Ruining it for Everyone

In 1968, ecologist Garrett Hardin published a seminal essay titled "The Tragedy of the Commons." In it, he describes a situation in a shared-resource system where individual users, acting independently according to their own self-interest, behave contrary to the common good of all users by depleting or spoiling the resource. To illustrate this, Hardin used the metaphor of a pasture open to all herdsmen. It is expected that each herdsman will try to keep as many cattle as possible on the commons.

As a rational being, each herdsman seeks to maximize his gain. Adding one more animal provides him with a direct benefit of +1. However, the negative effect of overgrazing is shared by all the herdsmen. Thus, the negative utility for any particular decision-maker is only a fraction of -1. Consequently, the rational course of action for every herdsman is to add another animal to his herd. And another. But this is the conclusion reached by each and every rational herdsman sharing a commons. therein is the tragedy: freedom in a commons brings ruin to all.

Hardin argued that this problem applies to many modern issues, such as pollution, overfishing, and population growth. He concluded that technical solutions are often insufficient for such problems. Instead, they require a fundamental extension in morality or administrative law, such as privatization of resources or government regulation (taxes, permits), to prevent the destruction of shared assets.

Ruining it for Everyone

In 1968, ecologist Garrett Hardin published a seminal essay titled "The Tragedy of the Commons." In it, he describes a situation in a shared-resource system where individual users, acting independently according to their own self-interest, behave contrary to the common good of all users by depleting or spoiling the resource. To illustrate this, Hardin used the metaphor of a pasture open to all herdsmen. It is expected that each herdsman will try to keep as many cattle as possible on the commons.

As a rational being, each herdsman seeks to maximize his gain. Adding one more animal provides him with a direct benefit of +1. However, the negative effect of overgrazing is shared by all the herdsmen. Thus, the negative utility for any particular decision-maker is only a fraction of -1. Consequently, the rational course of action for every herdsman is to add another animal to his herd. And another. But this is the conclusion reached by each and every rational herdsman sharing a commons. therein is the tragedy: freedom in a commons brings ruin to all.

Hardin argued that this problem applies to many modern issues, such as pollution, overfishing, and population growth. He concluded that technical solutions are often insufficient for such problems. Instead, they require a fundamental extension in morality or administrative law, such as privatization of resources or government regulation (taxes, permits), to prevent the destruction of shared assets.