Tragedy Of The Commons Case Study

The tragedy of the commons is centered around greed and selfishness. Individuals over-exploit finite resources for a temporary but positive outcome. When the resources have been used up, no more income will be made and the land where the resources once existed will be ruined. Therefore, leading to the question: was the initial gain really worth the destroyed environment? Self-interest, denial of problem, and solution involving sacrifice all play a major role in this unfortunate issue. The Lorax and the Easter Island case study are both great examples of these three aspects of the tragedy of the commons.If self-interest was not a natural human trait, the tragedy of the commons would not exist. In the Lorax, the Once-ler is so obsessed with …show more content…
“The individual benefits as an individual from his ability to deny the truth even though society as a whole, of which he is a part, suffers” (Hardin, 1244). In the Lorax, the Once-ler was aware of the pollution and destroyed habitats but denied it was doing any serious harm (Seuss). If he had accepted there were problems sooner, the land, truffula trees, and animal habitats could have potentially been saved. Peter Tyson states “Even as the forests dwindled, Rapanui chiefs intensified food production, eager to create surpluses to support the carving of ever-larger statues.” Tyson implies the Rapanui people were aware of the resources they would lose if they continued to build the moai statues but chose to ignore the problem due to their infatuation. This choice led to the erosion of the earth, inability to grow or hunt food, and the loss of crucial assets such as wood from the trees.Solution involves sacrifice is one of the hardest things to obtain. There are not alwayssimple solutions to situations that are examples of the tragedy of the commons. The increasing problem of pollution epitomizes the tragedy of the commons. “The rational man finds that hisshare of the cost of the wastes he discharges into the commons is less than the cost of purifying his wastes before releasing them” (Hardin, 1245). To solve this problem of pollution in the tragedy of the commons, the individual would have to increase his expenses in order to keep the environment around him clean. This would be an ideal situation if every man wasn’t concerned solely with his personal gain. In the Lorax, the Once-ler would have to shut down his factories, ergo not bringing in any more income, in order to save the land. The sacrifice in this situation would be the income the Once-ler is making from the thneeds. This example of solution involves sacrifice is very different from the Easter Island case study. The building of moai