Finding a Sustainable Soluting
In class, we learned about Property Rights and the “Tragedy of the Commons”. The Huffington Post posted that puts a real face to the problems discussed in class. He begins by laying down statistics that put an ominous cloud around the future that we readers find difficult to swallow. Brizzi attacks one of the problem area, the 2.5 billion small-holder farmers that intuitively act for their own benefit, but that negatively affects the welfare of the community. Brizzi claims that to fix the problem, we need to change the farmer’s incentive. Brizzi actually doesn’t mention anyBrizzi expands upon our list of solutions and suggests adding consumer education. By showing consumers the value to the community of making the product at a higher
Brizzi expands upon our discussion about goods such as clean air and the ocean which are owned by no one, and fall to overuse. He expands upon our list of solutions and suggests adding consumer education. By showing consumers the value to the community of making the product at a higher standard, the consumer should be convinced to pay a premium for the product. We cannot expect poor farmers to internalize all of the costs to make cleaner choices, consumers need to take some of the responsibility for the situation.
I agree with Brizzi’s argument. I do not think 2.5 billion poor farmers can afford to handle the welfare of the planet alone. We should educate our community of the benefit of long-term planning and use smart policies that will sustain us through the next decades.