1. What do you think is meant by “sustainable forestry?”

Answers may vary, but the typical definition is based on the harvest rate of rainforest products equaling the replacement rate of the forest by reseeding or other conservation methods.

2. Explain how this situation has been an example of a “tragedy of the commons.” What was the origin of that term?

Yes, because individuals receive the benefits of logging, but the entire society bears the burden of the costs. Individuals receive only a fraction of the costs, causing over-consumption. The concept of tragedy of the commons has been traced back to Aristotle, who said:

For that which is common to the greatest number has the least care bestowed upon it. Every one thinks chiefly of his own, hardly at all of the common interest; and only when he is himself concerned as an individual. (Politics, 1261b34)

3. Why must a solution to this logging problem in the Amazon be done at the government level? Why can’t private individuals solve the problem themselves?

Because of the external costs that are imposed, individuals will not achieve a socially optimal solution. Only the government can force individuals act in a socially optimal manner.

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