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Each man is locked into a system that compels him to increase his herd without limit -- in a world that is limited. Ruin is the destination toward which all men rush, each pursuing his own best interest in a society that believes in the freedom of the commons. Freedom in a commons brings ruin to all.

— Garrett Hardin Tragedy of the Commons (1968)

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More quotes by Garrett Hardin

Continuity is at the heart of conservatism: ecology serves that heart.

Filters Against Folly (1985)

A finite world can support only a finite population; therefore, population growth must eventually equal zero.

Tragedy of the Commons (1968)

It is a mistake to think that we can control the breeding of mankind in the long run by an appeal to conscience.

The Immigration Dilemma (1995)

The class of "No technical solution problems" has members. My thesis is that the "population problem," as conventionally conceived, is a member of this class.

Tragedy of the Commons (1968)

People are the quintessential element in all technology... Once we recognize the inescapable human nexus of all technology our attitude toward the reliability problem is fundamentally changed.

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Quote text and notes from Wikiquote: Garrett Hardin (page history), available under CC BY-SA 4.0. Source quality and labels are our own summary of what Wikiquote records.