Write a paper discussing Air Pollution.“Public oversight through government is a standard way to alleviate the tragedy of the commons, but we can also address it in other ways. Resource users can voluntarily cooperate to prevent overexploitation. This may be effective if the resource is localized and enforcement is simple, but these conditions are rare. Alternatively, the resource can be subdivided and allotments sold into private ownership, so that each owner gains incentive to manage his or her own portion. Privatization may be effective if property rights can be clearly assigned (as with land), but it tends not to work with resources such as air or water. Privatization also opens the door to short-term profit taking at the long-term expense of the resource.”
As this passage points out, the two most common ways of managing and restricting the use of common resources are (1) government regulation and (2) privatization.
With government regulation, the government maintains responsibility for the resource and implements legislation to protect/limit access to the resource.
Flaws: depends on legislative body, which changes with each election cycle; can be overly bureaucratic and inefficient
With privatization, a private individual or corporation maintains responsibility for the resource and possesses the legal right to control/restrict access to the resource
Flaws: difficult to assign property rights to resource such as “air;” can lead to short-term profits at the expense of the resource, if the owner chooses
For your journal entry this week, please respond to the following prompt:
Which of these two common solutions to prevent “the tragedy of the commons” – government regulation or privatization – are more effective in protecting valuable natural resources, such as air? In stating your position, be sure to:
(a) support your position with good reasons
(b) point out the flaws of the competing view, and
(c) draw on real-world examples to support your position.
Then, reflect on whether or not these two proposed solutions are the best solutions we have, or if there are better solutions beyond privatization or government regulation
