The Tragedy of the Commons
Name of Student
Institution Affiliation
The Tragedy of the Commons
What is the Tragedy? The Tragedy of the Commons refers to an economic problem within a shared-resource system where actions of individual users, motivated by self-interest for reaping maximum benefit from the common resource, behave in contradiction to the collective common good of every other user by spoiling or depleting the resource through their overall actions. With demand for the resource overwhelming its supply, each individual consuming an additional unit directly harms others who may no longer reap the benefits. The concept was first introduced in the year 1833 by Victorian economist William Forster Lloyd. This concept was later …show more content…
A sustainable development is one which utilizes the available resources to meet the needs of present generation without jeopardizing the ability of future generations in meeting their own needs. The Tragedy of the Commons exists in defiance to the concept of sustainable development, and as such its existence would not allow for the long term survival of mankind. The Tragedy of Commons is a very real problem, manifesting itself in everyday lives via different channels. Non-renewable resources being continuously depleted owing to their over-exploitation by mankind, overpopulation, overgrazing of grasslands, are some examples of the tragedy of the commons in action. Fisheries provide another relevant example of the tragedy of the commons, occurring when faced with incomplete property rights and open access to a resource. It has been found that where commons was even partially privatized, comparatively less damage to the fish stock occurred, the fishing was safer, and a given harvest could be achieved by making use of fewer resources. The Tragedy of the Commons in respect to fisheries remains prevalent amongst both domestic and international fisheries, as managers strive to cope with limited …show more content…
About a century ago, the prevailing abundance of sturgeon often saw fishermen complaining about the fish slashing their nets. Soon the fish were being harvested in large quantities for their flesh and roe. Currently, sturgeon are considered to be largely endangered, owing to overfishing as well damming of rivers which negatively affects their spawning success. Further, the infamous exploitation of Atlantic cod in Newfoundland and the Bay of Maine has followed a similar suit. However, in the latter case, heavy fishing pressure was supplemented by rapid warming of the climate leading to a depletion in
Name of Student
Institution Affiliation
The Tragedy of the Commons
What is the Tragedy? The Tragedy of the Commons refers to an economic problem within a shared-resource system where actions of individual users, motivated by self-interest for reaping maximum benefit from the common resource, behave in contradiction to the collective common good of every other user by spoiling or depleting the resource through their overall actions. With demand for the resource overwhelming its supply, each individual consuming an additional unit directly harms others who may no longer reap the benefits. The concept was first introduced in the year 1833 by Victorian economist William Forster Lloyd. This concept was later …show more content…
A sustainable development is one which utilizes the available resources to meet the needs of present generation without jeopardizing the ability of future generations in meeting their own needs. The Tragedy of the Commons exists in defiance to the concept of sustainable development, and as such its existence would not allow for the long term survival of mankind. The Tragedy of Commons is a very real problem, manifesting itself in everyday lives via different channels. Non-renewable resources being continuously depleted owing to their over-exploitation by mankind, overpopulation, overgrazing of grasslands, are some examples of the tragedy of the commons in action. Fisheries provide another relevant example of the tragedy of the commons, occurring when faced with incomplete property rights and open access to a resource. It has been found that where commons was even partially privatized, comparatively less damage to the fish stock occurred, the fishing was safer, and a given harvest could be achieved by making use of fewer resources. The Tragedy of the Commons in respect to fisheries remains prevalent amongst both domestic and international fisheries, as managers strive to cope with limited …show more content…
About a century ago, the prevailing abundance of sturgeon often saw fishermen complaining about the fish slashing their nets. Soon the fish were being harvested in large quantities for their flesh and roe. Currently, sturgeon are considered to be largely endangered, owing to overfishing as well damming of rivers which negatively affects their spawning success. Further, the infamous exploitation of Atlantic cod in Newfoundland and the Bay of Maine has followed a similar suit. However, in the latter case, heavy fishing pressure was supplemented by rapid warming of the climate leading to a depletion in