As a Republic, we’ve come to a critical point in our history. Adam Smith’s Invisible Hand, the Gadsden flag’s motto of “Don’t Tread on Me”, and laissez-faire capitalism have been and remain firmly embedded in our collective mindset. It must be noted that these concepts and principles were derived from a time when there was a strong belief in the never-ending availability of natural resources (land, energy, etc.). This also served as a springboard for the capitalistic paradigm of infinite growth. Investors expect ongoing positive quarterly returns. The economy requires full time traction to keep society united and functioning. Otherwise the system breaks down into chaos. The reciprocal of our market type is pure Communism. That system failed long before the groupthink-induced meltdown of Capitalistic Wall Street. The red hammer and sickle principles are inefficient, ineffective, and ignorant of inherent human qualities that push us towards betterment… what gives life its je ne sais quoi (Marx was an idealist, not a realist). Even the Communists know that communism doesn’t work and are adopting hybrid free market systems led by autocratic governmental overseers (this includes North Korea with their government-led black market in arms dealing).

Regardless of market creed or geo-political boundary, what we, as a Human Race, have been unable to see. What we have failed to grasp is that resources are very limited – definitively finite. And that our reproduction rates and lifestyles have surpassed the carrying capacity for this planet. Our current resource “burn rate” is guaranteeing an unstable future for our children. When I see the “Don’t Tread on Me” flags on homes and cars, I can empathize with their beliefs. When I hear neighbors declare that it is their “God-given” right to drive a Hummer and have steak every night of the week, I understand. The next sentence is hard for me, as a veteran, entrepreneur, and inventor, who remains completely active within and dependent upon our market system to state.

Free will within a free market has effectively enabled us with the toolset required to kill ourselves. Evolution of our biological hardware was not undertaken to comprehend amalgamative danger. We understand low-level, easily comprehendible threats via fundamental screening algorithms. IF tiger growls and begins to run at you THEN trigger fight-or-flight behaviors.

The late Garrett Hardin’s observations and theories have captured and held my attention. Ecologist Hardin’s “tragedy of the commons” has proven as a vital concept for comprehending how we have come to the brink of cascading environmental catastrophes. The primary emphasis of his theory is illuminated by his offering that humans face a treacherous situation caused not by malevolent external forces but rather by the seemingly benign, appropriate, and innocent behaviors of many individuals acting alone. Hardin’s parable involves a pasture that remains “open to all.” He asks us to imagine the grazing of animals on this pasture or common ground. The individuals who own animals here are motivated to add to their flocks to increase their personal wealth. However, every animal added to the total degrades the commons by a small amount. Although the degradation for each added animal is minuscule relative to the gain in wealth for the owner, if all flock owners follow this behavioral pattern — the commons will ultimately be destroyed. Nonetheless, with humans behaving as rational actors, each owner continues to add numbers to their flock in the effort to improve their stead. Therein lay the tragedy. Each owner is locked into a perpetually reinforcing construct that compels her to increase her animal stock without limit – in a world that is, indeed, limited. Ruin is the destination toward which all men rush, each pursuing his own interest in a society that believes in the freedom of the commons (Hardin, 1968).

Without instilling an expedited systemic maturation of the Human-leveraged knowledgebase sans emphasis on religion, politics, economics, or geography, our cumulative future appears to be on a path that will be experienced as rather uncomfortable. Fret is what I feel when looking at my children and considering their lives 40 years from now. Admittedly, I type this as I sit enjoying an imported bubble tea while in a climate-controlled house (78 degrees versus 32 outside) with a television blaring and an assortment of lights burning away. Yes, we are doomed.