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Pastimes : THE SLIGHTLY MODERATED BOXING RING -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: TimF who wrote (8454)	4/11/2002 8:25:29 PM
From: TigerPaw	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 21057

THe language of this article is a little dated but the concept is important and this is primary material. dieoff.org The tragedy of the commons develops in this way. Picture a pasture open to all. It is to be expected that each herdsman will try to keep as many cattle as possible on the commons. Such an arrangement may work reasonably satisfactorily for centuries because tribal wars, poaching, and disease keep the numbers of both man and beast well below the carrying capacity of the land. Finally, however, comes the day of reckoning, that is, the day when the long-desired goal of social stability becomes a reality. At this point, the inherent logic of the commons remorselessly generates tragedy. This paper has spawned many studies that pretty much agree that a custodian is necessary to prevent the wastage of common resources. A central governmant is a natural custodian (but of course not the only possible choice). TP