Tragedy of the Commons

[pfitz59]

"A widely known term, at least in academia, is “the tragedy of the commons.” The term “commons” describes a resource that everyone can use at no cost, such as air. Professor of Law at Harvard Law School Lawrence Lessig explains that the tragedy is that when there is a limited amount of a commons, the competition over it causes its depletion because people work out of self-interest, whereas if they were considerate, everyone would have enough."
https://michaellaitman.medium.com/the-tragedy-of-the-commons-is-our-reality-20295ef04415

[Bernardo de La Paz]

1. Another angle that impact this is sum-games

The commons could be a positive sum game (total payout more than baseline) if everyone gets together and cooperates.

Progressives, liberals, and Democrats play for a positive sum game.

Republicans, RepubliCons, RepubliQonners, and RepubliQonned all play for a zero sum game: "I'm going to what I'm entitled to and the hell with anyone outside of my family / tribe". The net result is that the commons get trampled and the game quickly becomes a negative sum game and a race to the bottom. Often there is violence.


The linked editorial advocates for education, saying that the knowledge that keeps us cooperating has to be constantly refreshed. Education is a big part of the solution, if people are educated to or equipped for critical thinking.

[2naSalit]

2. Respect.

Main ingredient missing from social interactions and belief systems. Not all belief systems but many of them.

[nitpicker]

3. Although the concept dates back to 1833

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tragedy_of_the_commons

It really didn't get popularized until Garrett Hardin referred to it in 1968.

[delisen]

4. Elinor Ostrom Nobel winner in Economics. Showed the Success of the Commons all over world.

The whole claim that the Commons cannot work was never true. I think it was an academic construct devised to serve and propagate to a chosen economic system. It was the result of trying to make society subservient to an economic system. Where economic systems serve their societies The Commons are success stories not tragedies.

Elinor’s work does not seem to be well known in th US. She was based in Indiana which may have something to do with it.
I think people have great capacity for sharing and great capacity for selfishness.

Possibly it is how societies are structured that can make the difference.