16. Tragedy of the Commons Flashcards
What is a fundamental problem of sustainability?
human behaviour, there are too many people consuming too many resources in an inequitable way
What is “The Tragedy of the Commons” by Hardin?
a very influential text, it identifies the tension between individuals and collectives
divisive, some people like it and some don’t, typically depends on their field
What are some other names for common property resources?
common pool resources, owned by the public, open access, free (no user fees)
difficult to exclude people from these resources (air, water often, etc.)
What did Hardin mean when he said there is no technical solution?
it may be defined as one that requires a change only in the techniques of the natural sciences, demanding little or nothing in the way of change in human values or ideas of morality
What is the importance of the paper?
it identifies the tension between individual and collective interests (we used to be collective, now more individual)
“decisions reached individually will, in fact, not be the best decisions for an entire society” (not necessarily always true, but often)
What is Hardin’s classic analogy?
common pastures vs. privately owned ones
older towns used to have common pastures, but more commonly now they are private
in common pastures each herdsman seeks to maximize his gain, which in turn maximizes the gain for everyone - the negative effects are also shared by everyone (more incentive for the pasture to do well)
Why are common property resources overexploited?
benefits go to users, costs are shared by all, if the benefit > the share of the cost individuals will choose what personally benefits them
leads to overexploitation!
What is the result of the freedom in commons?
freedom in a commons brings ruin to all (as per this paper), tragedy of commons
for example: industrial pollution (it’s free to pollute, but everyone shares the long term ‘costs’)
What is Hardin’s solution?
coercion: laws and taxes
making it illegal or expensive to do the wrong thing makes it cheaper to do the right thing (ex. carbon tax)
privatization: like private hunting reserves (Indigenous ones are an example of positive ones)
(this is highly contested)
What are the flaws in Hardin’s theory?
population growth, privatization as the only route to sustainability?, the tragedy of commons is inevitable?, his own example of common pastures being over-grazed
Explain population growth as a flaw in Hardin’s theory
a critical problem but maybe not the best example of the tragedy of commons
doesn’t fit naturally into the issue Hardin discusses (plastic pollution is a better example)
Explain the issue of privatization in Hardin’s theory
privatization can work (ex. condos vs. apartments), but it doesn’t have to be the only route to sustainability
privatization fails to solve the entire tragedy of commons (ex. a small private farm might contribute to pollution, a homeowner will contribute to pollution = private doesn’t solve every problem)
Explain the issue with Hardin’s assumption that the tragedy of commons is inevitable
it’s not empirically true, and Hardin was overly pessimistic about human nature
there are ways to be sustainable - as evidenced by Indigenous societies
Explain the issues with Hardin’s own example of common pastures
common pastures were not always over-grazed, it worked sometimes
his whole article was about pastures, it didn’t provide any other examples
What is the Tragedy of Commons?
an economic and environmental science problem where individuals have access to a shared resource and act in their own interest, at the expense of other individuals
this can result in overconsumption, underinvestment, and depletion of resources
