ABSTRACT
In discussing environmental problems, many people advocate an authoritarian state with far-reaching powers. In their view, such authority is necessary in order to deal with social dilemmas, and to break the pattern by which environmental disadvantages are passed on. The famous article 'The tragedy of the commons' by Hardin (1968), often quoted in the environmental literature and mentioned in section 5.4.1, is a case in point. But are we to assume that an authoritarian state will always make use of its far-reaching powers to solve environmental problems? Are such ideas in keeping with the core tasks of the modern state? Do these tasks include the conservation of the environment?
