The Ostrich Factor

Garrett Hardin, one of the leading thinkers on the problem of human overpopulation, and the originator of the concepts of "the tragedy of the commons" and "lifeboat ethics," addresses the arguments from economists about continued "sustainable" growth in a gracefully written extended essay. Demonstrating the innumeracy and basic ecological ignorance of leading economists who have been apostles for unlimited growth, he addresses the taboos and hard issues that frequently are avoided in most short-term considerations of human population levels. This book epitomizes and builds upon Hardin's earlier book, Living Within Limits, and seeks to lay out the practical steps that humankind must take quite early in the 21st century for the long-term survival of civilization.