Book contents
- The Cambridge Handbook of Commons Research Innovations
- The Cambridge Handbook of Commons Research Innovations
- Copyright page
- Contents
- Figures
- Tables
- Contributors
- Introduction
- Part I Revisiting the Origins and Evolution of Commons Thought
- 1 Linking the Origins and Extensions of Commons Theory
- 2 The Tragedy of Garrett Hardin’s Commons
- 3 Kinship and Commons: The Bedouin Experience
- Part II Averting New Tragedies
- Part III New Forms of Contested Commons
- Part IV Urban Landscape and Infrastructure as a Commons
- Part V Reassessing Old and New Institutions for Collective Action
- Part VI Managing and Restoring the Commons
- Part VII Law, Legal Theory, and the Commons
- Part VIII Technology, the Internet, and the Future of Commons Governance
- Index
2 - The Tragedy of Garrett Hardin’s Commons
from Part I - Revisiting the Origins and Evolution of Commons Thought
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 29 October 2021
- The Cambridge Handbook of Commons Research Innovations
- The Cambridge Handbook of Commons Research Innovations
- Copyright page
- Contents
- Figures
- Tables
- Contributors
- Introduction
- Part I Revisiting the Origins and Evolution of Commons Thought
- 1 Linking the Origins and Extensions of Commons Theory
- 2 The Tragedy of Garrett Hardin’s Commons
- 3 Kinship and Commons: The Bedouin Experience
- Part II Averting New Tragedies
- Part III New Forms of Contested Commons
- Part IV Urban Landscape and Infrastructure as a Commons
- Part V Reassessing Old and New Institutions for Collective Action
- Part VI Managing and Restoring the Commons
- Part VII Law, Legal Theory, and the Commons
- Part VIII Technology, the Internet, and the Future of Commons Governance
- Index
Summary
This chapter unpacks Garrett Hardin's 1968 landmark article "The Tragedy of the Commons" by exploring the controversial views of its author and the explosive social context from which it emerged. More than an essay about resource management in the abstract, Hardin's admitted main point in "The Tragedy of the Commons," often excerpted out of many anthologies and reprints, is at its core an argument for population control. Hardin’s views veered from the mainstream and openly incorporated racist, xenophobic, and anti-immigrant ideas. Given this, it seems quite surprising today that the article was received so well, both popularly and in academic circles. But in reality, Hardin's success came because of his focus on population – not in spite of it. The article came at just the right time to catch on: precisely when the environmental movement neared its crest and just before his most controversial idea – population control – was about to enter the public realm as a serious matter of debate.
Keywords
- Type
- Chapter
- Information
- The Cambridge Handbook of Commons Research Innovations , pp. 26 - 33Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2021