Mark S
Monday, September 19, 2005
Mr. Moody – Topics Geography
Fourth Period

A R T I C L E   A N A L Y S I S

The Case Against Helping the Poor – Garrett Hardin
1)	Garrett Hardin’s lifeboat analogy uses a metaphor to describe his view of the interaction, ethics, and balance between the wealthy of the world/United States and the poor. He identifies the wealthy as those in lifeboats of 50 people each, though there is still room for ten more. Hardin categorizes the poor as those in the water, trying to board the lifeboats and/or trying to receive “handouts” from the wealthy.
2)	Before the introduction of the larger picture, the population facts, Hardin makes a lot of great points via his analogy of the lifeboats. Though after introducing the population, and explaining how massive the poor population of the world is, in addition to how the poverty-bound population is on the rise with the current situation, really helps his case.
3)	Explained by Hardin, the “tragedy of commons” is the fact/scenario that when one person has control over something, for example a pasture, he/she is able to do what is best for it (the land). On the contrary, if the land is totally public property and has no official governing over it, it is inevitable to be overused and ruined to a point of no revitalization.
4)	In Hardin’s view, the negative outcome of creating a world food bank would result in his idea of the “tragedy of commons”. There would be many consequences he stated, just like the results of Public Law 480, the “Food for Peace Program”. If each country is responsible for its own well-being, the povershed ones will quickly suffer. What will happen, he says is “some countries would deposit…. and others will withdraw [from] it…. there will be no overlap”. He goes on to saying that the countries who need the aid, will continue to rely on the world food bank, and with the growth of their population, not be able to contribute at all, just withdraw from within.
5)	Hardin’s thoughts on justice and the nature of such an idea of justice is that it was created in the ancient days of civilization by wise men to create standards and eliminate disorder. He goes on to say we all come from unethical “thieves” but nothing can change the past. He says that the world’s survival demands that we govern our actions by the ethics of a life board; harsh as they may be, posterity will not happen with anything else.