Delta State University

SOC/COD 521

Fall 2004

Writing Assignment No. 8

Due:  Monday, November 1

Instructions:  Prepare a two page essay on the topic identified below.  Be sure to develop an explanation or argument in your essay.

Topic:  In the article “Sustainable development: A free market perspective,” Smith notes:

Private institutions and private property effectively harness man's self-interest to advance the public interest.  Sustainable development requires that we explore the same options for dealing with environmental problems which we use for other important matters such as food and housing.  There is no reason to believe that environmental matters must be handled in a substantively different manner than anything else.

Use the cases provided in the articles “Recasting Wilderness as Open for Business” (Los Angeles Times) and “Conservation’s Company Plan” (Washington Post) to suggest conditions that are appropriate and inappropriate for privatized free-market approaches to sustainable development.  Suggest at least three factors that you think interact with private property to create conditions that enhance or detract from sustainability.