Freedom Brings Destruction

 

Freedom of individuals leads to destruction. Here is why: Picture a pasture---a commons---on which all herdsmen are free to graze their herds. Such an arrangement works reasonably satisfactorily for centuries because tribal wars, poaching, and disease keep the numbers of both man and beast well below the carrying capacity of the land. But during an era of peace and prosperity the herds multiply, the inherent logic of the commons generates tragedy. Each herdsman acting rationally in his own self-interest will add to his herd. He alone will profit from an additional animal, whereas the environmental impact will be shared by all. What's one more cow? Overgrazed, grass eventually gives way to dust. Each man is locked into a system that compels him to increase his herd without limit. In a world that is limited, freedom in a commons brings ruin too all.

 

There are resources we share with each other and with the world, air and water being examples and so the tragedy of the commons still obtains. It explains the depletion of fisheries and aquifers. It explains the pollution of skies and seas. Technology may delay the tragedy---by increasing crop yields or fuel efficiency---but so long as the human population continues to grow it cannot in the long run avert it.  Which do we want more environmental health or economic growth. Long term we cannot have both. In a world that is limited, freedom in a commons brings ruin too all.