A Finite World Can Support Only A

You Can Never Do Merely One Thing. The Law Applies To Any Action That Changes Something In A Complex System. The Point Is That An Action Taken To Alleviate A Problem Will Trigger Several Effects, Some Of Which May Offset Or Even Negate The One Intended.

We See Only What We Have Names For.

The Rational Herdsman Concludes That The Only Sensible Course For Him To Pursue Is To Add Another Animal To His Herd. And Another; And Another . . . But This Is The Conclusion Reached By Each And Every Rational Herdsman Sharing A Commons. Therein Is The Tragedy. Each Man Is Locked Into A System That Compels Him To Increase His Herd Without Limit — In A World That Is Limited. Ruin Is The Destination Toward Which All Men Rush, Each Pursuing His Own Best Interest In A Society That Believes In The Freedom Of The Commons. Freedom In A Commons Brings Ruin To All.

Every Measured Thing Is Part Of A Web Of Variables More Richly Interconnected Than We Know.

The Morality Of An Act Is A Function Of The State Of The System At The Time It Is Performed.