73 Quotes by Garrett Hardin

The social arrangements that produce responsibility are arrangements that create coercion, of some sort.

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?

One simple fact proves that none has: there is no prosperous population in the world today that has, and has had for some time, a growth rate of zero.

To many, the word coercion implies arbitrary decisions of distant and irresponsible bureaucrats; but this is not a necessary part of its meaning.

The National Parks present another instance of the working out of the tragedy of the commons. At present, they are open to all, without limit.

If our goal is to maximize population it is obvious what we must do: We must make the work calories per person approach as close to zero as possible.

In our day (though not in earlier times) technical solutions are always welcome.

Value is a relative concept: the value of each action is determined by comparing it with other possible actions.

You can never do merely one thing. The law applies to any action that changes something in a complex system. The point is that an action taken to alleviate a problem will trigger several effects, some of which may offset or even negate the one intended.