也说公地的悲剧
为什么草地会变成荒地,最简单的答案是草生长的速度小于被吃掉的速度。那么在原始环境中,食草动物为什么没有把草地变成荒地呢?生物学家的答案是生活在草地上的动物数量由于受草地负载能力的限制,始终保持在不会是草地变成荒地的水平上。草原上除了食草动物,还有食肉动物。再加上暴雨,旱灾,种群密度过大引起的瘟疫等天灾,在一片草地上生活的食草动物的数量应该是稳定的,小于草地的负载能力的。
再来看看公地悲剧的例子,其中说道,每个人都会养更多的牛。这句话很奇怪,牛难道是说养就养的吗,是凭空编出来的吗?例子中没有说,但是可以想象,无非是两种途径,organic growth 和m&a。 等母牛生小牛太慢了,所以,例子中所说得很可能是m&a, 再买来一些小牛来养。
还有一点,小牛应该不是生活在原始环境当中,例子中所说的草地应该是没有野兽,即使有也被shepherd和his dog给很好exclude起来了。牛群呆在一起,一定配备了兽医,又有一定防风挡雨的措施,所以死亡率应该很低。于是养的牛的数量就超过了土地的负载能力了。
还有一个问题,例子中也没有提到,就是在草地上养牛,而不是工厂化的养,一般都采用游牧的方法,而例子中说的似乎是固定在一个地方养。显然例子中的那些人不是真正的牧民,他们只是为了这个例子而存在。
下面就这几个方面来具体分析。自然环境中,动物从一个地方到另一个地方的迁徙并不是那么容易的。可是到了人类社会中,我们今日所见却是大规模,大范围的资源流动。从中东的石油,智利的铜矿,到更为一般化的资本流动。如那本the travel of a t-shirt所描述,全球化的结果就是资源在全球范围内的大规模流动。
这样的行为是为了什么,是为了生产能被人类利用的能量形式,某种等级的entropy. 我们需要的负熵流主要来自于太阳,但我们自己并不能直接利用这种负熵。于是,只能通过其他东西的转换,比如植物的光合作用,以植物为食的动物,或者像石油那样的化石原料。还有就是用来建立某种结构的资源,which facilitate the use of energy. 这种结构的重要功能之一,就是使资源集中,产生规模效应。这就解释了为什么资源集中成了全球化的一大特点。
如果把牛看作一种资源,(它能够把被植物固定的太阳能变成能被人类利用的能量形式),那么集中也应该是他的一种趋势。在这里,牛失去了他的生物学属性,而纯粹成为为人类转换能量的一种工具,于是为了规模效应,它必须要被集中,以降低单位成本。于是养牛的目的变成了养更多的牛,而不是根据草地的大小来养牛。因为养牛已经变成工业化的产业,饲料可以从其他地方运过来,不再受草地大小的影响。所以,饲料,牛等各种资源集中起来,产生最大产出。养牛的目的不在是为了本地的消费,而是满足全球市场。
可是,例子中却没有提到这一点。牛被以更大的规模,工厂化的方法饲养,游牧方法被放弃,草地却仍以原始状态存在。所以,公地的悲剧反映的是新的生产方式和传统生产方式之间的矛盾。在新的生产方法下,老的利用草地养牛的方法已经无法满足,更别提例子中那种可笑的用草地养牛,却不采取游牧方法的做法。
这样的话,例子与产权又有什么关系呢,即使采用了产权的方法,靠草地也养不活我们现在那么多牛,不管私地还是公地,都会变成荒地。现在养牛场的牛吃的使用牛的内脏,血液等为部分原料做成的饲料。
当天然草地不足以养牛了以后,我们可以用人工饲料,因为它更便于集中。可是,背后的问题是,人类有了更大的组合自然资源的能力,但我们毕竟生活在自然环境之中,当我们遇到了自然真正极限之后,我们还是无能为力。
所谓公地的悲剧,并不是严格的经济学原理,而往往是中国人根据既往的生活经验拿自己的观念去套的结果。
新加坡是一块很大的公地,香港也是,但是,两地的公共交通、公共卫生、公共秩序,都挺好。
在美国公园,据说老人小孩可以免票,但是,并不查验年龄,游民自报。但是结果呢,并没有导致老中青少幼蜂拥而来,把公园压垮。
无论私有,还是公有,都不天然有效率。有效率,要靠人为,事在人为。首要的一点,是奉行规则。只要奉行规则了,则公有、私有,都可以搞好。只要不奉行规则,则公有搞不好,私有也搞不好,就连臭豆腐都领导不了,大便做的。
即使谈“原始环境”,也要假设气候、地壳变迁等外部条件保持不变。
至少在中国的大部分牧区,即使草地承包到户或到队后,牧民仍然需要游牧:从自己家的这块草地游牧到自己家的另一块草地。至少牧场要分冬夏两季。草地承包或产权明晰,恰恰是确定了每户自己可游牧的范围(当然各户也可以通过讨论放牧费来实现草地使用交易)。
楼主指的是哪种动物?动物迁徙要走多远,才算容易不容易?
至少中国出现的许多动物,有季节性迁徙的习惯。
楼主根据什么说“草地却仍以原始状态存在”呢?楼主可确认,人们不对草地进行人工干预(至少可以结合中国情况谈谈)?
楼主对该模型的理解似乎有些“自由”。
楼主如何假设“该模型的假设”就是“新的生产方式”?
楼主如何又假设“该模型中的草地却要保留原始状态”?
楼主“厚此薄彼”般地理解该模型,又做何理解呢?
有人说:“吸烟有害健康,比如吸烟会导致***病,某某因为吸烟得了***病。”
可是,你要说:“我们这里根本就没有吸烟的人,(你的)例子与(我们的)健康有什么关系呢?”(那些因吸烟而健康受损的人,只为你的例子活着)
请问“草地的负载能力”,楼主是如何定义的?即如何判定“食草动物的数量”小于“草地的负载能力”?
“食草动物的数量稳定”是楼主的猜想、经验还是逻辑推理?或者,楼主如何定义“数量稳定”?
楼主是否听过,生物学与混沌相结合的一些说法?
My view is that everything happening in the organic world can be interpreted with entropy. The difference between the organic and the inorganic is the former has a structure and the structure has the potential and ability to sustain itself. It seems that the organic system absorb low entropy flow (lef) from outside the system and turn it into two parts. One is energy and if there is excessive energy, turns the excessive into structure. The structure is organized in such a fashion that it enables the system to absorb more lef. As Geroges Bataille put it, the mission of any living being is to consume as much energy as possible. It can either consume it immediately, like taking something as food and turning it into energy for its daily activities, or it can build some structures with the energy it is not able to consume immediately. When a living being dies, his structure breaks down and could no longer absorb lef from the environment so there is no need to make a distinction between it and its environment. The competition in the organic world is nothing more than a competition for lef, which comes essentially from the sun. An organic entity has two ways of acquiring lef, one is to get it directly from the sun, like plants in photosynthesis process. The other is to destroy the structure of other entities and turn them back into lef, or energy. Carnivorous take other animals as food while herbivorous take plants. Thus, for living beings, to survive is to protect its structure and at the same time absorbing the necessary lef. Thus, animals tend to divide them into two families according to the different tactics they adopt in realizing this goal. One pays more attention to the protection of the structure while the other attaches more emphasis on absorbing more lef from the environment. Some, like shellfishes or crustaceans, develop strong shells to protect their soft body from predators. However, the enhancement of their ability to protect is somewhat shadowed by the loss of mobility and thus ability to find food, if they could not produce food for themselves like plants. As a result, some adopted another way, which is to make oneself faster, develop more powerful muscles, which are what most predators do. Thus lies the paradox between mobility and security and the route of evolution swings back and forth between the two ends.
So then, what is the difference between human beings and other organic entities, namely, animals and plants? It seems quite odd to raise the question here as my previous arguments centre on organic structures. Human beings, like other organic entities, are nothing more than structures mentioned above. But I want to make it out that the difference lies just in the structure. According to most scientists, the difference between human and animals lies in the formers ability to make tools. Our ancestors could make a knife by cracking a pebble, while a monkey, even if it can use a sharp fragment of a pebble as a knife, does not know how to make the latter from the former. But one must notice, tool is defined by human beings and it doesn’t mean anything to other animals. For them, tool is just a part of their body. Crabs with their pincers, octopuses with their tentacles, birds with their beaks, are all good examples of tools. So, it’s not true that animals cannot make tools but they make tools a part of their body. In fact, some of their tools are so intricately designed and well functioned that we marvel at them or in many cases try to make our tools after their shape.
Then, where in the world is the difference? My answer is we are different from animals in our ability to reshape ourselves. Some animals are very good at reshaping themselves, such as amebas. Or change part of their body according the changes of the environment, like chameleons. However, when compared with human being, they are nothing more than small tricks. When we find the world not comfortable to live in, we just make some changes, not to our bodies, but to the way we interact with the environment. When we come across a river, we build boats or bridges, instead of develop fins and webs. When we want to get rid of gravity, we resort to planes instead of wings. But, what is most important of all is our ability to build a structure called society. Often we call ourselves social animals. But our society is different from the society of other animals like ants and termites. The way their society is organized is through instinct and whose structure cannot be changed according to the environment. In the society of ants, there is the queen, the worker ants and the fighter ants. There roles are decided from the moment from their birth. Each of these three kinds of ants develops respective organs for their specific functions in the society. But for we human beings, the case is totally different. Biologically speaking, every individual in the society is identical. What differ one social member from another is the role he is playing in the system. Every individual can play many different roles through his lifespan. No one is born an engineer or a politician. Even if he is born a king, it does not necessarily mean he will remain on his throne all his life. A beggar could one day become the king. As a result, the social structure can easily reshape itself if necessary. In this structure, what matter are not the members of it but the way they interact with each other. The next chapter will show how human social structures emerged and evolved in history. It will also give you a glimpse of how the two greatest treasures of mankind, namely religion and philosophy, come to surface.
As I have mentioned at the beginning of this essay, all living organic beings are structures that are designed to absorb lef from the environment. To put it in a plain way, is to find enough food to sustain themselves while protect oneself from natural disasters and predators. In ancient times, the world is full of uncertainties and dangers that our ancestors found them to weak to compete with other animals. They were not endowed with crust like crustaceans to protect them adequately or strong muscles like lions to fight other animals sufficiently. Thus, they sought to reshape them. Thus, they formed small groups in hunting and habituating. These groups, which were formed first on blood ties, are known today as tribes. And then, alliance was reached among different tribes that they become what are known as nations or states. With these groups, mankinds were able to operate in a coordinated way and thus a hundred organized men were stronger than the strongest lion. On the other hand, they reshape themselves by taking some inorganic materials from the environment as part of their organic strength, which is, making tools. They made axes and knives out of flint, as it is easier to shape than other materials. They made clothes of animal skins to keep them warm in winter and canoes to cross river so as to find more food. They built houses as shelters from the harsh environment. But what really made a difference is when the two strengths of group and tools are combined that they became stronger both in terms of numbers and individual strength. A good example is the ancient Chinese who learnt to build dams and canals to diverge flood and protect their crops. Thus, as they became stronger, they can make more changes to the environment to make it more comfortable to live in and once they lived more comfortably they had more time to develop new tools to make their life better which means more changes to the environment. The virtuous cycle goes on and on.
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