Tragedy of the Commons

Explain how education would help avoid the tragedy.

" Education can counteract the natural tendency to the the wrong thing, but the inexorable succession of generations required that the basis for this knowledge be constantly refreshed". Teaching people the "right" values: A call to conscience depends on raising awareness of a problem in the hopes that people will voluntarily change their behavior.

Why does each farmer keep on adding more livestock to the shared land?

Because the marginal cost is zero.

What is consent to coercion?

By consenting to coercion, you must agree to give up liberty. The social arrangements that produce responsibility are arrangements that create coercion, of some sort.

Every solution will require ...

Curtailment of liberty and consent to coercion.

How does Hardin suggest goods should be distributed?

Deciding who has access to certain resources may be determined off of wealth or merit, chance, or first come, first serve basis.

Why do we maintain systems that we know are "unjust"? Ex: inheritance

Even though we recognize certain things like inheritance as unjust, we keep these systems because we have not found a "better" alternative.

What example does Lloyd give in his pamphlet?

He gives an example of a shared piece of land that neighboring farmers were allowed to let their cows graze in.

What are some problems with privatization?

How do we divide up a resource? What should this division be based on? Will this favor the influential/ rich? Clearly there is a political process of winners and losers, and it is very possible that the most disadvantaged people will end up with little or nothing.

Explain how incentives would help avoid the "tragedy".

Humans can be motivated by a marketplace that rewards positive environmental behavior, and punishes unwanted, harmful behavior.

What is an example of marginal cost?

If a company needs a new factory to produce more goods, the cost of building the new factory is the marginal cost.

In what situation would we have no interest in controlling other's breeding practices?

If each family used only their own resources, and overbreeding brought its own punishment (starvation and death) , only then would there be no public interest in controlling the breeding of families.

When is a call to conscience useful?

If the group involved is small or close-knit, and if people in the group care about what other people think about them, and if the "call" is to do something that's not too hard.

When did Garret Hardin write this essay?

In 1968

Where was the term "Tragedy of the Commons" first coined?

In an essay by American ecologist and Philosopher, Garrett Hardin.

What are some strategies to avoid the "tragedy"?

Incentives, communication/ cooperation, privatization, education.

What types of "infringements" on our freedoms do we oppose?

Infringements that have been in place for a long time are accepted, it is the newly posed infringements that we vigorously oppose.

Enclosing the commons results in...

Infringing personal liberty

Mathematically, why can there not be a "greatest good for the greatest number"?

It is not possible for two variables to be maximized simultaneously. Cannot have unlimited resources with an unlimited popualtion.

What is curtailment of liberty?

It means you must reduce or restrict your liberty.

What is lassiez-faire economics?

Laissez-faire is an economic system in which transactions between private parties are absent of any form of economic interventionism such as regulation and subsidies.

The contribution of each agent is ______ but summed over all agents, these actions can cost ____ ____ damage for ________.

Minute, long- term, everyone.

Can the morality of an act be judged without considering the context/ time period? Why?

No, because ancient ethics are outdated and not suitable for out modern, growing population.

Our society is very committed to a _______ state, this means...

Our society is deeply committed to a welfare state . This makes us confront the tragedy.

What lesson do we take away from "Tragedy of the Commons"?

People often use natural resources to their advantage without considering the good of a group or society as a whole. As we all have to live together on this finite little planet, we need to realize that our common resources need to be preserved for future generations.

We can save/ solve property if we give up...

Personal Liberty

Explain how communication/ cooperation would help avoid the "tragedy".

Raising awareness and forming coops of people that are like- minded and hold each other accountable.

Can privatization be fair?

Privatization can also be carried out fairly, and Hardin argues that even partial fairness is better than the alternative - complete destruction of the resource.

What do we focus on that will end up being detrimental for all?

Profit, short- term gain, and immediate self interest.

What are the commons?

Refers to any shared resource that nobody really owns, or nobody should own. A resource that is free and available to everyone. Ex: Oceans, rivers, atmosphere, forests, fish, fossil fuels.

What is rent- seeking?

Seeking to increase one's share of existing wealth without creating new wealth. Acting in such a way as to get "goods" out of the system nearly or completely rent- free.

Can technology change common resource problems?

Technology can alter, but not change common resource problems. Technology can only for-stall the inevitable. Technology in the short term can alter human behavior, but it will not change human nature in the long run.

What is the main idea in Adam Smith's Wealth of Nations?

The central thesis of Smith's "The Wealth of Nations" is that our individual need to fulfill self-interest results in societal benefit, in what is known as his "invisible hand".

What is marginal cost?

The change in total cost when the quantity produced changes by one unit. It is the cost of producing one more unit of a good.

Explain how privatization would help avoid the "tragedy".

The most radical, and often most useful, solution to the tragedy of the commons is to split up the commons. What happened in medieval villages across Europe was that grazing commons got split up and fenced off. On the one hand, this caused great hardship for those who were not lucky (rich) enough to get a share. On the other hand, it probably also averted land degradation, because no individual has an interest in exploiting his own land to the point of tragedy.

Is the world biophysically finite or not?

The world is biophysically finite. This means that our resources are limited.

What do all four strategies to avoid the "tragedy" require?

They require management (not necessarily government).

How does guilt (or lack thereof) apply to how society handles criminals?

Through social arrangements that produce responsibility and create coercion. We do not prevent bad actions by guilt, we seek definite social arrangements that will keep things from being exploited.

Whose pamphlet did Garrett reference in his essay?

W.F. Lloyd

Why do we favor mutual coercion?

We favor mutual coercion even if we do not enjoy it because we recognize that the alternative would be worse.

What is a free- rider?

When those who benefit from resources, public goods, or services of a communal nature do not pay for them or under-pay. They do not assimilate/ internalize the costs of their decision.

Why can we not rely on guilt as a method for people not exploiting the commons?

You cannot effectively produce guilt in noncooperators. The guilty do not care for guilt or compassion. They only pay attention to their anxieties.

What happens if you do not apply with appeals to conscience?

You will be openly condemned for not acting like a responsible citizen.

What happens if you comply with appeals to conscience?

You will be secretly condemned for being a simpleton who can be shamed into standing aside while the rest of us exploit the commons.