Garrett Hardin originally put forth a metaphor to explain this idea. A pasture land represented a common resource, open for anyone to use, and not owned by anyone in particular. The herdsmen had no limit as to how many cattle they could put on this land, so naturally each herdsmen would put as many cattle as they could. Adding one cattle to the land benefited one herdsman, but the cost of that one extra cattle was shared by all the herdsmen (one more cattle would mean less grass or less space for the already existing cattle). Hardin explained that in time common resources and public goods will be abused and eventually destroyed, because people have unlimited needs and will take advantage of limited resources.
Unless action is taken, whether by individuals or governments, it seems inevitable that common resources will be ruined. Many examples of the tragedy of the commons can be seen in politics today. Pollution is a common example to explain this idea, and more specifically global warming. Global warming is caused by the emission of greenhouse gasses from the burning of fossil fuels into the atmosphere, which has resulted in the average increase of temperatures on earth. In developed countries today, most forms of transportation, factories, and many firms in general require the need to emit greenhouse gases, and consequently contribute to air pollution and global warming. Governments will allow this, because it is more important for them to not restrain companies, and thus allow them to be more efficient and keep their economy competitive. So one nation will benefit from emitting greenhouse gases, but the whole world absorbs the cost. The dangerous consequences of global warming are only now being felt, so thus this is an extremely important problem on the international scale, and must be dealt with through politics and cooperation between countries. Optimistically, leaders from all countries would meet and decide to restrict their respective countries greenhouse gas emissions, so the levels in the atmosphere can return to what they once were.
"The Tragedy of the Commons- explains just this, how man as an individual or as a whole has made a practice of taking from our Earth until it ceases to give any more. ... The "Tragedy of the Commons- is continuously unfolding all around the world. ... "The Tragedy of the Commons- is a tragedy indeed. ...
The oceans, beyond the two-hundred-mile limit, outer space, and Antarctica are global commons areas. ... Global commons are very difficult to protect because they aren't owned by any one country or individual. According to, "The Tragedy of the Commons," the biggest issue we have is people who privately own land go somewhere else, a common area, to get their natural resources they need instead of using their own land. ... One of the biggest success stories in the efforts to protect the commons is Antarctica. ... Even though countries all over the world have been making strides to...
In Garrett Hardin's, 'The Tragedy of the Commons' we learn that in this world we live in there are a finite amount of resources. ... The tragedy of the commons as we know it can be found in overpopulation. Overpopulation is an example of the tragedy of the commons because, as we know, the tragedy of the commons is a phrase used to describe property owned by the government given to the people, whereby the people do not take any ownership in the property and therefore nobody takes accountability or responsibility for it. ... No, there must be coercion, a type of system in which i...
Not only is it a tragedy that this water source is declining, however this water resource was a main source to farmers who once used the flowing river that came right through to their farm. ... This article mentions that "the San Saba presents itself as a classic tragedy of the commons" which could not be more true (Hamilton). ... This issue of tragedy of the commons is usually one of the key causes for every natural resource conservation problem. ... Tragedy of the commons presents itself periodically throughout our lives-this being a more serious issue, as well as showing the eff...
In Garret Hardin's article, The Tragedy of the Commons, he mentions, "Each man pursuing his own best interest in a society that believes in the freedom of the common.... In Wall-e, it is clear to picture what the Earth might be like in an extreme case of tragedy of the commons if humans can't find a way to recycle. ... No human being has the importance to care for others but their own interest, which ultimately ends in a tragedy....
Why economic valuations are necessary, some different views on valuations and for what they are used, what we understand by public and private goods, commons, and the cost benefit analysis. ... Both Hardin and Pigou commented on the tragedy of the Global Commons. ...
The Oceans are included in a group of shared international and global resources, universally known as the global commons. In order to be considered part of the global commons, four criteria must be met. There must be a resource (replenishable or depletable) people who share the commons (users), rules to govern access to and benefit from the commons, and it must hold some value for being preserved and protected2. ... There are two levels which our commons can be governed: Community-based (informal) and government based (formal). ... However, when the government lacks technology and will to repa...
Hardin first defines the tragedy of the commons as "if people do not manage their desire for needs and nobody controls it, resources that remain will be eventually destroyed." ... Hardin advises people not to be selfish and take more resources than they need when he talks about "the tragedy of the commons", but on the other hand is he trying to encourage people to be selfish in order to be alive and share the resources equally even though a certain amount of people will die because of this idea? ...
