Open source animals?

Continuing the discussion from class about open source, both in programming and government.

The comment I wanted to make in class but didn't want to detract too much from the material is this, "If open source is the answer to everything, can it save the whales?"



The question comes from an example my professor used to illustrate why economists believe one of the limited roles of government is to uphold private property laws.  The example is as follows, Ask yourself, "How many cows die each year?" Now ask yourself, "How many African Elephants die each year?" The numbers do not need to be precise so I will not bother looking them up. Let's just say millions of cows die each year. Sacrificed on the alter of the golden arches to bring us delicious (and probably heart attack promoting) Big Macs. Contrast that with the 100 elephants that die each year. (Okay I couldn't handle it, I had to know, the numbers are 10,000,000 and ~5,000)

Based on those facts, which animal should be endangered?  Cows!!! What is the missing part of the equation that makes elephants the endangered species, instead of our dearly beloved Bos Taurus? The answer - Private Property. If people own cows, they have a vested interest in promoting the continuation of the species. They will only send the amount of cows to the 'great pasture in the sky' that will not lower the overall population to a level that will hurt future cow generations.

Whales, however, are not protected and as a result are 'open' for everyone to reap the benefits. Despite the best efforts of government laws to prohibit poaching, elephants continue to be hunted to near extinction. The most effective way to date for preserving the elephants? Letting villages own elephants. Then the village has an incentive to maintain healthy elephant populations. They can also make revenues from people who the experience of hunting an elephant.

Rather than completely accept or reject open source philosophy, I think it is very appropriate for some situations. One situation is software, where there is an infinite amount of resources. When resources are scarce however, I think it is appropriate to have private property, and a governmental system that protects that right.

So there are two ends of the spectrum, I'm still undecided where healthcare reform falls. Suggestions?

P.S. to save you the trouble, the only thing Google returned for "Open source animals" was a website of a family that makes stuffed animals of the mascots for open source software.