Primary Source Political Science

The Tragedy of
The body copy still has the example blurb.
the Commons
Author Year Published Original Language
Garrett Hardin 1968 English

MAIN IDEAS

Overpopulation Hardin presents a 19th-century cautionary tale, “the tragedy of the

commons,” to show how overpopulation and greed could devour the
& Greed world’s resources. He stresses the urgency of curbing population
growth and suggests how it can be done.

Diminishing The Tragedy of Hardin’s

Resources the Commons Solution

Unchecked population People deplete limited Societies must limit family

growth leads to strain on resources when they have size to ease the strain on
shared resources. complete freedom to use them. resources.

Author The Tragedy of the Commons

by the Numbers

2003 11.2B
GARRETT HARDIN Year Hardin and his wife Projected world population
1915–2003 committed suicide in their by 2100—a 5.1B increase over
home, only 11 days after their one century
Hardin was a writer and
62nd anniversary
biology professor at the
University of California known
for his highly controversial
papers on overpopulation.
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In his work, he supported WEE

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contraception and abortion

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as methods for reducing the

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population and argued that

immigration and foreign aid
encouraged overpopulation.
1960 2.1%
Year the United States Food Peak worldwide population
and Drug Administration growth rate in 1962, the
approved the first birth highest in human history
control pills

Context

World Population Malthus’s Theory of Social

Growth Population Growth Darwinism

The population growth Malthus believed Adherents think it’s natural

rate peaked in the 1960s, overpopulation would cause for the “weakest” people
causing alarm. widespread famine. to die out.

reedom to breed will bring ruin to all.

Garrett Hardin

Sources: Encyclopaedia Britannica, New York Times,

University of California, Santa Barbara

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