Question

The environmental degradation of natural resources is much more prevalent in countries with a long history of communist rule. Using your understanding of common resources explain this phenomenon.

Answer 1

1. As we are aware about the fact that common resources are rival in consumption but not excludable.
2. Which means one person doing something prevents another person from doing the same thing.
3. Take the example of endangered species which are common resource property, which is managed by both government and other private organizations. In this case private ownership will try to maximize the value of the same while not letting them die.
4. In that case proper care of these species by the private ownership would decrease another person's ability to kill these endangered species.
5. We must aslo kept in mind that common resources tend to be overused since individuals does not care about the harmful effects done by their use of resources on others.
6. Therefore it is evident that in communist rule there is no room for private ownership hence, environment degradation of natural resources is much more prevalent.