Garrett Hardin (1915–2003)

Hardin is a neo-Malthusian that, like all Malthusians, was fond of using convoluted reasoning and half-truths to promote his cynical worldview while trying to reduce the human condition to a math problem. His work has always appealed to the misanthropic nihilism prevalent in the environmental movement. However, this particular work is far more comprehensive in its thinking than his earlier works Hardin brings up a lot of good points, like debunking human exceptionalism which is extant in show more both traditional religious thinking as well as modern environmentalism and this book gets you thinking "big picture" more than most. Like all Malthusian thought though the book is overly cynical and gives little credence to human ingenuity, adaptability, behavioral changes and technological discoveries that cannot be foreseen. show less

Dr. Hardin used the term Commons to refer to the cultural and natural resources accessible to all members of a society, including the atmosphere, lands, oceans, and their inhabitants; reasoning that these resources were finite and therefore limited, and that overpopulation threatened the whole of humanity. This was deeply controversial at the time; now, much of what he has written has revealed a truth.

Hardin was a neo-Malthusian misanthropic hypocritical environmentalist that taught at my alma mater. He passionately believed the world was over populated then proceeded to have three kids and then committed suicide at 80. That says a lot about him. This book is little more than pseudo scientific gibberish and philosophizing in a way that promotes his cynical worldview. His later book "Living Within Limits" is far better.

A disturbing, thought-provoking book; often funny yet scary; you may not agree with everything Hardin says but you cannot ignore his facts.