Hi, need to submit a 500 words essay on the topic Garrett Hardin: The Case Against Helping the Poor.

He identifies the unchecked population growth in poor nations as the greatest threat to the earth’s dwindling resources. Hardin draws attention to what he terms “the tragedy of the commons,” according to which the absence of central control will result in any common resource being ruined because “the right of each to use it may not be matched by a corresponding responsibility to protect it” (480). He equates the World Food Bank with a commons, arguing that this would encourage incompetent governments to ignore setting aside emergency food reserves. He denounces foreign aid in any form, asserting that saving life results in the destruction of the environment and lowers the quality of life.

The information presented by Hardin, as far as population growth goes, is not based on hard facts, except for the USA. Talking about population increase in developing countries, he says, “Let us imagine another 210 million people increasing at the rate of 3.3 percent a year” (Hardin, 479). Obviously, this is only an educated guess on his part. In the same way, Hardin says “Most likely the rate of population increase will decline much faster in the US than it will in the other countries” (480). Again, this is conjecture on his part: even if it is a reasonable conjecture. However, Hardin’s assertion that the population will continue to increase is indisputable and it is clear that the ‘lifeboat’ cannot accommodate everyone. Hardin’s ‘commons’ argument is very well thought out and is based on realistic, logical reasoning.

I cannot but agree with Hardin’s strong indictment of unchecked population growth. The lifeboat analogy is particularly appropriate and graphically demonstrates that the survival of humanity itself depends on curbing population.&nbsp.