--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: In a competitive world of limited…" description: "\"In a competitive world of limited resources, total freedom of individual action is intolerable\" — Garrett Hardin" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d99/garrett-hardin-11328_action_in-a-competitive-world-of-limited-resour_1139063.jpg" --- # In a competitive world of limited resources, total freedom… ![“In a competitive world of limited resources, total freedom of individual action is intolerable” quote by Garrett Hardin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d99/garrett-hardin-11328_action_in-a-competitive-world-of-limited-resour_1139063.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d99/garrett-hardin-11328_action_in-a-competitive-world-of-limited-resour_1139063.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d99/garrett-hardin-11328_action_in-a-competitive-world-of-limited-resour_1139063.jpg) > “In a competitive world of limited resources, total freedom of individual action is intolerable” [Garrett Hardin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/garrett-hardin/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Unrestricted personal freedom harms collective well‑being when resources are scarce. **In simple terms:** Freedom without limits harms everyone. Key Takeaway Balance liberty with responsibility. Themes environment ethics collective responsibility resource scarcity Mood concerned critical Type ethical political When to use this quote - policy making - community planning - resource management - environmental activism Key Concepts commons theory externalities social contract Questions to Reflect On - How can societies limit freedom without oppression? - What mechanisms protect shared resources? A Different Perspective Individual actions still matter; total freedom is unrealistic. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Action](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/action/) [Action Intolerable](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/action-intolerable-3166223/) [Competitive World](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/competitive-world-623871/) [Freedom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/freedom/) [Freedom Individual](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/freedom-individual/) [Individual](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/individual/) [Limited resources](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/limited-resources/) [Resources](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/resources/) [Total Freedom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/total-freedom-631499/) [World](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/world/) ## Related quotes > [My fundamental tenets are concerned with freedom of the individual; the market isn't perfect, but it's the best available way of allocating resources.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/niall-ferguson/my-fundamental-tenets-are-concerned-with-freedom-of-the-individual/) [Niall Ferguson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/niall-ferguson/) > [Attention is a limited resource, so pay attention to where you pay attention.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-rheingold/attention-is-a-limited-resource-so-pay-attention-to-where-you-pay/) [Howard Rheingold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-rheingold/) > [I grew up in the South Bronx, raised by my grandmother, who scrapped and scraped to make sure I had a roof over my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joy-bryant/i-grew-up-in-the-south-bronx-raised-by-my-grandmother-who-scrapped/) [Joy Bryant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joy-bryant/) > [Much like tobacco companies want to keep smokers dependent on their deadly product, the oil industry wants to keep California dependent on oil –…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-barrett/much-like-tobacco-companies-want-to-keep-smokers-dependent-on-their/) [William Barrett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-barrett/) > [You need only examine your present situation to discover unlimited resources and opportunities.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ari-kiev/you-need-only-examine-your-present-situation-to-discover-unlimited/) [Ari Kiev](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ari-kiev/) > [In a race for limited resources, it is the energy efficient that will win the race](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-cameron/in-a-race-for-limited-resources-it-is-the-energy-efficient-that-will/) [David Cameron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-cameron/) > [The presence of Christ brings us his power and ability to use our limited resources in limitless ways.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-pippert/the-presence-of-christ-brings-us-his-power-and-ability-to-use-our/) [Rebecca Pippert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-pippert/) > [Whom the gods wish to destroy, they give unlimited resources.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/twyla-tharp/whom-the-gods-wish-to-destroy-they-give-unlimited-resources/) [Twyla Tharp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/twyla-tharp/) > [ It was a tough film \["Selling Isobel"\] to make anyway, because we had limited resources. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rudolf-buitendach/it-was-a-tough-film-selling-isobel-to-make-anyway-because-we-had/) [Rudolf Buitendach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rudolf-buitendach/) > [If you take the burden of health care, of diseases off the backs of some other countries, it gives them a chance to use…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laura-bush/if-you-take-the-burden-of-health-care-of-diseases-off-the-backs-of/) [Laura Bush](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laura-bush/) > [Our problem with limited resources is not primarily overpopulation; it is greed. Our problem with pollution is not the invention of fluorocarbons or mass…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/winkie-pratney/our-problem-with-limited-resources-is-not-primarily-overpopulation-it/) [Winkie Pratney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/winkie-pratney/) > [Foreign politicians don't have resources - or limited resources. It's useless dealing with them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wang-jianlin/foreign-politicians-don-t-have-resources-or-limited-resources-it-s/) [Wang Jianlin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wang-jianlin/) > [Sometimes when you have limited resources and you really have to think about creative ways to get around some of these problems, generally the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/todd-lieberman/sometimes-when-you-have-limited-resources-and-you-really-have-to/) [Todd Lieberman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/todd-lieberman/) > [In this competitive world full of people trying to get past everyone else. Be kind be humble and try only to do better than…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anurag-prakash-ray/in-this-competitive-world-full-of-people-trying-to-get-past-everyone/) [Anurag Prakash Ray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anurag-prakash-ray/) > [A competitive world offers two possibilities. You can lose. Or, if you want to win, you can change.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lester-thurow/a-competitive-world-offers-two-possibilities-you-can-lose-or-if-you/) [Lester Thurow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lester-thurow/) ## More by Garrett Hardin > [Ecological differentiation is the necessary condition for coexistence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/garrett-hardin/ecological-differentiation-is-the-necessary-condition-for-coexistence/) [Garrett Hardin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/garrett-hardin/) > [Fundamentalists are panicked by the apparent disintegration of the family, the disappearance of certainty and the decay of morality. Fear leads them to ask,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/garrett-hardin/fundamentalists-are-panicked-by-the-apparent-disintegration-of-the/) [Garrett Hardin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/garrett-hardin/) > [Indeed, our particular concept of private property, which deters us from exhausting the positive resources of the earth, favors pollution.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/garrett-hardin/indeed-our-particular-concept-of-private-property-which-deters-us/) [Garrett Hardin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/garrett-hardin/) > [“Individualism is cherished because it produces freedom, but the gift is conditional.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/garrett-hardin/individualism-is-cherished-because-it-produces-freedom-but-the-gift/) [Garrett Hardin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/garrett-hardin/) > [But it is no good using the tongs of reason to pull the Fundamentalists' chestnuts out of the fire of contradiction. 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Have patience with yourself and others when treading in an area protected by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/garrett-hardin/it-takes-five-years-for-a-willing-person-s-mind-to-change-have/) [Garrett Hardin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/garrett-hardin/) > [Economists (and others) who are satisfied with nature-free equations develop a dangerous hubris about the potency of our species](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/garrett-hardin/economists-and-others-who-are-satisfied-with-nature-free-equations/) [Garrett Hardin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/garrett-hardin/) > [No one should be able to enter a wilderness by mechanical means.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/garrett-hardin/no-one-should-be-able-to-enter-a-wilderness-by-mechanical-means/) [Garrett Hardin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/garrett-hardin/) > [The morality of an act is a function of the state of the system at the time it is performed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/garrett-hardin/the-morality-of-an-act-is-a-function-of-the-state-of-the-system-at/) [Garrett Hardin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/garrett-hardin/) > [Value is a relative concept: the value of each action is determined by comparing it with other possible actions.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/garrett-hardin/value-is-a-relative-concept-the-value-of-each-action-is-determined-by/) [Garrett Hardin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/garrett-hardin/) > [The optimum population is, then, less than the maximum.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/garrett-hardin/the-optimum-population-is-then-less-than-the-maximum/) [Garrett Hardin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/garrett-hardin/) > [(Technology reliability) x (Human reliability) = (System reliability)](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/garrett-hardin/technology-reliability-x-human-reliability-system-reliability/) [Garrett Hardin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/garrett-hardin/) > [Numeracy: 1. The art of putting numbers to things, that is, assigning amounts to variables in order that practical decisions may be reach. 2.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/garrett-hardin/numeracy-1-the-art-of-putting-numbers-to-things-that-is-assigning/) [Garrett Hardin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/garrett-hardin/) [Explore all 60 Garrett Hardin quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/garrett-hardin/) ## More Action quotes > [I always say there are two things to be successful. 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I like to bang the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elmore-leonard/it-took-me-20-years-to-buy-an-electric-typewriter-because-i-was/) [Elmore Leonard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elmore-leonard/) > [Every action that helps us manifest our divine nature more and more is good; every action that retards it is evil.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/swami-vivekananda/every-action-that-helps-us-manifest-our-divine-nature-more-and-more/) [Swami Vivekananda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/swami-vivekananda/) > [As you begin changing your thinking, start immediately to change your behaviour. Begin to act the part of the person you would like to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/as-you-begin-changing-your-thinking-start-immediately-to-change-your/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [It's easy to say, let's go in and get the bad guys. But you have a divided country of Sunnis and Shias. 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