Yet the story that unfolds afterward doesn’t really depict the normal functioning of business at all. Instead, it describes something much closer to what econom

Yet the story that unfolds afterward doesn’t really depict the normal functioning of business at all. Instead, it describes something much closer to what economists call the tragedy of the commons. The Tragedy of the Commons is the normal functioning of business. The lesson of The Lorax is that businesses will always use the commons to the maximum extent possible. If the Onceler doesn't, somebody else will, because they're the ones who will put out the maximum amount of the cheapest product and put all of the other competitors out of business. If the author wants to use free market tactics to solve the pollution problem, then you're going to have to put the commons under somebody's ownership. And if you put it under the ownership of whoever bids the most for it, then it's going to be the Onceler. I'd be all for having the government declare ownership of the air and water, and charge heavily for anybody who wants to use them as a dump. (And impose pollution tariffs on imports, so you can't just dump it into the air and water off shore and wait for it to come here.) Ensure that any mining and logging rights are sold dearly, so that the maximum amount of profits goes to the people who collectively own the property, rather than to the Onceler. I've got a sneaking suspicion that the Cornwall Alliance (a group of climate deniers, who worte TFA) won't much like that plan.