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The Tragedy of the Commons
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Sustainability
The practice of using resources in a way that does not compromise their availability for future generations. Ethically, it calls for actions that support long-term ecological balance over immediate gains.
Carrying Capacity
The maximum population size of a biological species that an environment can sustain indefinitely. Ethically, it speaks to the limits of growth, sustainable development, and the moral imperative to avoid overexploitation.
Enclosure Movement
Historical process in England of consolidating small landholdings into larger farms. Once shared land was privatized, it led to increased productivity but also social upheaval. Ethically, it questions the balance between private ownership and common use, as well as the impact on community and inequality.
Free Rider Problem
A situation where some individuals consume more than their fair share of a public resource, or shoulder less than a fair share of the costs of its provision. Ethically, it deals with collective action problems and the challenges for systems that rely on voluntary cooperation.
The Tragedy of the Commons
A concept describing a situation within a shared-resource system where individual users, acting independently according to their own self-interest, deplete or spoil that resource through collective action. Ethical implications include the responsibility on individuals and societies to manage commons sustainably and the need for regulations to prevent environmental degradation.
Overpopulation
A condition where an organism's numbers exceed the carrying capacity of its habitat. Ethically, it involves discussions on reproductive rights, resource allocation, and environmental impact.
Common Pool Resources
Resources like fisheries, forests, or the atmosphere that are accessible by all but susceptible to overuse and depletion. Ethically, their management must balance fairness, access rights, and the ecological impact of their use.
Garrett Hardin
An ecologist who popularized the concept of the Tragedy of the Commons with his 1968 paper. His work raises ethical questions about resource management, population control, and the need for mutual coercion, mutually agreed upon.
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