Introduction to Tragedy of the Commons

Introduction

 

The concept of the Tragedy of Commons first came into the picture when William Forster Lloyd wrote about it in a pamphlet in the year 1833. He explained the idea with the help of an illustration that shows that when a resource is shared among everyone, human beings tend to act in their own interest and thereby affect equality. 

 

In the end, the resource gets depleted and this situation is called the Tragedy of Commons. The exact example used by Willian Forster Lloyd to explain the Tragedy of Commons is as follows:

 

1. There were herdsmen who used to lead their cattle to graze. If every herdsman acts in a selfish and optimized way, his/her share of cattle would be relatively higher and this would lead to the tragedy of commons. 

2. When a group of people are provided with a resource, expecting a fair share of the resource among them is reasonable. However, human beings always think of their own well-being and never think about others. 

3. In this example, there would be an overuse of land in the end spoiling mother nature and hurting the peers. 

4. An unequal distribution of land among herdsmen would result in the tragedy of commons. The word “commons” in the tragedy of commons comes from the example of “common interest” explained by William Forster Lloyd in the pamphlet.

 

While the concept of Tragedy of Commons was born in the year 1833, it came into the limelight when a famous ecologist named Garrett Hardin referred to Lloyd’s pamphlet for research purposes. For those who do not know about Garrett Hardin, he was a professor at the University of California, Santa Barbara. (Source)

 

 

Understanding Tragedy of Commons

 

Let’s assume that there are only three humans living on this planet. For a second, consider their names as John, James and Richard. They are fishermen who live in the same area. They have their own ponds which have plenty of fish. 

 

The fishermen fish every day for some time in the evening, collect enough fish, sell them off in the market and make money to pay off their bills. On a fine day, John learnt about another nearby pond that is public and nobody owns the same. This fourth pond also has a variety of fish of great productivity. 

 

The other two people - James and Richard also learn about this and all the three take the fourth pond as a backup. In other words, the fourth pond can be used for fishing by any of the three fishermen whenever required. 

 

Everyone thinks that if they do not fish in the fourth pond, someone else might take the opportunity and the corresponding incentive. Thus, all three people have the same mindset of fishing as much as possible from the public pond. 

 

The Tragedy of Commons arose only because of that fourth pond that is the shared resource. Nobody is ready to lose it and moreover, nobody is concerned about the depletion of the fourth pond due to overuse. Selfishness and self-well being of human beings are the only reasons why the Tragedy of the Commons is a big issue today.

 

Some Instances of the Tragedy of Commons

 

While the classic example of the Tragedy of Commons is about sharing a common property among the herdsmen, the concept can also be applied to many other scenarios.

 

In fact, the whole subject of environmental science talks about the Tragedy of Commons in one way or the other. We know that the resources have been depleting at a rapid rate and the human population is growing fast on this planet. 

 

Also, climate change is a burning issue today everywhere. These trends and happenings directly indicate that we, human beings, are entering or living in a world where Tragedy of the Commons has become common!

 

1. The damage to the ozone layer or the popular Global Warming is not stopping today because of the tragedy of commons. Governments, Organizations and other human beings do not really understand the consequences of their collective actions and the environment is affected badly.

2. Deforestation is again an environmental problem that never ends because of human beings’ lack of maturity and management. A zillion of trees have been cut down in the last few decades because of which there is a huge change in the earth’s climate

3. Poaching or hunting is another form of destruction of the environment. The collective actions of fishermen, hunters and poachers hurt the fauna of the planet which results in the tragedy of commons and resources are depleted due to overhunting or overfishing. 

 

(Must read: AI for Environmental Sustainability)

 

Tragedy of Commons in COVID-19 Scenario

 

You might be thinking about why COVID-19 or the ongoing pandemic is brought into the picture. The tragedy of Commons can absolutely be applied to COVID-19 because there is an imbalance and resource overuse happening today also. 

 

Before the pandemic times, humans used to help out others and participate in social interactions. But when the pandemic began, people were forced to stay at their homes amidst lockdown. 

 

As the resources were limited, human beings, being extra insecure, started to buy more than required groceries and other resources for their household purposes. As a result, overutilization started happening due to which other human beings have been impacted. Selfishness has increased and humans began piling up a relatively larger number of resources for their well-being. This is again a trendy example of Tragedy of Commons.

 

How to Solve the Problem of Tragedy of Commons?

 

According to political philosophy, the Tragedy of Commons is the major problem that prevails in the world. Some experienced economists feel that the issue of the tragedy of the commons cannot be solved forever. 

 

While some optimists opine that it can be solved if all governments, companies, groups, social activists and individuals come together and develop and implement a framework for shared resources so that they can be regulated effectively without getting overused. 

 

Governments can put a ceiling or upper limit to control the usage of resources by normal humans. Collective behaviour is the only through which the Tragedy of Commons can be resolved. 

 

Activities that involve destructing or overusing natural resources should be controlled effectively. Examples: Mining, Poaching, Fishing, Deforestation for construction purposes etc.

(Must read: Green bonds)