89 lines
4.1 KiB
Plaintext
89 lines
4.1 KiB
Plaintext
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"SAND DOLLARS"
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A Libertarian Outlook
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by Gerald Schneider, Ph.D.
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Byron G. Norton bemoaned exploitation of "sand dollars" in a
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Washington Post Magazine article in June of 1986. Sand dollars
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are sea urchins whose flat disklike skeletons imprinted with
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"starfish" designs are collectable.
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The article concerned a girl, about 8, gathering live sand
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dollars at a beach for her mom. Her mother would bleach the sand
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dollars, turn them into decorative items, and sell extras to
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craft stores.
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"Commercialism"
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Upset by this "commercialism"--trading live animals for
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craft projects--Norton wrote: "No industrial operation can be
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expected to exercise self-restraint when there are profits to be
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made. The family was only transforming sand dollars into
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monetary dollars."
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He went on to say of the little girl: "As a novitiate in the
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order of capitalism, she was already acting as if sand dollars
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were merely commodities." Norton also implied that commercialism
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of nature leads to overharvesting of species and endangerment of
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their future survival.
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A Problem of Ownership
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But Norton was wrong! Capitalism and commercialism are not
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at fault when it comes to catastrophic abuse of nature.
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Ownership of natural resources and nature is the problem.
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The beach involved in his story was government "owned," and
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belonged to no one in particular and to everyone. It received
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the same lack of public respect I described for the Chesapeake
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Bay in another article.
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Government ownership produces little incentive for exercise
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of self-restraint in the use of the beach's (or nature's)
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treasures. Ecologist Garrett Hardin called this dilemma "the
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tragedy of the commons" in his 1968 essay with that title.
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Economists would say that this is what happens when external
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costs are not internalized.
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Private Ownership is Better
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If the beach were privately owned, for example, by some
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naturalist organization, preservation would be practiced.
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If sand dollars helped attract people to the beach, private
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owners with commercial interests would protect sand dollars from
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overharvest. It would be to the private, commercial owner's
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advantage to ensure sustained yield of sand dollars. She would
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want to keep the public coming back for more year after year.
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Getting beaches away from government and into private
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ownership by persons who value sand dollars for their own sake or
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for the sake of ecology should be the conservationist's goal.
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Ditto for all of nature and natural resources.
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Study the Record
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People still unconvinced about the superiority of private
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over government ownership of the environment should study the
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record. Just compare land and water bodies owned by
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environmental organizations (e.g. The Nature Conservancy) to
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federal government property.
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Federal government agencies, "pork barrel" politicians, and
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timber and livestock interests shape environmental policies on
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"public" (federal government) property. These special interests
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are referred to as the "iron triangle" by land economist, John
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Baden. He has documented how these interests combine to cause
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Americans to "subsidize the destruction of their environment."
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Reprinted from THE WHEATON NEWS of Wheaton, Maryland, Sept.
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3, 1987. For a one year subscription to Mr. Schneider's biweekly
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"Libertarian Outlook" column, send $15 to: Gerald Schneider, 8750
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Georgia Ave., Suite 1410-B, Silver Spring, MD 20910. Copyright
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1987 Gerald Schneider, Ph.D.
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(This is the text of one of a series of eight topical Libertarian
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outreach leaflets produced by the Libertarian Party of Skagit
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County, WA. The leaflets have a panel with National LP member-
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ship information, with a space for other LP groups to stamp their
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own address and phone number. Samples and a bulk price list/
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order form are available from: Libertarian Party of Skagit
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County, P.O. Box 512, Anacortes, WA 98221.)
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