"No gourmet meals, no vacations, no sports, no music, no literature, no art...I think that everyone will grant, without argument or proof, that maximizing population does not maximize goods." Hardin says this in response to Bentham's idea of maximizing population. I do not bring this point forward to harp on either Hardin's or Bentham's idea. This quote is an example of "ideas" that have been brought forward in the media, and in previous classes that I have taken here at the University of Oklahoma. It's the idea that in order to return our planet to its normal state, we must give up all of the things that make life what it is. The idea behind becoming a sustainable economy should not be to give up the things that everyone enjoys, but to make all of these things more sustainable where they don't affect the global environment in negative ways.
"Relinquish the freedom to breed." This goes along with the quote I discussed above. This summed up Hardin's article, on what he thought was the best solution. Once again, if this type of thinking is our best idea, we are far off from becoming a sustainable world, as we are far off from reaching a feasible solution.
"by coercive laws or taxing devices that make it cheaper for the polluter to treat his pollutants than to discharge them untreated." This is really the best solution I see to solving our environmental problems. Can we count on people (business owners) to do it the right way, not necessarily the most cost saving way, but the right way when it comes to the environment? Have we seen any signs of integrity during the recent blast to the economy?
_T.Newcomb
the phrase "the willingness to be governed" always resonated with me.
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