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Envi - Science-The Tragedy of The Commons

The tragedy of the commons refers to a situation where individual interests negatively impact a shared limited resource. When individuals act in their own self-interest to maximize personal benefits from a common resource, it can lead to depletion and degradation of that resource to the detriment of all. The classic example is of open access grazing lands that become overgrazed as each herder adds more livestock for personal gain without regard for how it affects the overall resource.

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Mekhi Bentley
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94 views2 pages

Envi - Science-The Tragedy of The Commons

The tragedy of the commons refers to a situation where individual interests negatively impact a shared limited resource. When individuals act in their own self-interest to maximize personal benefits from a common resource, it can lead to depletion and degradation of that resource to the detriment of all. The classic example is of open access grazing lands that become overgrazed as each herder adds more livestock for personal gain without regard for how it affects the overall resource.

Uploaded by

Mekhi Bentley
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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The tragedy of the commons is a problem in economics that occurs when individuals neglect the

well-being of society in the pursuit of personal gain. This leads to over-consumption and
ultimately depletion of the common resource, to everybody's detriment.
https://www.investopedia.com/terms/t/tragedy-of-the-commons.asp

Example:
Animal extinction: Overfishing and overhunting are examples of a common pool resource being
depleted by individuals acting in their own self-interest. Depletion of natural resources: When
common resources are consumed with an eye towards short-term gain, the result can be a tragedy
of the commons.
https://www.masterclass.com/articles/understanding-the-tragedy-of-the-commons

First posited in 1968 by American ecologist Garret Hardin, the Tragedy of the Commons
describes a situation where shared environmental resources are overused and exploited, and
eventually depleted, posing risks to everyone involved. Hardin argues that to prevent this, there
should be some restrictions to the amount of usage, for example, property rights must be affixed.

What is the Tragedy of the Commons?


The definition of the Tragedy of the Commons is 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.
Garrett Hardin, an evolutionary biologist, wrote a paper called “The Tragedy of the Commons”
in the journal Science in 1968. In summary of the Hardin paper, the Tragedy of the Commons
addressed the growing concern of overpopulation, and Hardin used an example of sheep grazing
land when describing the adverse effects of overpopulation. In this case, grazing lands held as
private property will see their use limited by the prudence of the land holder in order to preserve
the value of the land and health of the herd. Grazing lands held in common will become
oversaturated with livestock because the food the animals consume is shared among all
herdsmen.

Hardin argues that individual short-term interest– to take as much of a resource as possible – is in
opposition to societal good. If everyone was to act on this individual interest, the situation would
worsen for society as a whole- demand for a shared resource would overshadow the supply, and
the resource would eventually become entirely unavailable.
Conversely, exercising restraint would yield benefits for all in the long-term, as the shared
resource would remain available.

https://earth.org/what-is-tragedy-of-the-commons/

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