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Envi - Science-The Tragedy of The Commons
Envi - Science-The Tragedy of The Commons
well-being of society in the pursuit of personal gain. This leads to over-consumption and
ultimately depletion of the common resource, to everybody's detriment.
https://www.investopedia.com/terms/t/tragedy-of-the-commons.asp
Example:
Animal extinction: Overfishing and overhunting are examples of a common pool resource being
depleted by individuals acting in their own self-interest. Depletion of natural resources: When
common resources are consumed with an eye towards short-term gain, the result can be a tragedy
of the commons.
https://www.masterclass.com/articles/understanding-the-tragedy-of-the-commons
First posited in 1968 by American ecologist Garret Hardin, the Tragedy of the Commons
describes a situation where shared environmental resources are overused and exploited, and
eventually depleted, posing risks to everyone involved. Hardin argues that to prevent this, there
should be some restrictions to the amount of usage, for example, property rights must be affixed.
Hardin argues that individual short-term interest– to take as much of a resource as possible – is in
opposition to societal good. If everyone was to act on this individual interest, the situation would
worsen for society as a whole- demand for a shared resource would overshadow the supply, and
the resource would eventually become entirely unavailable.
Conversely, exercising restraint would yield benefits for all in the long-term, as the shared
resource would remain available.
https://earth.org/what-is-tragedy-of-the-commons/