Stateless Flyways for the Birds: How Voluntary Contracts Could Save Fugitive Species from the Tragedy of the Commons
Stateless Flyways for the Birds: How Voluntary Contracts Could Save Fugitive Species from the Tragedy of the Commons

Author(s): L. B. Edgar
Subject(s): Sociology, Environmental interactions, Sociology of Law
Published by: Addleton Academic Publishers
Keywords: Migratory Bird Treaty Act; Enviropreneurs; Tragedy of the Commons; Private Property Rights;
Summary/Abstract: Anti-consumption conservationists often chide productive industrialists for using up natural resources which can no longer be held in trust for enjoyment by future generations. As Rothbard (2009) observed, the argument that using up a depletable resource in the present robs future generations of its enjoyment creates a logical contradiction. Following such conservationists’ illogic to its end results in a reductio ad absurdem: Only the last human being on Earth with zero prospects for passing on his bloodline could use anything depletable because any other uses would cause deprivation for unborn future inhabitants. To such future-oriented minds, wise use in theory ends up as zero use in logically consistent practice. Beyond the inconsistent rhetoric, however, experts in positions of power routinely decree the manner and extent of permissible uses according to political, non-market-based considerations.

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