For the most part, though a childrenʻs story, The Lorax is an environmentalist message targeted to urge young readers who are in time, going to determine our future, to learn from the tragic results of the Oncelerʻs actions. In the beginning of the story, the Onceler discovers the trufffula trees and begins to cut them down carelessly to make clothing, which in turn provided him money to use for his own selfish reasons. In reaction to the Oncelerʻs cruel actions, the Lorax confronts and warns the Onceler that if he continues to pollute the environment and cutting down the resources and homes of the species that live in it there will be consequences. Not caring about anything or anyone but himself, the Onceler continues to cut down the trees and use them for his own benefits, which continues to cause damage to the land and the species

Garrett Hardin published in Psychology Today in September 1974. This passage is an excerpt from his popular paper “The Tragedy of the Commons” as a warning that overpopulation was dangerous due to how limited Earth’s resources are. This theory is reflected in Hardin’s thesis that the rich should do nothing to help the people of poor nations and turn away those trying to come in. Hardin used the imagery of a lifeboat almost filled in a sea full of drowning people to pose and answer a single question, “what should the lifeboat passengers do?” (290). Hardin's answer was to defend the boat against all trying to board. If anyone felt guilty about this course of action they should feel free to swap places with a drowning man and give them their