Understanding the Tragedy of the Commons

Oct 7, 2024

Lecture Notes: The Tragedy of the Commons

Introduction

  • Thought experiment: Small village depending on a local fish pond for food.
  • Sharing the pond with three other villagers.
  • Initial condition: Pond starts with a dozen fish.

Fish Reproduction

  • Fish reproduce: for every two fish, one baby added each night.
  • Objective: Maximize food supply.

Optimal Fishing Strategy

  • Each villager should catch one fish per day.
  • Rationale:
    • If each takes one fish, 8 fish remain.
    • Each pair of fish produces one baby overnight.
    • Pond restocks to 12 fish by the next day.
  • Consequence of overfishing:
    • Reduction in reproductive pairs.
    • Long-term depletion and starvation.

The Tragedy of the Commons

  • Classic problem described by William Forster Lloyd (1833).
  • Revived by ecologist Garrett Hardin.
  • Occurs when individuals share a limited resource.
  • Short-term self-interest vs. common good.
  • Examples: Overgrazing, overfishing, pollution, overpopulation.

Mechanism

  • Individuals benefit personally while negatives are spread out.
  • Fishermen example: Each motivated to take extra fish.
  • Shared decline in fish population.
  • Tragic outcome: Short-term gain leads to long-term loss.

Real-Life Examples

  • Overuse of antibiotics leading to resistant bacteria.
  • Pollution from coal power plants.
  • Other examples: Littering, deforestation, traffic jams, bottled water.

Solutions to the Tragedy

  • Human capability for social contracts and communal agreements.
  • Government roles and laws to curb individual impulses.
  • Importance of communal wellbeing: "What's good for all of us is good for each of us."

Conclusion

  • Need for collective action to address the tragedy of the commons.
  • Encouragement to support educational initiatives like TED-Ed.