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Tragedy of the Commons
“Everyone benefits from taking a few more fish from a shared lake. What happens when everyone does the same?”
01 / SUMMARY
In short
A finite resource may be depleted when each user receives the benefit of exploiting it while sharing the cost with everyone. The outcome, however, depends on rules, information, monitoring, trust, and coordination.
02 / SEQUENCE
What happens
- 01
Each person receives a concentrated benefit from extracting more.
- 02
The cost of degrading the resource is spread across the group.
- 03
Without coordination, individually reasonable choices can destroy the shared benefit.
03 / SCENE
In the wild
An aquifer runs dry when every farm pumps because conserving alone leaves more for others. Shared limits and monitoring can change the incentive.
04 / LIMIT
The limit
It does not show that every shared resource is doomed or privatization is the only answer. Ostrom documented effective community institutions.
FINAL NOTE
What remains
Before blaming individuals, inspect the rules: who receives the benefit, who pays the cost, and how can the group coordinate?
CHECK / 01
Put it to work
How firm is your read?