Living within Limits: Ecology, Economics, and Population Taboos First Paperback Edition

I would give this book 99 stars if I could. Garrett Hardin, most famous for his essay 'The Tragedy of the Commons' (look it up on Wikipedia), intellectually evicerates anyone who would be so foolish as to think that overpopulation is NOT a problem. Nearly every human ill can be attributed to the simple phrase 'too many people and too few resources,' and Hardin attacks this issue from every angle. As a self styled 'ecological conservative' Hardin attacks both liberal democratic and traditional conservative ideology.I thought I knew a little bit about 'real' economics until I read this book, boy was I wrong. If, like me, you thought that Freakonomics was cutting edge and savvy then you would definitely love this book. Hardin clearly has a firm grasp on what economics is actually about. He throws everything at you - natural selection, Thomas Malthus, carrying capacity, demographics, Unmanaged Commons and so much more that this book is sure to open your eyes to the growing problem around us.The only negative thing (hence the -1 star from 100) I can say about the book is that there is little continuity or flow to it. Rather than any continuous theme, it seems more like his lecture notes stuck together in some kind of topical series. Besides that, I highly highly recommend everyone read this book - sadly though, I am a realist and know that few will (to society's detriment).If you like this book, you will like Collapse: How Societies Choose to Fail or Succeed; or if you liked Collapse, then you will like this book.

I would recommend this book to anybody who believes deep down that overpopulation isn't a problem. Hardin does a great job setting up his thesis with insightful analogies, such as compound interest and perpetual motion machines.My favorite concept of the book is how taboo it is talk about overpopulation. He is right on the money! One never hears that any of the worlds problems are caused by overpopulation. Truly fascinating.I'll admit some times I feel like he digresses and uses fluffy language, but in general it's a sophisticated take on a growing problem.

We have NOT been living within our ecologically sustainable limits for hundreds of years, as this author so clearly shows.

I was surprised how well written this was. It has a text book content and topic, but I could hardly put it down.

I am not as smart as some of the other people who have already reviewed this book. I openly admit this. I'm only on Page 96 and I am dreading the next 200 pages. The author repeats himself over and over,mentions people who I've never heard of (sorry, I already said I wasn't smart) and wastes paragraph after paragraph saying almost nothing.Thus far? All you need to know is this. Watch the movie "Kingsman: The Secret Service" Samuel L. Jackson's character 'Richmond Valentine' wants to control the world population problem as he sees it by killing off anyone who isn't rich, beautiful, powerful, and/or famous and you can save yourself the agony of reading this book. I haven't gotten there yet, but I'm sure the author is going to recommend population control in some way, shape, or form, and while extremely logical it's unrealistic.Humans are going to reproduce, ravage the ecosystem, and think nothing of future generations for whatever cause currently consumes them be it self interest, political, or otherwise. Acting like it's going to change is nonsense.Hey, here's another movie reference from The Matrix that will save you some time:Agent Smith: I'd like to share a revelation that I've had during my time here. It came to me when I tried to classify your species and I realized that you're not actually mammals. Every mammal on this planet instinctively develops a natural equilibrium with the surrounding environment but you humans do not. You move to an area and you multiply and multiply until every natural resource is consumed and the only way you can survive is to spread to another area. There is another organism on this planet that follows the same pattern. Do you know what it is? A virus. Human beings are a disease, a cancer of this planet. You're a plague and we are the cure.While artificial intelligence could be just around the corner, I doubt I'll see it in the next 50-years. But this quote from The Matrix and the plot of Kingsman sum up this book thus far for me.Again, I'm stupid and I had to use movie references to make sense of it. I'll finish it, but this is a hard read for a jackass like myself.P.S. People are still going to have sex and destroy any math and/or logic that comes into existence no matter what level of intelligence is behind population control. When you get to the "people are starving in 1949 China and ate the birds that ate the insects and screwed up the eco-system" part should you read this book, you will realize that all the logic in the world isn't going to stop self-interest. People who are starving will eat some birds, yes - the insects that don't get eaten are (were) a problem. But if you think anyone is going to starve to death to balance out the eco-system then you're nuts.Maybe the next 200 pages will have better information, but I'm not counting on it.05.22.17: Finally finished this thing. This was a chore. Here's some more observations from the book.A. Homer Simpson is running every nuclear facility in the United States. The author actually infers this without bringing up Homer Simpson's name but he may as well have done so.B. Poor people have nothing to do but reproduce.C. Optimism and hoping for technology to improve anything for the long term is far fetched science fiction.Again, I see the logic behind his thinking but I'll give the author credit for this: No politician is going to make population control their main point of emphasis when campaigning for a position.I still like my two movie references above to describe this book. Planet Earth needs a lot of help and while I agree population will be - if it's not already a problem - the author doesn't do much other than point out a problem and offers very little solutions.If you're into listening to people whine for hours upon end without providing solutions to the problem, then this book is perfect for you.

Loved this book ! Garret gets to the point , with good detailed information .

The problem of population is one of regulating human behavior. He explains several concepts:1- Cowboy vs spaceship economics.2- The Malthus demostat.3- Exponential growth at a small rate and the carrying capacity of Planet Earth4- Our world is finite5- There will never be a perpetual motion machineA great thinker on ecology and human population.

Good Quality.

The book is about problem of overpopulation and how it is causing serious harm to our world.The subject of the book is important enough to deserve 5 stars but, this small (though important) message could have been conveyed through a book 1/4th the size of this book.So giving 4 stars and not 5

I did not expect to read much new thinking - after all, the subject has been covered ad nauseam - but gave it a try based on a flattering review. And wow - some highly unconventional thinking, shattering the 'left/right' stereotypes, discussing questions (and offering answers) you would not expect from an 'ecologist'.Fascinating, wide-ranging erudition; sharp deductive thinking; fearless debunking of myths and intellectual laziness.A joy to read; sadly, I will have to keep most of it for myself as the contents are just too far out for politically correct dinner partners...

he has argued well from a language point of view. but the argument is not conclusive...perhaps the subject itself is such that it can't be conclusive.