The Tragedy of The Commons

Recently in class we were introduced to an essay “The Commons” written by Garrett Hardin. This essay was published nearly 40 years ago, but the message in this essay with free access and unrestricted demands for un-renewable resources ultimately dooms the earth resources through over-greedy. This occurs because the humans are greedy to what they “Want and Needs”, each person is motivated to maximize use of the resource to the point in which they become reliant on it, while the costs of using the resources are been demand to an increase that will exhausted these undeniable resources or any resources for this matter. Garrett point out in his essay the only thing that causes this problem is the human population growth. He also focused on the use of large resources that are becoming scarcely over time, these resources includes the earth’s atmosphere and oceans, as well as pointing out the “negative commons” of pollution (i.e. instead of dealing with the deliberate privatisation of a positive resources, a “negative commons” deals with the deliberate communisation of a negative cost, pollution). Garrett only focusing on one main issues that the population growth, in my opinion that not the only reason why they resources are become scarcely , there is another reason why the commons; The Tragedy of the Commons” continue because of people greedy, the death rate and birth rate, our life expectancy has increase over the last decade, today doctors expect the average life expectancy is over 80, and not that our education has increased dramatically over the years, which makes the person to want more of what they want, not just the necessarily needs, because the person image of what is the perfect life has change, it’s not only to be healthy, get married and have a family. Today at least 70% of the population want the glamorous life, of been rich, and today society is willing to do anything to get that life. Even if it destroyed the earth!

Poverty around the World

Poverty- Big Issue

The impact of poverty has affected our world for centuries and is still one of the major problems each nation’s faces. I was reading an article called ``Poverty around the World`` by Anup Shah. She introduces what is poverty and how poverty is measured. First of all, poverty to my understanding, is the developing world, because through my reading and the median. When someone think of poverty, the very things comes to mind is developing countries like Zimbabwe, Mexico and etc. but after reading this article my point of view on Poverty has shifted. Poverty does not only refer to people who do not have money; poverty can be interpreted of not having a strong nation (that is, the government’s inability to protect and the citizen, provide resources to meet their basic needs. Anup Shah gives examples of how the developed country is a strong nation, but sill the majority of citizen still struggle to survive or to keep up with living standard of living. In the article, Shah mentioned `` Human development is about much more than the rise or fall of national incomes. It is about creating an environment in which people can develop needs and interests. People are the real wealth of nations. Development id thus about expanding the choices people have to lead lives that they value. And it is thus about much more than economic growth, which is only a means- if a very important one-of enlarging people choices`` ( Shah, Poverty Around the World). I agree with this because if people have more choices that will allow them to seek their future that would help them live a normal life. Then in developing world one some of the most important needs is the right to equity and the right to vote and to ask for a change. One of the reasons why the developing nations are struggling is because the majority of its population it`s illiterate. On the media you see videos talking about having developed nations to lend a hand by send money, which would, hopeful cover the problem. In order or the developing world to step into translation model, the solution would not be a bandage, but a long plan that will work through time; as increasing the access to Health care, as well as increasing the literacy rate of the nation.

Shah Anup. The Poverty Around, Wednesday, September 03, 2008http://www.globalissues.org/article/4/poverty-around-the-world

Bowling for Columbine

After watching a documentary “ Bowling for Columbine” by Michael Moore. This documentary was only opened in limited number of theatres, and there are even some states where it’s not being showed at all. Bowling for Columbine examined the American culture, and one of the biggest question that kept coming up was ‘Why he United states has 12,127 murder per year while every other major western country, from Canada to Japan to Great Britain, have gun killing in the low hundreds or less. In fact, each has a murder rate less than 1/10 that of the U.S. the film, for example, points out how Canada has almost the same number of guns per capita, 7 million guns for 10 million families, and that people in all of the western countries have access to the same violent games, movies and pornography that Americans do. Some countries have more of it than America. So why is there such a dramatically higher level of gun violence here?
Moore makes sure to look at all levels of American society for the answers. He tried on confronting different people and giving their point of view of the situation, with the pressure of the camera. Specializes in confronting corporate PR hacks, and trying to pressure them on camera, was a great method to use. But one thing that surprised me not only does Moore not settle for blaming working people, and often given flimsy reason for the high levels of gun violence in America-violent movies and video games, Marilyn Manson, etc. He also appropriately points to the racism that is integral to much of the paranoia about crime, the blatant opportunism of the media and the violence of U.S. foreign policy.
Marilyn Manson who suggests that the media, corporate America and current government policy work together to maintain a continual cycle of what Manson describes as “fear and consumption”. Americans have learned to fear “the other”- black and minorities, their neighbours, killer bees from Africa, and of course Arabs. Murder and other crimes are significantly dropping, yet guns, security devices and gated community purchases have been significantly rising, and media coverage of violent crimes has risen 600% during a time when the actual levels of these crimes have dropped 20%. The film makes the case that by being bombarded with advertising that plays on peoples’ fears and personal insecurities; Americans are induced to consume to feel better.
Bowling for Columbine is definitely entertaining and thought provoking, and stone-cold silence during the tragic and horrifying sequences, such as the viewing of the security camera takes during Columbine High School Massacre.

Bowling for Columbine By Michael Moore