“We fail to mandate economic sanity,” writes Garrett Hardin, “because our brains are addled by…compassion.” With such startling assertions, Hardin has cut a swathe through the field of ecology for decades, winning a reputation as a fearless and original thinker. A prominent biologist, ecological philosopher, and keen student of human population control, Hardin now offers the finest summation of his work to date, with an eloquent argument for accepting the limits… More >>
Living within Limits: Ecology, Economics, and Population Taboos
Garrett Hardin, in interviews has said that those who use “entitlement” as the grounds for claiming their share of resources and opportunities on this planet are often the “useless” and “incompetent” members of our society. This presents a problem in Hardin’s view. Many anti- entitlement conservatives will rejoice in this perspective. Especially due to the very compelling theory of “Tragedy of The Commons” that Garrett Hardin has put forward. The problem is that who decides which members of the society are not productive enough to be entitled to a part of this Earth’s bounty. And are we to execute people who are deemed “non contributors” to our society. Who will this great authority that decides upon whom is productive or not be? Garrett Hardin perhaps? And often who is seen as “productive” is a completely arbitrary and useless concept. The barbarians of old may have found Plato’s work to not be productive nor useful. Unfortunately Garrett Hardin drifts into Social Darwinian and almost Nazi-like stances on entitlement and resource sharing. However his “Tragedy of the Commons” concept is poignant and valuable.
Rating: 3 / 5
I must first say I have not finished reading the book. Part of the reason its that I always start again while Im half way through.
This books educates you, in the highest sense of the word, and I am not talking about having to make your mind up about any stand in population control that may be in direct confrontation with your religious beliefs. This book is not about that.
It educates because it teaches you logical thinking, fallacies, numerative, narrative and ecological thinking, history of economic thought, of philosophy of progress. All in chunk-bit sizes, so I would say that even with a university degree, this book has made re-think, re-explore and adequate my thought to a multiple of tools I have not used in a long time.
Its most profound method, which I have not seen in de Bono and the like, is how to address critical issues by:
- Chosing the right words (Rhethoric has been the most overused tool)
- Chosing the right numbers (Please read What the Numbers Tell)
- Chosing the right system of growth (if you decide to do something, see the consequences please!!!)
By reading history, you can see all type of blunders that have resulted form not using in balance the following tools. History? take a look around you, we are not better of than our forefathers eventhough now we can have this tools to guide us.
Since this is a book that teaches how to think, I can clearly see now how it can be so underrated and not be required reading at all levels. Maybe, because the theme of population is brought on, and due to the taboos we have about it, as well as our hopes, etc. this can overcloud the relevance as an educational tool.
Rating: 5 / 5
This book opens up avenues of thought and reason that aren’t explicitly expressed or taught through conventional means. This should be read and discussed by many, unfortunately few will have either the interest or intellectual flexibility to make the most of this brilliant exercise in reason. The only part of the book I feel is flawed is his staunch view on Immigration. There are societal influences that did not add necessary weight to his argument [maybe they are expanded on in his book dealing solely with Immigration]. However, that is a fractional concern when the rest of the book is a work of such immense caliber.
Rating: 5 / 5
I would give this book 99 stars if I could. Garrett Hardin, most famous for his essay ‘The Tragedy of the Commons’ (look it up on Wikipedia), intellectually evicerates anyone who would be so foolish as to think that overpopulation is NOT a problem. Nearly every human ill can be attributed to the simple phrase ‘too many people and too few resources,’ and Hardin attacks this issue from every angle. As a self styled ‘ecological conservative’ Hardin attacks both liberal democratic and traditional conservative ideology.
I thought I knew a little bit about ‘real’ economics until I read this book, boy was I wrong. If, like me, you thought that Freakonomics was cutting edge and savvy then you would definitely love this book. Hardin clearly has a firm grasp on what economics is actually about. He throws everything at you – natural selection, Thomas Malthus, carrying capacity, demographics, Unmanaged Commons and so much more that this book is sure to open your eyes to the growing problem around us.
The only negative thing (hence the -1 star from 100) I can say about the book is that there is little continuity or flow to it. Rather than any continuous theme, it seems more like his lecture notes stuck together in some kind of topical series. Besides that, I highly highly recommend everyone read this book – sadly though, I am a realist and know that few will (to society’s detriment).
If you like this book, you will like Collapse: How Societies Choose to Fail or Succeed; or if you liked Collapse, then you will like this book.
Rating: 5 / 5
Overpopulation is the reality that multiplies every malady and problem
that afflicts society. Unfortunately, society “chooses” to ignore any
serious consideration of the population question. Politically and
religiously the topic is a hot potato. Hardin gave decades to the
rigorous analysis of this benign enemy of our race. The intensity
of every ill that plagues the nations would be substantially lessened
if we would come to grips with the hard reasoning of Hardin’s scholarship
and objectivity.
Rating: 5 / 5