Garrett Hardin's The Tragedy of the Commons. W7 disc Essay

Garrett Hardin's The Tragedy of the Commons. W7 disc - Essay Example By procreation, an adult couple locks up a portion of the common resources for the sustenance of the child. This includes the air, water, food and other material necessities that the child would require for survival. But people don’t aspire to merely survive – they want to ‘enjoy’ life’s comforts. So, the process of procreation also locks up more valuable natural resources for the child. Hence, the population problem is a core issue concerning the commons. Published first in 1968, Hardin’s essay displays foresight and identifies an emerging socio-political problem. In the four decades that has elapsed since it was first written, the population of the world has nearly doubled, making the relevance and intensity of the issues raised more acute. Citing the example of the pastoral commons, Hardin correctly points out how, if each herdsman looks after only his own interests, the common meadows will soon get ruined due to over grazing. In a world where resources are infinite, or its consumption is negligible (as when the population is too low), such unfettered consumption of resources makes logical sense for the individual and also the society. In this scenario, not only do the individual and his immediate community prosper, but the species is also propagated, constituting a common good. But the equation changes quickly, once resources become scarce, whereby the consumers feel the ‘finite’ nature of what they use. In thi s scenario, an individual looking after himself and his immediate community is no longer practically viable or morally proper. It is easy to transpose this argument concerning the common pastures to the population question. By analogy and deduction, it becomes quite clear that individuals/parents can no longer be afforded the right to procreate for their own interests. The idea of receiving government sanctions

Business Ethics case-Nike Sweatshops Case Study

Business Ethics -Nike Sweatshops - Case Study Example The labor unions of such countries were also said to gain significant influence. Countries such as Vietnam, China, and Indonesia were considered to offer cheaper labor to the company Nike, Inc. and also prohibited labor unions. But when the workers of these countries demanded additional benefits and rights, the company closed all its factories in such countries and moved to other countries to continue its operations at a lower cost. The company Nike, Inc. was highly criticized throughout the 1990s for selling such goods which were considered to be manufactured in sweatshops. In the year 1991, an activist named Jeff Ballinger published a report which highlighted the poor working conditions and low wages in the country of Indonesia (Esbenshade, 2004). He published an article which stated that an Indonesian worker was considered to work for the company’s subcontractor for only 14 cents an hour which was considered to be less than the minimum wages that was prescribed in Indonesia . Numerous disturbing stories were said to come from the factories of the company Nike, Inc. throughout the world. The major issues were considered to be forced overtime, child labor, and wages which were considered to be well below the poverty line. There were also other issues such as poor air quality, exposure to chemicals considered as dangerous and physical abuse from the overseers of factory. It was considered that groups such as Global Exchange, Education for Justice, and students who were considered to be against sweatshop labor were mainly considered to lead the efforts against the company Nike, Inc. in this regard. Team Sweat was established with the main objective of tracking the protests that were considered to be made against the organization. It is considered as an international coalition of workers, investors, and consumers to put an end to the injustices that were considered to be in the sweatshops of the organization Nike, Inc. around the world. Jim Keady