Tragedy Of The Commons

Question 1

Quick summary

Answer 1

Refers to a situation in which individuals with access to a public resource (also called a common) act in their own interest and, in doing so, ultimately deplete the resource.

Question 2

What caused the tragedy of the commons?

Answer 2

First posited in 1968 by American ecologist Garret Hardin.
This describes a situation where shared environmental resources are overused and exploited and eventually depleted, posing risks to everyone involved

Question 3

What is the conclusion of the tragedy of the commons?

Answer 3

The global environment was fundamentally threatened by humans

Question 4

What is it about?

Answer 4

The tragedy of the commons” (Hardin, 1968) describes how a common-access sheep-grazing pasture will degrade as each individual herder seeks to improve their own outcome by increasing their own sheep numbers (an individual gain), while the common pasture becomes overgrazed (a collective cost). As Hardin eloquently states:
Therein is the tragedy. Each man is locked into a system that compels him to increase his herd without limit—in a world that is limited. Ruin is the destination toward which all men rush, each pursuing his own best interest in a society that believes in the freedom of the commons.