The free market is often blamed for pollution. The the unbridled greed of capitalists is the reason rivers flow red, forests are felled, and air is made hard to breathe. And historically speaking there is some truth to this. However what is often left out of this critique is the degree to which governments encourage environmentally damaging actions.
Almost invariably serious environmental degradation happens as a result of a lack of property rights. (In one form or another.) This is not always true by any means but it is generally true. Those areas where no one has any responsibility, where no one is held accountable, are often the most polluted. Oceans, rivers, remote rain forests are all commons and as such are abused.



















