Similar ideas have been pioneered by many thinkers. For example, Richard Cantillon, a 17th-century Irish economist, argued that the underlying tension is between growing population and limited capacity of land to produce food resources. Consequently, overpopulation and starvation would cause the automatic adjustment of wages and prices so that the two would enter a state of balance (Beinhocker, 2006). This statement echoes “Essay on the Principle of Population” by Malthus (1983), where he claims that famine, war and poverty naturally limit human overproducing and are helpful in maintaining reasonable size of population.
According to this logic, we should glorify the serial killers and murderous dictators for the ample reason they serve the cause of the existence of the human race in the long run. However, there is no modern civilization which tolerates such unethical behavior. Instead, humans have to arrive at the conclusion that global wellbeing and sustainable development are only possible if we adopt the principles of mutual help and empathy. Weakest link approach to public good implies that the amount of public good is determined by the smallest provision of the system’s element.
In other words, a chain is only as strong as its weakest link, and the level of public well-being equals to the amount of public good present in the weakest subject of international relations (Hirshleifer, 1983). Thus, helping others equals to helping yourself. Consumerism is cited as a problem that is getting amplified rather than solved by industrial development. The culture of consumerism that constitutes the underlying philosophy of the West is criticized for fueling unnecessary overproduction.
However, pessimists ignore the ongoing shift from material values to post-material values (e. g. solidarity, national self-identification, community, culture etc. ) that is happening in many European countries and Canada and catches on in the U. S. This trend might be the turning point in the relations between humankind and environment (Steger et al. , 1989). It was a fatal mistake to think that man is the king of nature. Indeed, our disconnection from the nature resulted in the great degree of alienation and ignorance.
While human species is an inherent part of the Earth’s global ecosystems, men prefer to view themselves as ‘outsiders,’ superior to other species. Such approach brought about the overexploitation of the Earth’s resources, considerable environmental damage, and global warming (Conners & Petersen, 2007). Both individuals and corporations can make a considerable contribution to stopping (or at least slowing down) the degradation of the environment and deprivation in the poorest countries.
Many individuals seldom realize how their consumption patters are contributing to the aggravation of the situation. Reconsidering one’s consumption pattern can be the first step on the long way to sustainable development. Such an approach implies not only reduction in consumption of non-essential goods and services but also buying from companies that are known to use environmentally-benign technologies in the process of production and engaging in corporate social responsibility activities.
References
Beinhocker, E. D. (2006). The Origin of Wealth: Evolution, Complexity, and the Radical Remaking of Economics, 1st ed. Boston: Harvard Business School Press. Conners Petersen, N. , & Conners, L. (dirs). (2007). The 11th Hour [Motion picture]. USA: Warner Independent Pictures. Fornos, W. (2004). “A global concern : A population crisis still looms”. International Herald Tribune. Retrieved October 28, 2008, from http://www. iht. com/articles/2004/01/14/edfornos_ed3_. php Hirshleifer, J. (1983). From Weakest-Link to Best-Shot: The Voluntary Provision of Public Goods. Public Choice, 41(3): 371-86.