Garrett Hardin Quotes

A coldly rationalist individualist can deny that he has any obligation to make sacrifices for the future.
A finite world can support only a finite population; therefore, population growth must eventually equal zero.
A technical solution may be defined as one that requires a change only in the techniques of the natural sciences, demanding little or nothing in the way of change in human values or ideas of morality.
An attack on values is inevitably seen as an act of subversion.
But as population became denser, the natural chemical and biological recycling processes became overloaded, calling for a redefinition of property rights.
But it is no good using the tongs of reason to pull the Fundamentalists' chestnuts out of the fire of contradiction. Their real troubles lie elsewhere.
Continuity is at the heart of conservatism: ecology serves that heart.
Education can counteract the natural tendency to do the wrong thing, but the inexorable succession of generations requires that the basis for this knowledge be constantly refreshed.
Freedom in a commons brings ruin to all.
Fundamentalists are panicked by the apparent disintegration of the family, the disappearance of certainty and the decay of morality. Fear leads them to ask, if we cannot trust the Bible, what can we trust?
However, I think the major opposition to ecology has deeper roots than mere economics; ecology threatens widely held values so fundamental that they must be called religious.
In a finite world this means that the per capita share of the world's goods must steadily decrease.
In an approximate way, the logic of commons has been understood for a long time, perhaps since the discovery of agriculture or the invention of private property in real estate.
Incommensurables cannot be compared.
Indeed, our particular concept of private property, which deters us from exhausting the positive resources of the earth, favors pollution.
It is a mistake to think that we can control the breeding of mankind in the long run by an appeal to conscience.
Moreover, the practical recommendations deduced from ecological principles threaten the vested interests of commerce; it is hardly surprising that the financial and political power created by these investments should be used sometimes to suppress environmental impact studies.
No one should be able to enter a wilderness by mechanical means.
Of course, a positive growth rate might be taken as evidence that a population is below its optimum.
Ruin is the destination toward which all men rush, each pursuing his own best interest in a society that believes in the freedom of the commons.
12next›last»
Total Records : 29

Related Books

Author Profile

Votes :
Rating :
AuthorName
Garrett Hardin
Profession
Environmentalist
BirthDate
21 April, 1915
DeathDate
14 September, 2003
View Profile

Share to your friends..

Related Author

Aldo Leopold Bill McKibben Billy Parish David R. Brower Donella Meadows Garrett Hardin John Francis John Muir Joseph Wood Krutch Paul Hawken Roger Tory Peterson Will Steger William Bartram
view more

Popular Topics

Attitude Death Inspirational Life Love Motivational Nature Positive