A reflection is made regarding the discussion that is presented on the measure of "beak and plate" in the city of Bogotá DC, regarding the right of property, against the approaches of authors such as Hardin (1968) and Gluckman (2002).
The excessive increase in the acquisition of automobiles, observed in recent years, especially in Bogotá, as shown in the graph, has made it necessary to impose restrictions on the hours of circulation -restrictions that have been progressively extended along with the increase in cars in circulation.
Although the affirmations and claims of citizens are reasonable, since the fulfillment of property rights and free movement are perceived as directly hindered, it is necessary to understand the objective that has actually motivated the imposition of this public policy, which beyond of individual freedoms aims to achieve the best socially possible result under the aggregation of those freedoms, taking into account the inherent interaction of individuals that alone implies the existence of restrictions that allow guaranteeing the greatest possible equality in the fulfillment of the rights of each citizen.
It is necessary to understand that property does not grant complete freedom over resources in a society in which many individuals coexist who seek to obtain the greatest benefit, who exercise their rights simultaneously and who are also conditioned by the scarcity of those resources.
Interaction implies reducing individual benefits in order to achieve the best possible use of resources, which in this case is public space.
Gluckman put it well:
" The right of property does not define so much the rights of people over things, as the obligations between people in relation to things " (R. Cooter and T. Ulen.113, 2002)
What applied to the issue of mobility in Bogotá, allows us to understand that the possession of a car is more than just the possession of a good, it is a legal recognition that imposes a responsibility on the owner, who is part of a society in which the optimal objective, in this case, is to ensure that each individual manages to make use of public space.
Guaranteeing this equitable use of public roads, taking into account the increasing number of automobiles, implies the imposition of restrictions, the coordination of different schedules and places of movement that allow a "better mobilization" to all citizens, even if that restricts the free circulation, because otherwise, excessive congestions would be generated - worse than those that occur today - that would lead to the impossibility of compliance with the rights to movement, property and even others.
There are several that compare the peak and plate in Bogotá, with the situation described in the article written by Garrett Hardin in 1968, " The tragedy of the commons " in which he analyzes how the exercise of freedom in a situation of demographic growth, it leads to a "tragedy": an inefficient allocation of resources, generated by the individual search to maximize profits (each shepherd seeks to have the largest possible number of head of cattle), in a limited space, which, in Hardin's words, is:
“Every man is locked in a system that drives him to increase his livestock unlimitedly in a limited world. Ruin is the destiny to which all men run, each seeking his best advantage in a world that believes in the freedom of common resources. The freedom of common resources results in ruin for all. » (Hardin, "The Tragedy of Commons" in Science, 1968, 1243-1248).
The number of cars that circulate on the city's roads, which is increasing, in 2008 was 896,443 and for 2011 it was 1,185,610, according to official records in Bogotá, which represents a growth rate close to 10 % in annual average, due to the facilities that financial institutions currently offer that make it more viable to buy one, added to the innate desire of every individual to obtain the greatest possible well-being from the use of the assets that they possess, are factors that allow us to see Hardin's "tragedy" is not an illustration far from reality.
It would not be unreasonable to think that under the unlimited exercise of freedom, reinforced by the individual desire to maximize profits given scarce common resources, a situation of "ruin" could be reached in Bogotá. For although the restriction imposed by the Government - the peak and plate - mitigates the perverse effects that the individual search for the greatest individual benefit generates on the well-being of society; It is not completely avoidable to reach a situation where it becomes impossible to exercise your own rights, in which the economic growth and productivity of the city are seriously hampered, in which the health of citizens is affected due to the deterioration of the environment and congestion on public roads become uncontrollable, among others negative externalities that the individual and “selfish” use of the automobile could generate on the society and economy of the country.
The only way to avoid this "tragedy" is to understand that in a world of scarce resources, it is necessary to renounce certain individual liberties, to accept in consensus the responsibility that property implies when living in a society in which all its members have the right to usufruct in the same way public goods.
It must be understood that our freedom is conditioned to that of others, that given the imminent conditions of interaction and scarcity, the well-being of one must lead to the well-being of all, and that achieving it implies individual sacrifices.
Bibliography
• HARDIN, GARRETT. "The Tragedy of the Commons", originally published under the title "The Tragedy of Commons" in Science, v. 162 (1968), pp. 1243-1248..
• R. COOTER AND T. ULEN, Law and Economics (2002, FCE), chapter IV.
• BOGOTÁ ENVIRONMENTAL OBSERVATORY, En, retrieved on May 20, 2012.
• SECRETARIAT OF FINANCE OF BOGOTÁ, Tax Information Base; retrieved on May 20, 2012.
Footnotes:
1. The data is taken from the Environmental Observatory of Bogotá
2. SECRETARIAT OF FINANCE OF BOGOTÁ, Tax Information Base; retrieved on May 20, 2012.
