tragedy of the commons
Overuse destroys shared
The tragedy of the commons is a situation where individuals acting in their own self-interest deplete or spoil a shared resource, even though it's against everyone's long-term interest.
The classic example is overgrazing on common land—each herder benefits from adding animals, but when all do so, the pasture is destroyed.
The concept applies to overfishing, pollution, and climate change: Carbon emissions are a tragedy of the commons on a global scale.
- public goodNon-excludable shared benefit
- grazing landField for livestock feeding
- property rightsLegal control over possessions
- private propertyIndividually owned assets
- free riderOne benefiting without contributing
prisoner's dilemma · externalities · natural resource · fishing · game theory · land rights · sustainability · hunting · market failure · social welfare · overgrazing · social contract · deforestation · cost-benefit analysis · resource depletion · empirical research · quota system · utilitarianism
- theories & lawssupply and demand, law of demand, law of supply, Parkinson's law, Peter principle
tragedy of the commonsprivate property rights
Legal claim to possessions
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