Tragedy of the Commons By: Garrett Hardin 1968

What is it???  The concept of the Tragedy of the Commons is extremely important for understanding the degradation of our environment. The concept was clearly expressed for the first time by Garrett Hardin in his now famous article in Science in 1968, which is "widely accepted as a fundamental contribution to ecology, population theory, economics and political science." Garrett Hardin articleScienceGarrett Hardin articleScience

The Basic Idea  Held in common" means the resource is owned by no one, or owned by a group, all of whom have access to the resource.  "Ultimately" means after many years, maybe centuries. The time interval is closely tied to population increase of those who have access to the resource. The greater the number of people using a resource, the faster it is destroyed. Thus the Tragedy of the Commons is directly tied to over population.  The resource must be available for use. Iron in earth's core is held in common, but it is inaccessible, and it will not be destroyed.  Resources held by individuals, even if the individual destroys the resource, is not an example of the Tragedy of the Commons.

Examples of “Commons”  Air  No one owns the air, it is available for all to use, and its unlimited use leads to air pollution.  Water  Water in the seas, estuaries, and the ocean is a common resource. But, water in lakes and rivers is often owned by cities, farmers, or others, especially in the western US.  Fish of the sea.

Garrett Hardin on the Tragedy of the Commons and Resources

A simple example…  Tragedy of the Commons Tragedy of the Commons Tragedy of the Commons