A village sits on a coal seam. Bhola argues: this is our coal, prices are high now, so we should…
A village sits on a coal seam. Bhola argues: this is our coal, prices are high now, so we should dig it all out quickly and sell it. Kavita says the argument is forgetting something. Who is right?
Who do you think is right? Pick one.
The answer: Kavita is right
Why
Bhola is correct that the coal belongs to the community, and selling into a high price does sound shrewd. What the argument leaves out is that coal does not grow back: every tonne taken now is a tonne no one after them can ever use, and the people who will live in that village in fifty years get no vote today. There are nearer costs too. Mining scars the same land and water the farming depends on, and a rush of selling can push the price down. 'It's ours' settles who decides, not whether the decision is wise. Picture spending a whole inheritance in one month because it is yours to spend. Test: ask what this generation would wish the earlier one had done if the coal were already gone. Kavita is right: a non-renewable resource is shared with the future, and using it up fast carries a cost even when nobody stops you.
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