Living within Limits

Living Within Limits is a thought-provoking book that addresses the neglected problem of overpopulation. Garrett Hardin argues that the earth has a limited carrying capacity and that sentimentality should not cloud our ability to take necessary steps to limit population. He refutes the notion that goodwill and voluntary restraints will be enough, and instead, nations where population is growing must suffer the consequences alone. Hardin's famous essay, "The Tragedy of the Commons," shows how a village common pasture suffers from overgrazing because each villager puts as many cattle on it as possible - since the costs of grazing are shared by everyone, but the profits go to the individual. The metaphor applies to global ecology, making a powerful case for closed borders and an end to immigration from poor nations to rich ones. This book is an eloquent argument for accepting the limits of the earth's resources and the hard choices we must make to live within them.