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Tragedy of the Commons: What It Is & 5 Examples

• 06 Feb 2019

Have you ever considered the environmental impact of the everyday items you use?

While some products might seem harmless, their production and consumption can often threaten ecosystems and deplete natural resources. This phenomenon is known as the tragedy of the commons , and understanding it is crucial if you want to make sustainable choices in your personal and professional practices.

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What Is the Tragedy of the Commons?

The tragedy of the commons refers to a situation in which individuals with access to a public resource—also called a common—act in their own interest and, in doing so, ultimately deplete the resource.

This economic theory was conceptualized in 1833 by British writer William Forster Lloyd. In 1968, the term “tragedy of the commons” was used for the first time by Garret Hardin in Science Magazine .

This theory explains individuals’ tendency to make decisions based on their personal needs, regardless of the negative impact it may have on others. In some cases, an individual’s belief that others won’t act in the best interest of the group can lead them to justify selfish behavior. Potential overuse of a common-pool resource—a hybrid between a public and private good—can also influence individuals to act with their short-term interest in mind, resulting in the use of an unsustainable product and disregard of the harm it could cause to the environment or the general public.

It’s helpful for firms and individuals to understand the tragedy of the commons so they can make more sustainable and environmentally friendly choices. Here are five real-world examples of the tragedy of the commons and an exploration of the solution to this problem.

Check out our video on the tragedy of the commons below, and subscribe to our YouTube channel for more explainer content!

5 Tragedy of the Commons Examples

1. coffee consumption.

While a simple cup of coffee might seem harmless, coffee consumption is a prime example of the tragedy of the commons.

According to Statista , about 73 percent of consumers report drinking coffee daily, and four percent have coffee once a week. This overconsumption has led to significant environmental impacts.

Coffee plants are a naturally occurring shared resource, but overconsumption has led to habitat loss, endangering 60 percent of the plants' species —including the most commonly brewed Arabica coffee. Sustainable business practices in agriculture are essential to effectively mitigating negative environmental impacts.

2. Overfishing

As the global population continues to rise, the demand for food increases. However, overhunting and overfishing threaten to push many species into extinction.

For example, overfishing the Pacific bluefin tuna has reduced its population to approximately three percent of its original numbers —posing significant risks to marine ecosystems.

The current state of fish stocks illustrates another risk. According to the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization , approximately 34 percent of the world's fish stocks are overfished, while 60 percent are fully exploited.

Addressing this issue involves promoting sustainable business practices in fishing and enhancing resource management to prevent environmental degradation.

Related: What Does "Sustainability" Mean in Business?

3. Fast Fashion

Overproduction by fashion brands has created extreme product surplus, to the point that luxury brand Burberry burned $37.8 million worth of its 2018 season’s leftovers to avoid offering a discount on unsold wares.

Furthermore, as new trends emerge rapidly within social networks and social media, consumers are constantly purchasing new clothing items and disposing of old, out-of-trend items that end up in landfills and contribute to pollution.

4. Traffic Congestion

Traffic congestion is one of the best-known modern examples of the tragedy of the commons. According to a study by the Harvard School of Public Health , air pollution from traffic congestion in urban areas contributes to more than 2,200 premature deaths annually in the United States alone.

As more people decide that roads and highways are the fastest way to travel to work, more cars end up on the roads, ultimately slowing down traffic and polluting the air.

5. Groundwater Use

In the United States, groundwater is the source of drinking water for about half the population, and roughly 50 billion gallons are used daily for agriculture. Because of this, the groundwater supply is decreasing faster than it can be replenished. In drought-prone areas, the risk of water shortage is high, and restrictions are often put in place to mitigate it. Yet, some individuals ignore water restrictions, and the supply becomes smaller for everyone.

Related: Listen to Professor Reinhardt discuss climate change and the tragedy of the commons on The Parlor Room podcast , or watch the episode on YouTube .

Ways to Prevent the Tragedy of the Commons

How would you react to discovering that your consumption habits are depleting natural resources? You have two primary options: finding alternative, sustainable products and preventing overconsumption. Preventing the tragedy of the commons means making conscious choices and supporting sustainability in business.

Find Alternative and Sustainable Products

To drive change and avoid the tragedy of the commons, it’s important to boycott the products or brands causing the alleged harm and search for alternatives. Finding sustainable options, rather than carrying on with what Sustainable Business Strategy Professor Rebecca Henderson calls “business as usual,” directly addresses your consumption habits' impact. Unfortunately, this response hasn't grown in popularity since many consumers feel boycotting a product won’t have a large enough impact to make a difference.

The tragedy of the commons shows us how, without some sort of regulation or public transparency of choices and actions associated with public goods, individuals have no incentive to refrain from taking too much. In fact, individuals may even have a “use it or lose it” mentality; if they’re aware of the inevitability that the good itself will be depleted, they may think, “I better get my share while I still can.”

Prevent Overconsumption

You’ve likely encountered examples of the tragedy of the commons in your everyday life; these hypothetical scenarios can offer insight into how to prevent the overconsumption of resources. Consider how you’d respond in the following scenarios:

• If everyone in your community abides by the town’s lawn-watering regulations, you're more likely to follow them as well. Who wants a bright green lawn while the rest of the town's lawns are brown?
• No one wants to pay a premium for something they’ll likely throw away or use as a trash bag. Charging for grocery bags raises the stakes because it involves the customer’s bottom line. Chances are, this change will lead you to keep reusable bags in your car, just in case you need to stop at the grocery store on the way home.

These examples show how, when faced with a public good, individuals can be motivated to cooperate through monetary or moral incentives or penalties. What’s fascinating is that this also holds true on a larger scale.

Remember the previous example of luxury fashion brands burning surplus clothing? Well, Burberry—having heard its customers’ reactions to the burning of inventory, regardless of how sustainably its products were disposed of—has since pledged to stop burning clothes and using real fur.

Developing a Sustainable Mindset

It’s easy for individuals and organizations to fall victim to the tragedy of the commons. However, it doesn’t have to be this way. By developing a more sustainable mindset , you can become better aware of the long-term impact that your short-term choices have on the environment in your personal life and at work.

Are you interested in learning more? Explore our Sustainable Business Strategy course and other business in society courses to discover how you can make a difference and become a purpose-driven leader.

This post was updated on May 20, 2024. It was originally published on February 6, 2019.

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49+ Tragedy of the Commons Examples (Definition + Solutions)

Imagine your favorite public park, filled with beautiful flowers, tall trees, and a sparkling pond. Now picture it trashed—litter everywhere, flowers trampled, and the pond polluted. This transformation isn't just bad luck; it's an example of what can happen when shared resources are misused by individuals acting in their own interest without considering the greater good.

Tragedy of the commons is a social dilemma where individuals exploit shared resources to the point where the collective resource is depleted or destroyed, affecting everyone in the long run. This concept isn't just limited to parks; it applies to many areas in our lives, such as natural resources, public services, and even digital spaces.

In this article, we'll dive deep into what the tragedy of the commons means, why it's crucial to understand it today, and explore compelling real-life examples. From overfishing in our oceans to the unseen corners of the internet, we'll discover how this age-old theory is more relevant now than ever.

Tragedy of the Commons Theory

Historical Origins: Garrett Hardin's 1968 Article

Garrett Hardin was an ecologist who got people talking about how we treat shared resources. Back in 1968, he published an article called "The Tragedy of the Commons," which had a huge impact on the way people thought about economics, environment, and society.

Hardin used examples from history and everyday life to show that common resources could be easily depleted if everyone acted in their own best interest.

His article wasn't the first to discuss the issue, but it made a splash because it put a catchy name to a problem that people already kind of knew about but hadn't really focused on.

By doing so, Hardin got policymakers, scientists, and everyday folks thinking about the concept. But Hardin isn't without his problems , as he is a known racist, amongst other issues. In this article, we're only examining his one idea—The Tragedy of the Commons—and not him as a person or his other beliefs.

Core Principle: Self-Interest vs. Collective Good

The heart of the tragedy of the commons is a clash between individual wants and group needs . Imagine a pizza party with your friends. There's a giant pizza with eight slices on the table. Common sense tells us that if there are eight people at the party, each person should grab one slice.

But what if someone is super hungry and decides to snatch two slices? They might think they're clever for satisfying their hunger, but they leave someone else without any pizza. That's the core principle here. When people act in their own best interest, without thinking of the group, the whole community can suffer.

Sometimes, this happens because people think their actions won't make a big difference. They think, "If I take a little extra, it won't matter much," but when everyone thinks like that, it leads to a big problem.

It's like when one person decides to cut a queue. If everyone starts doing it, the whole idea of a line breaks down, and chaos ensues.

Simplified Example: Shared Grazing Land

One of the classic examples used to explain this theory is shared grazing land. Imagine a small village where several farmers share a big, green field to let their cows graze.

The field has enough grass to feed everyone's cows if each farmer only lets a few cows graze at a time. But suppose one farmer thinks, "I can make more money if I have more cows," and starts letting more and more cows onto the field.

At first, it may seem like that farmer is making a smart move, but what happens when the field starts to run out of grass? Soon, all the cows—belonging to all the farmers—go hungry. That one farmer's self-interest ends up causing a big problem for the entire village.

Real-life Consequences

The tragedy of the commons isn't just a story about cows, pizza, or people cutting in line. It applies to many important areas in our lives. Let's talk about a few:

• Overfishing : Many people rely on fishing for their livelihood. But if every fisherman takes as many fish as they can catch, the entire fish population could get wiped out. When that happens, everyone loses their source of income and food.
• Deforestation : Forests are like the lungs of the Earth; they give us clean air. But if logging companies keep cutting down trees without replanting, we could end up with polluted air and a lot of other problems, like loss of animal habitat and increased carbon dioxide in the atmosphere.
• Internet Bandwidth : You might not think about it, but even the internet is a kind of shared resource. If everyone starts downloading huge files all at once, it can slow down the internet for everyone in the area. Your Netflix binge might be fun for you, but it could make someone else's important work presentation lag.
• Public Transport : Buses and trains have limited seats. If everyone rushes to get a seat and doesn't think about the elderly or those with special needs, it creates a less fair and more difficult environment for everyone.

Understanding the tragedy of the commons helps us see why sometimes, what's good for one person can end up being bad for a whole group. That's why it's super important to learn about this concept and think about how we can make better choices for everyone, not just ourselves.

Tragedy of the Commons Key Concepts

So what do we mean when we talk about "common resources"? These are things that nobody owns but everybody can use. Think of the air we breathe, the water in rivers, or even a public playground.

Because nobody owns them, there's a temptation to think, "Hey, I can use as much as I want!" But here's the catch: these resources are limited.

There's only so much clean air, water, and space in a playground. If everyone starts to overuse them, there's a chance these resources could run out or get ruined for everyone.

Rational Self-Interest: Why Individuals Act in Their Own Best Interest

You might be asking, "Why would someone act in a way that's bad for everyone?" Well, it's not that people are evil or selfish all the time; it's just that it's natural to look out for yourself.

This is what experts call "rational self-interest." Imagine you're at an all-you-can-eat buffet. You want to get your money's worth, so you pile your plate high. That makes sense for you, but if everyone does the same, the buffet might run out of food!

The point is, when people act in their own best interest, they're being rational from their own perspective, but they might not be thinking about the big picture.

Of course, not everyone will always take and not give. There are norms around reciprocity that some people and societies follow, which basically means that we give back whatever we have taken. We'll learn more about this later as a possible solution to the Tragedy of the Commons.

Social Dilemma: How Individual Actions Can Lead to Group Problems

A social dilemma is a situation where what's good for one person can make things worse for everyone if everyone does it.

Think about traffic jams. If you drive a car because it's the quickest way to get somewhere, you're not doing anything wrong. But if everyone thinks like you and decides to drive, the roads get clogged, and everyone is late.

It's a tricky situation. If you decide to be the "good person" and take public transport, but everyone else drives, you might feel like a sucker. But if everyone thought about the group and took turns driving or using public transport, the roads would be clearer, and everyone would get to where they need to go faster.

Alternative Theories and Counter-Arguments

While the tragedy of the commons is a powerful concept that helps us understand many social dilemmas, it's not the only lens through which we can view these issues. There are other theories and counter-arguments that challenge or add nuance to the basic principles of the tragedy of the commons.

• Game Theory : This is like the science of strategy. It tries to predict what people will do based on their own interests and the choices of others. In some game theory models , the tragedy of the commons can be avoided if people can communicate and trust each other to act for the common good.
• Commons Governance Models : Not all shared resources are doomed to tragedy. Some communities have found ways to manage common goods successfully without depleting them. For example, the Nobel laureate Elinor Ostrom outlined eight principles for managing the commons, which include clear boundaries and community enforcement.
• Technological Solutions : Some people argue that technology will save the day. For example, advances in renewable energy could make it so we don't have to worry about depleting fossil fuels. However, relying solely on technology could be risky; it might not solve all our problems or could create new ones.
• The Free Rider Problem : This is kind of the opposite of the tragedy of the commons. In this case, some people benefit from a shared resource without contributing to it. Think of someone who enjoys a clean park but never helps with the cleanup. Some argue that focusing on free riders and finding ways to make them contribute could help avoid the tragedy of the commons.
• Psychological and Cultural Factors : Sometimes, the tragedy of the commons doesn't happen because people's beliefs or cultural norms encourage them to act for the common good . Understanding these psychological factors can offer another way to solve or mitigate the problem.
• Criticisms : Not everyone agrees with the tragedy of the commons theory. Some critics say it's used to justify privatizing public goods or that it assumes people are selfish when they're not always. Others argue that the real tragedy is not the overuse of commons but the unequal distribution of resources.

Tragedy of the Commons Examples

The concept of the tragedy of the commons plays out in numerous real-world scenarios, touching various aspects of our lives. Here are some illustrative examples:

Environmental Resources

• Amazon Rainforest - Deforestation : The Amazon Rainforest, often called the "lungs of the Earth," is experiencing rapid deforestation, posing a severe ecological threat. Various logging companies, indigenous tribes, and local governments have been exploiting the forest for short-term economic gains for decades. Despite its status as a critical global ecosystem, the tragedy continues, with deforestation rates seeing severe spikes, particularly in the 2010s.
• Great Pacific Garbage Patch : This is a massive accumulation of plastic waste in the Pacific Ocean, which has become notably severe in the early 21st century. Millions of tons of plastic waste, much of it single-use items, have collected in this area of the ocean, creating devastating impacts on marine life. The global consumer population and corporations producing plastic goods all contribute to this growing ecological disaster.
• Newfoundland Cod Fishery : Overfishing led to the collapse of the Newfoundland Cod Fishery in 1992. Despite warnings from scientists about the decreasing fish populations, local fishers and the Canadian government continued to fish at unsustainable levels. The tragedy culminated in a total collapse of the fishery, leading to a moratorium that put approximately 30,000 people out of work.
• Mediterranean Bluefin Tuna : The high demand for sushi has resulted in the overfishing of Bluefin Tuna in the Mediterranean. This tragedy peaked in the early 2000s when regulatory quotas were frequently ignored or bypassed by various fishing companies, despite oversight from EU regulatory bodies. This has led to critically low populations of Bluefin Tuna, threatening the species with extinction.

Freshwater Resources

• Aral Sea - Water Depletion : Once the fourth-largest lake in the world, the Aral Sea has shrunk to just 10% of its original size due to poor water management. Starting in the 1960s, the governments of Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan initiated irrigation projects that diverted rivers feeding the lake. This resulted in an ecological disaster and decimated the local fishing economy.
• California Water Crisis : California has been grappling with water scarcity issues for years, but the crisis became particularly acute between 2014 and 2017. Despite this, the state's agricultural sector continues to cultivate high water-consuming crops like almonds. The California state government and the agricultural sector both contribute to this ongoing problem, exacerbating the effects of natural droughts.

Public Services

• New York Subway Overcrowding : Overuse and underfunding of the New York City subway system have led to deteriorating service and frequent disruptions. Coined the "Summer of Hell" in 2017, the subway's issues reached a boiling point, highlighting the chronic underinvestment by the MTA and the New York City government. As ridership continues to grow, the tragedy of the commons manifests in a public service vital to millions of people.
• UK's NHS Underfunding : The National Health Service (NHS) in the UK is facing long waiting times and resource strains, issues that have escalated in the past decade. High demand for services coupled with limited resources and funding cuts have created a tragedy of the commons in a system designed to provide healthcare for all.

Air Pollution

• Beijing Smog Crisis : In the early 2000s, Beijing faced a severe air pollution crisis due to rapid industrialization and lax regulations. The Chinese government and industries contributed to hazardous levels of air pollution that affected millions of residents. Despite efforts to curb emissions, especially ahead of the 2008 Olympics, air quality in Beijing remains a significant public health issue.
• Delhi Air Quality : Delhi, the capital city of India, faces a similar problem to Beijing, with even more severe levels of air pollution. Primarily due to vehicle emissions, crop burning, and industrial activities, the tragedy has worsened over the years, notably spiking each winter. Despite various interventions from the Indian government and environmental organizations, the issue remains unresolved, affecting millions of lives.

Oceans and Waterways

• Coral Reef Bleaching : One of the most vibrant ecosystems on the planet, coral reefs, especially the Great Barrier Reef in Australia, have been facing massive bleaching events. These events, occurring notably since the late 1990s, are primarily due to climate change and overfishing. Various stakeholders, from local fishermen to global corporations and governments, contribute to this ongoing environmental tragedy.
• Dead Zones in Gulf of Mexico : Excessive nutrient runoff from agricultural activities in the United States has led to hypoxic "dead zones" in the Gulf of Mexico, where marine life cannot survive. This phenomenon has been escalating since the 1970s. Despite efforts from environmental agencies, the area of the dead zones has increased, severely affecting fishing industries and biodiversity.

Wildlife and Habitats

• Rhino Poaching in Africa : The high demand for rhino horn, primarily from Asian markets, has led to rampant poaching in Africa, particularly in countries like South Africa and Namibia. Despite conservation efforts dating back to the late 20th century, rhinos remain critically endangered, with many sub-species already extinct.
• Deforestation in Borneo : The demand for palm oil has led to significant deforestation in Borneo, affecting not just the trees but also native species like the orangutan. This issue gained international attention in the 2000s, and despite various sustainability pledges, the rate of deforestation remains alarmingly high.

Overpopulation and Urban Issues

• Traffic Congestion in Jakarta : The Indonesian capital has some of the world's worst traffic jams, affecting millions of commuters daily. Despite attempts to improve public transportation, the tragedy of road overuse persists, with no end in sight.
• Public School Overcrowding in U.S. : In various parts of the United States, especially in underfunded districts, public schools suffer from overcrowding, leading to lower educational outcomes. Despite numerous policy discussions, the issue remains a challenge, with millions of students affected each year.

Agriculture and Food Production

• Pesticide Runoff : In many agricultural areas around the world, excessive use of pesticides has led to water pollution, affecting both human health and aquatic life. Starting from the latter half of the 20th century, the use of pesticides increased dramatically, leading to unintended consequences like the poisoning of water bodies and loss of beneficial insects.
• Soil Degradation : In various regions, particularly in parts of Africa and Asia, overfarming and poor land management have led to severe soil degradation. This has resulted in reduced agricultural productivity and has exacerbated issues of food security. Despite the availability of sustainable farming practices, the issue persists, driven by the need for short-term agricultural yields.

Energy Resources

• Coal Mining in Appalachia : Since the 19th century, coal mining has been a way of life in the Appalachian region of the United States. However, this has led to environmental destruction, including mountain-top removal and water pollution. While providing short-term economic benefits, the long-term environmental and health costs have been devastating.
• Fracking in the United States : Hydraulic fracturing, commonly known as fracking, has led to a boom in oil and gas production in the U.S. However, this has resulted in various environmental concerns, such as water pollution and increased seismic activity. The surge in fracking, notably from 2008 onwards, highlights the tension between economic gains and environmental sustainability.

Cultural and Intellectual Commons

• Music Piracy : The advent of the Internet made it easier than ever to share music, but it also led to widespread piracy. While this allows more people to access music, it deprives artists and producers of revenue, which can stifle the creation of new content. Despite various legal interventions, music piracy remains a widespread problem.
• Open Source Burnout : Open source projects often rely on the unpaid labor of developers. However, this can lead to "burnout" when too many people use these resources but don't contribute back to the community. This has been an increasing concern in the tech community, especially as more corporations rely on open-source software.

Global Commons

• Antarctic Overfishing : Antarctica is home to species like the krill, which are vital to the ecosystem but are being overfished. Countries like China and Russia have been particularly active in Antarctic fishing. Despite international regulations, monitoring these activities remains a significant challenge.
• Space Debris : As more countries and private companies engage in space exploration, the amount of space debris orbiting Earth has increased. This poses risks to both manned and unmanned space missions. Efforts are underway to manage this issue, but a comprehensive solution is still lacking.

Natural Disasters and Climate Change

• Hurricane Katrina and the Levees : In 2005, Hurricane Katrina exposed weaknesses in New Orleans' levee system, which was designed to protect the city from flooding. For years, the levees were not adequately maintained due to underfunding and poor planning. When Katrina hit, the levees failed, leading to devastating flooding and loss of life.
• Australian Bushfires : The 2019-2020 Australian bushfires were catastrophic, but part of the tragedy lies in land management practices. Decades of fire suppression, rather than controlled burns practiced by Indigenous Australians for centuries, contributed to the severity of the fires. This exemplifies how mismanagement of a common resource—land—can lead to tragedy.

Health and Medicine

• Antibiotic Resistance : The overuse of antibiotics in both humans and livestock has led to increasing antibiotic resistance. This is a global health crisis that has been steadily rising since the late 20th century. Although many doctors and organizations are advocating for more responsible antibiotic use, the problem continues to worsen.
• COVID-19 and Mask Shortages : The onset of the COVID-19 pandemic led to a global scramble for personal protective equipment, especially masks. Despite being a critical resource for healthcare workers and the public, the initial shortage exemplified a tragedy of the commons, as people hoarded supplies, leaving healthcare providers under-equipped.

Internet and Technology

• Net Neutrality : The concept of net neutrality suggests that all internet traffic should be treated equally. However, ISPs have been known to throttle speeds for certain services while letting others pay for faster speeds. This commercialization of a public utility leads to unequal access and can stifle innovation.
• Data Privacy and Social Media : Social media platforms collect vast amounts of user data, often without transparent consent. While these platforms are "free" to use, the cost comes in the form of privacy loss, affecting millions of users. Regulatory efforts like GDPR aim to mitigate this, but the issue persists.

Tourism and Recreation

• Mount Everest Littering : Mount Everest attracts climbers from around the world, but this has led to a littering problem. Climbers leave behind waste, including oxygen tanks and even human waste, creating an environmental issue on the highest peak on Earth.
• National Parks Overcrowding : Places like Yellowstone and the Grand Canyon have seen a surge in visitors in recent years. The overcrowding not only affects the experience for visitors but also has environmental impacts due to litter, soil erosion, and wildlife disturbances.

Public Facilities and Infrastructure

• San Francisco’s BART System : The Bay Area Rapid Transit system, known as BART, has struggled with overcrowding and underfunding. The high demand for public transit in San Francisco coupled with a lack of investment has led to deterioration in service quality, affecting daily commuters.
• Flint Water Crisis : The public water system in Flint, Michigan, became contaminated with lead in 2014, affecting thousands of residents. Poor governance and cost-cutting measures led to this public health crisis, highlighting how mismanagement of common resources can have dire consequences.

Fishing and Marine Resources

• Bluefin Tuna Overfishing : Bluefin tuna are highly prized for sushi and sashimi, leading to overfishing in the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. Despite quotas set by international bodies, illegal fishing continues, posing a severe threat to the species' survival.
• Shark Finning : The demand for shark fins, primarily for shark fin soup in Asian markets, has led to unsustainable fishing practices. Sharks are caught and their fins are removed, often while they are still alive, leading to declining shark populations and disrupting marine ecosystems.

Education and Knowledge

• Plagiarism in Academia : Plagiarism undermines the value of original research and ideas. Despite stringent regulations and plagiarism-detection tools, the unethical practice of plagiarizing other people's work continues to plague educational institutions worldwide.
• Limited Access to Academic Journals : Many academic journals hide behind paywalls, limiting access to knowledge. While publishers argue that they need to cover costs, critics argue that this practice restricts the flow of knowledge, affecting researchers in low-income countries the most.

Transportation and Mobility

• Bicycle Sharing Vandalism : Bike-sharing programs in cities like Paris and San Francisco offer an eco-friendly means of transport. However, these bikes often face vandalism or are taken for personal use, depleting the common resource and making the service unsustainable.
• Pedestrian Congestion in Tourist Cities : Cities like Venice and Dubrovnik have seen an explosion in tourism, leading to overcrowding and strain on local resources. The very charm that attracts tourists is at risk due to the unsustainable number of visitors.

Energy and Utilities

• California Rolling Blackouts : Due to a mix of high demand, weather conditions, and limited supply, California has faced rolling blackouts. While efforts are being made to transition to renewable energy, the existing grid and power generation systems are under tremendous stress, affecting millions.
• Water Scarcity in Cape Town : In 2018, Cape Town almost ran out of water due to a combination of drought and high usage. Despite water-saving efforts, the city came dangerously close to "Day Zero," where taps would run dry, highlighting the urgency of sustainable water management.

Waste Management

• Plastic Pollution in the Oceans : Plastic waste has become a global problem, severely impacting marine life. Despite numerous cleanup efforts and bans on single-use plastics, millions of tons of plastics end up in the oceans each year.
• E-Waste in Developing Countries : Developed countries often export electronic waste to developing countries for disposal, leading to environmental and health hazards. Despite international conventions aimed at controlling e-waste, the problem persists.

Government and Policy

• Political Corruption : Common resources like tax money can be misused when corruption is rampant in government systems. This undermines public trust and leads to inefficient use of resources, affecting social welfare programs, infrastructure, and public services.
• Gerrymandering : Manipulating electoral boundaries to favor a particular political party undermines the principle of fair representation. This form of political strategy effectively "steals" the common resource of a fair electoral system.

Business and Economy

• Corporate Tax Evasion : Large corporations often use loopholes to evade taxes, depriving governments of revenue needed for public services. While it might be legal, this practice is considered unethical by many and leads to increased economic inequality.
• Stock Market Manipulation : Practices like insider trading manipulate the stock market for personal gain but can have a detrimental effect on retail investors. This can undermine trust in what is supposed to be a common resource for investment and wealth building.

Food and Agriculture

• Global Food Waste : Approximately one-third of all food produced globally is wasted. While individual consumers contribute to this problem, the majority of waste occurs during production, distribution, and retail, showcasing a tragedy of lost resources.
• Monoculture Farming : Practices like monoculture farming may yield high outputs in the short term but lead to soil degradation and increased vulnerability to pests and diseases, compromising long-term agricultural sustainability.

Interconnectedness of Examples

The myriad examples of the tragedy of the commons may at first glance appear to be isolated issues , specific to their respective sectors like healthcare, environment, or technology.

However, upon closer examination, it becomes evident that many of these examples are deeply interconnected, contributing to a web of complex problems that often exacerbate each other.

Shared Environmental Consequences

Agricultural practices like pesticide runoff and soil degradation have environmental consequences that go beyond their immediate geographical locations.

Pesticide runoff can contaminate water bodies, which in turn affects aquatic life, and eventually human health. Similarly, soil degradation can lead to reduced agricultural yields, thereby impacting food security.

These problems often circle back to exacerbate climate change, as less fertile soil and contaminated water make it even more challenging to adapt to changing weather patterns.

Technological Dilemmas

In the realm of technology, data privacy issues on social media platforms and open-source software burnout are seemingly separate issues. However, they both involve the exploitation of a common resource—data in one case and human intellectual labor in another.

As companies continue to gather massive amounts of data, open-source projects often provide the critical infrastructure that supports these platforms. The imbalance of this give-and-take relationship puts both our digital privacy and the sustainability of crucial tech projects at risk.

Global Ramifications

The global commons examples like Antarctic overfishing and space debris demonstrate another layer of interconnectedness. As countries compete for marine resources, they also participate in space exploration that contributes to orbital debris.

Both issues require international cooperation, as the actions of one country can have repercussions for the entire international community.

Economic Incentives and Policy Loopholes

When it comes to business practices like corporate tax evasion or stock market manipulation, the tragedy of the commons reveals the shortcomings of the regulatory environment. These economic activities, while seemingly disconnected, actually create a ripple effect through society.

For example, tax evasion leads to less public funding, which might result in less investment in sustainable technologies or public health, contributing indirectly to other tragedies like environmental degradation or antibiotic resistance.

Cultural and Societal Impacts

Similarly, cultural phenomena like music piracy and the overcrowding of tourist destinations can't be viewed in isolation. The loss of revenue from music piracy affects the economic viability of artists, which in turn influences cultural output.

Overcrowded tourist destinations experience environmental degradation, which negatively impacts local communities, thereby affecting their economic and social well-being.

By understanding these interconnections, we can better appreciate the complex nature of the tragedy of the commons. It's not just a series of isolated incidents but a web of challenges that are often mutually reinforcing. Addressing these problems, therefore, requires a holistic approach that considers these intricate relationships.

The Metacrisis: A Crisis of Crises

An important but often overlooked aspect of the tragedy of the commons is the concept of the "Metacrisis." This term refers to the overarching crisis that is formed by the sum of all individual crises , effectively creating a crisis of crises.

When individual examples of the tragedy of the commons are viewed in isolation, we may miss the bigger picture—the Metacrisis that threatens the very fabric of our social, economic, and environmental systems.

Systems Thinking

The Metacrisis is the epitome of systems thinking, which emphasizes that the whole is greater than the sum of its parts. For instance, antibiotic resistance may seem like a standalone healthcare issue, but when compounded with other crises like climate change and political corruption, it exacerbates the systemic weaknesses that make solving any one issue increasingly difficult.

Amplification Through Interconnectedness

In our modern, interconnected world, the actions in one domain often have unforeseen consequences in another. For example, overuse of natural resources can lead to social and political unrest, which can, in turn, lead to economic instability.

This economic instability can further exacerbate environmental degradation, creating a vicious cycle. In this way, individual tragedies of the commons can amplify each other, escalating into a larger Metacrisis.

Global Scale

What makes the Metacrisis especially daunting is its global scale. With the rise of globalization and technology, problems are no longer confined to local or even national boundaries.

A financial crisis in one country can ripple across the world, just as environmental disasters can have global implications. Therefore, the Metacrisis necessitates a collective, global response.

Need for a Holistic Approach

Addressing the Metacrisis involves more than just piecemeal solutions to individual problems. It requires a holistic approach that takes into account the interconnected nature of these challenges. This might involve cross-disciplinary collaboration, changes in policy and governance, and a shift in cultural attitudes towards resources and sustainability.

In sum, the Metacrisis serves as a lens through which we can view the collective impact of individual tragedies of the commons. It prompts us to think systemically and act collaboratively, urging us to resolve not just the isolated issues but the larger crisis they contribute to.

Tragedy of the Commons Solutions

While the tragedy of the commons presents daunting challenges, it's not all doom and gloom. By acknowledging the problems and understanding their interconnected nature, we pave the way for solutions.

The key to addressing these issues lies in a multifaceted approach that involves individuals, communities, corporations, and governments.

Regulatory Frameworks

• International Treaties : When it comes to global commons like the oceans and outer space, international cooperation is vital. Treaties like the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) and the Outer Space Treaty aim to regulate shared resources and minimize conflicts.
• Enforcement Mechanisms : Regulations are only effective if they are enforced. Strong monitoring and punitive measures for violations, such as fines or sanctions, can deter misuse of common resources.

Technology and Innovation

• Blockchain for Transparency : Blockchain technology can ensure transparent and tamper-proof records. This could be particularly useful in fisheries management, where overfishing is a concern.
• Waste-to-Energy : Innovative methods of converting waste into energy can not only solve the problem of waste management but also contribute to sustainable energy solutions.

Economic Incentives

• Tax Breaks for Sustainable Practices : Governments can encourage sustainable business practices by providing tax incentives for companies that reduce their carbon footprint or adopt renewable energy sources.
• Cap-and-Trade : This market-based approach allows companies to buy or sell permits for emitting pollutants. It sets a cap on emissions while providing an economic incentive to reduce them.

Community Involvement

• Local Stewardship : Communities that rely on specific resources, like forests or water bodies, often manage them best. Programs that empower local communities to take charge of their resources have proven to be effective in countries like Nepal and Kenya.
• Public Awareness Campaigns : Education and awareness are crucial. Campaigns that inform people about the consequences of actions like littering or wasting water can instill a sense of responsibility.

Individual Actions

• Mindful Consumption : Individuals can contribute by making more sustainable choices in their daily lives, whether it's reducing plastic use or opting for public transport.
• Crowdsourcing and Volunteering : The power of collective action should not be underestimated. Beach clean-up drives, tree-planting events, and online platforms where individuals can contribute to solving specific problems are excellent examples of how crowdsourcing can make a difference.

Cross-Disciplinary Collaboration

• Interdisciplinary Approaches : Tackling the tragedy of the commons requires expertise from various fields like economics, environmental science, sociology, and technology. Collaboration across these disciplines can lead to more comprehensive solutions.

By employing a diverse range of strategies, from regulatory frameworks to community-led initiatives, we can mitigate the impact of the tragedy of the commons. It's a monumental task, but not an insurmountable one.

Incremental changes can lead to significant improvements over time, pulling us back from the brink and ensuring a more sustainable future for everyone.

The tragedy of the commons is a complex issue that manifests in various aspects of our lives, be it the environment, technology, healthcare, or social systems. From overfishing in international waters to the ethical dilemmas posed by open-source software, these challenges often seem overwhelming.

Yet, as we've discovered, they're not isolated problems but interconnected facets of a greater crisis—the Metacrisis—that calls for immediate attention and collaborative action.

However, the silver lining in this rather grim narrative is that solutions do exist. They require a multi-layered approach that combines regulations, technology, community involvement, and individual responsibility.

By addressing these issues from multiple angles, we stand a chance at not only mitigating individual tragedies but also averting the looming Metacrisis.

In the end, the tragedy of the commons serves as a poignant reminder of the limitations of our shared resources and the collective responsibility we hold in preserving them.

It challenges us to rethink our actions, reframe our policies, and collaborate across sectors and borders. By doing so, we take a significant step toward a more equitable and sustainable world for current and future generations.

And so, as we navigate through these challenges, let's remember that the essence of the commons is not just in its tragedy but also in its potential for unity and collective good. It's a call to action, urging us to come together as a community, as nations, and as a species, to protect what's common to us all.

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Explainer: What Is 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. 

What Is the Tragedy of the Commons?

The definition of the Tragedy of the Commons is an economic and environmental science problem where individuals have access to a shared resource and act in their own interest, at the expense of other individuals. This can result in overconsumption, underinvestment, and depletion of resources.

Garrett Hardin, an evolutionary biologist, wrote a paper called “The Tragedy of the Commons” in the journal Science in 1968. In  summary of the Hardin paper, the Tragedy of the Commons addressed the growing concern of overpopulation, and Hardin used an example of sheep grazing land when describing the adverse effects of overpopulation. In this case, grazing lands held as private property will see their use limited by the prudence of the land holder in order to preserve the value of the land and health of the herd. Grazing lands held in common will become over-saturated with livestock because the food the animals consume is shared among all herdsmen.

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. 

Tragedy of the Commons: Examples

Arguably the best examples of Tragedy of the Commons occur in situations that lead to environmental degradation. 

Among many things, pollution is caused by wastewater. As the number of households and companies increase and dump their waste into the water, the water loses its ability to clean itself. This results in water that is toxic to wildlife and the people that live around and rely on it. 

Overfishing

Another example of the Tragedy of the Commons lies in overfishing. In Canada, the Grand Banks fishery off the coast of Newfoundland was a means of livelihood for regional fishermen. Abundant in cod, the fishery allowed fishermen to catch as many cod as they desired without negatively impacting their population. 

Then, in the 1960s, advancements in technology allowed fishermen to catch vast quantities of cod, far more than before. However, with each passing season, the amount of cod deteriorated and by the 1990s, the fishing industry in the region collapsed because there wasn’t enough fish to go around. This situation where individual fishermen took advantage of opportunities to benefit themselves in the short term, even when their actions were clearly detrimental to society in the long term, encapsulates the self-preserving mindset behind the Tragedy of the Commons. These fishermen thought logically, but not collectively, which led to their downfall. 

The Tragedy of the Commons can also be applied to the COVID-19 pandemic. In its early days, people were generally wary of mixing with anyone outside their immediate family, leaving their homes less and working from home. However, another result of the pandemic was that people began to stock up on food and utilities. People likely assumed that everyone else would stock up as well and so the only solution was to preempt this scenario and stockpile food before the next person could. Again, people were thinking logically, but not collectively, and herein lies the relevance of the Tragedy of the Commons. Individuals took advantage of opportunities that benefited themselves, but spread out the harmful effects of their consumption across society. 

Retailers responded by imposing restrictions on the number of items one could buy, but it was too late. Entire grocery aisles were empty, wiped clean. 

You might also like: Carbon Tax: A Shared Global Responsibility For Carbon Emissions

What About the Environment?

Shared resources that mitigate the impacts of the climate crisis are abused constantly. 

No single authority can pass laws that protect the entire ocean. Each country can only manage and protect the ocean resources along its coastlines, leaving the shared common space beyond any particular jurisdiction vulnerable to pollution. This has led to obscene amounts of ocean pollution, as seen in garbage patches that accumulate in the centre of circular currents, for example. This will affect everyone as these pollutants cycle through the marine food chain, and then humans as we consume fish. Another problem facing the oceans are dead zones , areas in lakes and oceans where no marine life can live because of the lack of oxygen caused by excessive pollution and fertiliser runoff. 

The atmosphere is another resource being used and abused, as are forests. Unregulated and illegal logging pose great risks to forests’ ability to store carbon. In some parts of the world, vast expanses of rainforests aren’t governed in a way that allows effective management for resource extraction. Timber producers are driven to take as much timber as possible as cheaply as possible, without considering the wider impacts of doing so. 

Poor governance exacerbates the problem of the Tragedy of the Commons. 

Who Is Meant to Fix It?

Ideally, governments at the local, state, national and international levels would define and manage shared resources . However, there are problems with this. Management inside clear boundaries is quite straightforward, but more problematic are resources shared across jurisdictions. For example, at the international level, states are not bound by a common authority and may view restrictions on resource extraction as a threat to their sovereignty. Additionally, more difficulties arise when resources cannot be divided, such as in whale treaties when the fishing of the whales’ food source is separately regulated. 

Economist Scott Barrett at Columbia University in New York says that international law “has no teeth, so treaties are essentially voluntary. “Even when countries decide to take part in collective conservation efforts, they can simply pull out again when they want to,” as Canada did in 2011 when it pulled out of the Kyoto Protocol and when America withdrew from the Paris Agreement in late 2019 – though they rejoined shortly in the following year by the Biden Administration. 

As the global population increases and demand for resources follows, the downsides of the Commons become more apparent. Some may argue that this will test the role and practicality of nation-states, leading to a redefinition of international governance. Further, it may lead some to question the role of supranational governments, such as the UN or the World Trade Organization; as resources become more limited, some may argue that managing the commons may not have a solution at all. 

What Can Be Done?

A potential solution to this is to affix property rights to public spaces. For example, charging a toll to use a freeway or implementing a tax for dumping wastewater would reduce the number of users to those who act in the best interests of others, not only themselves. Other solutions could include government intervention or developing strategies to trigger collective behaviour, such as assigning small groups in a community a plot of land to look after. 

Overall, regulating consumption and use can reduce over-consumption and government investment in conservation and renewal of the resource can help prevent its depletion.

Featured image by: Matteo de Mayda

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Is it possible that overfishing, super germs, and global warming are all caused by the same thing? In 1968, a man named Garrett Hardin sat down to write an essay about overpopulation. Within it, he discovered a pattern of human behavior that explains some of history’s biggest problems. Nicholas Amendolare describes the tragedy of the commons.

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Locals at the Marienfluss Conservancy in Namibia meet to discuss conservation. Photo courtesy of NACSO/WWF Namibia

The miracle of the commons

Far from being profoundly destructive, we humans have deep capacities for sharing resources with generosity and foresight.

by Michelle Nijhuis   + BIO

In December 1968, the ecologist and biologist Garrett Hardin had an essay published in the journal Science called ‘The Tragedy of the Commons’. His proposition was simple and unsparing: humans, when left to their own devices, compete with one another for resources until the resources run out. ‘Ruin is the destination toward which all men rush, each pursuing his own best interest,’ he wrote. ‘Freedom in a commons brings ruin to all.’ Hardin’s argument made intuitive sense, and provided a temptingly simple explanation for catastrophes of all kinds – traffic jams, dirty public toilets, species extinction. His essay, widely read and accepted, would become one of the most-cited scientific papers of all time.

Elinor Ostrom, Nobel Laureate in Economics photographed in 2011. Photo by Raveendran/AFP/Getty.

Even before Hardin’s ‘The Tragedy of the Commons’ was published, however, the young political scientist Elinor Ostrom had proven him wrong. While Hardin speculated that the tragedy of the commons could be avoided only through total privatisation or total government control, Ostrom had witnessed groundwater users near her native Los Angeles hammer out a system for sharing their coveted resource. Over the next several decades, as a professor at Indiana University Bloomington, she studied collaborative management systems developed by cattle herders in Switzerland, forest dwellers in Japan, and irrigators in the Philippines. These communities had found ways of both preserving a shared resource – pasture, trees, water – and providing their members with a living. Some had been deftly avoiding the tragedy of the commons for centuries; Ostrom was simply one of the first scientists to pay close attention to their traditions, and analyse how and why they worked.

The features of successful systems, Ostrom and her colleagues found, include clear boundaries (the ‘community’ doing the managing must be well-defined); reliable monitoring of the shared resource; a reasonable balance of costs and benefits for participants; a predictable process for the fast and fair resolution of conflicts; an escalating series of punishments for cheaters; and good relationships between the community and other layers of authority, from household heads to international institutions.

A parliamentary study tour of the conservancies in 2005. Photo courtesy NACSO/WWF Namibia

When it came to humans and their appetites, Hardin assumed that all was predestined. Ostrom showed that all was possible, but nothing was guaranteed. ‘We are neither trapped in inexorable tragedies nor free of moral responsibility,’ she told an audience of fellow political scientists in 1997.

What Hardin had portrayed as a tragedy was, in fact, more like a comedy. While its human participants might be foolish or mistaken, they are rarely evil, and while some choices lead to disaster, others lead to happier outcomes. The story is far less predictable than Hardin thought, and its twists and turns can lead to uncomfortable places. But in those surprises lie the possibilities that Hardin never saw.

Y ou might think that scientists, and the public, would eagerly trade Hardin’s dark speculations about human nature for Ostrom’s sunnier findings about our capabilities. But as I learned while researching and writing my book Beloved Beasts (2021), a history of the modern conservation movement, Ostrom’s conclusions have faced stubborn resistance. During the early years of her career, colleagues criticised her for spending too much time studying the differences among systems and too little time looking for a unifying theory. ‘When someone told you that your work was “too complex”, that was meant as an insult,’ she recalled.

Ostrom insisted that complexity was as important to social science as it was to ecology, and that institutional diversity needed to be protected along with biological diversity. ‘I still get asked, “What is the way of doing something?” There are many, many ways of doing things that work in different environments,’ she told an audience in Nepal in 2010. ‘We have got to get to the point that we can understand complexity, and harness it, and not reject it.’

Her research gained global prominence in 2009, when, aged 76, Ostrom became the first woman to be awarded the Nobel Prize in Economic Sciences. But for a variety of reasons – perhaps because she was a woman in a male-dominated field, or perhaps because her sophisticated work didn’t lend itself to a catchy name – her carefully collected data hasn’t dislodged Hardin’s metaphor from the public imagination.

When Ostrom died in 2012, she was celebrated by her colleagues for her pioneering work, her plainspoken humility, and her steady resistance to what she called ‘panaceas’. She knew from experience how corrosive simple stories could be. Hardin, for his part, seemed bent on making his own ideas as repugnant as possible. Among his proposed solutions to the tragedy of the commons was coercive population control: ‘Freedom to breed is intolerable,’ he wrote in his 1968 essay, and should be countered with ‘mutual coercion, mutually agreed upon’. He feared not only runaway human population growth but the runaway growth of certain populations. What if, he asked in his essay, a religion, race or class ‘adopts overbreeding as a policy to secure its own aggrandisement’? Several years after the publication of ‘The Tragedy of the Commons’, he discouraged the provision of food aid to poorer countries: ‘The less provident and less able will multiply at the expense of the abler and more provident, bringing eventual ruin upon all who share in the commons,’ he predicted. He compared wealthy nations to lifeboats that couldn’t accept more passengers without sinking.

Hardin compared wealthy nations to lifeboats that couldn’t accept more passengers without sinking.

In his later years, Hardin’s racism became more explicit. ‘My position is that this idea of a multiethnic society is a disaster,’ he told an interviewer in 1997. ‘A multiethnic society is insanity. I think we should restrict immigration for that reason.’ Hardin died in 2003, but the nonprofit Southern Poverty Law Center, alert to the longevity of his ideas, maintains his profile in its ‘extremist files’ and classifies him as a white nationalist.

Still, many of those who abhor Hardin’s racist ideas – or would if they were aware of them – are seduced by the simplicity of his tragedy. If academic citation indexes are any guide, the tragedy of the commons remains far better known to scholars than any of Ostrom’s findings. It continues to be taught, uncritically, to high-school students in environmental science courses. It’s used as a justification by those who support severe restrictions on human immigration and reproduction. Even more frequently, it’s casually invoked as an explanation for human failures: even the eminent biologist E O Wilson, in his book Half-Earth (2016), describes the weakness of international climate-change agreements and the ongoing depletion of ocean resources as tragedies of the commons, without making clear that such tragedies can be averted.

Despite the evidence gathered by Ostrom and her colleagues, it seems, many are still all too willing to believe the worst of their fellow humans – to the detriment of conservation efforts worldwide. Like Hardin, many conservationists assume that humans can only be destructive, not constructive, and that meaningful conservation can be achieved only through total privatisation or total government control. Those assumptions, whether conscious or unconscious, close off an entire universe of alternatives.

W hile Ostrom’s ideas are not yet familiar maxims, they haven’t been ignored. In southern Africa in the 1980s, some conservationists recognised that parks and reserves, many created by colonial governments, had divided subsistence hunters and farmers from much of the wildlife that had long sustained them – and which, in some cases, they’d managed as a commons for generations. The resulting lack of local support meant that even the best-patrolled park boundaries were vulnerable to incursions by human neighbours, people unlikely to tolerate – much less protect – the large, sometimes troublesome species that ranged beyond even the largest reserves.

A local warden at the Wuparo Conservancy in Namibia. Photo courtesy NACSO/WWF Namibia

In response, new initiatives attempted to redistribute the burdens and benefits of conservation: the Communal Areas Management Programme for Indigenous Resources (CAMPFIRE) project in Zimbabwe directed revenue from hunting and tourism on communal lands to district councils, incentivising those councils and their communities to control illegal hunting. In neighbouring Zambia, the Administrative Management Design (ADMADE) programme trained local people as wildlife rangers, then transferred some wildlife management responsibilities, and benefits, from the national government to community boards. These and similar efforts became known as community-based conservation.

In 1987, when the South African conservationist Garth Owen-Smith attended a conference on community-based conservation in Zimbabwe, a comment by Harry Chabwela, the director of Zambia’s national parks, left a lasting impression. ‘At this conference we have talked a lot about giving local people this and giving them that, but what has been forgotten is that they also want power,’ Chabwela said. ‘They want a say over the resources that affect their lives. That is more important than money.’

Owen-Smith had already spent years living in Namibia, which was controlled by South Africa and known as South West Africa. When severe drought and an epidemic of illegal hunting threatened livelihoods and wildlife in the territory’s northwestern desert in the early 1980s, Owen-Smith had supported the creation of a system of community game guards. The unarmed guards – many of whom were hunters themselves – were so effective at tracking illegal hunters that, after a few years, the killing of elephants and rhinos in the region stopped completely. Antelope numbers improved so much that Owen-Smith was able to persuade the national conservation department to reopen limited game hunting in the area – a development much appreciated by locals.

Local wardens conduct a game count in Caprivi, Northeastern Namibia. Photo courtesy NACSO/WWF Namibia

Chabwela’s comment about power motivated Owen-Smith to think bigger. When he returned home, he and his partner Margaret Jacobsohn began to talk with community leaders and members about ways of restoring some local authority over wildlife. After Namibia won independence from South Africa in 1990, the new government recruited Jacobsohn and Owen-Smith to survey rural attitudes toward conservation, and the survey confirmed what the two had by then been hearing for years: most people didn’t want the occasionally dangerous species they lived with to be killed or removed – but they did, as Chabwela had suggested, want a say in their management. In 1996, the Namibian National Assembly passed a law that allowed groups of people living on communal land to establish institutions called conservancies. Conservancies would be governed by elected committees, and all members would share the benefits of any tourism or commercial hunting within conservancy boundaries.

Trophy hunters are sometimes directed toward lions and elephants who have become aggressive toward people.

The first conservancies on communal land were formalised in 1998, and there are now more than 80 of them in Namibia. They cover more than 40 million acres of land, and stretch from the northwestern desert to the humid, densely populated Zambezi Region in the northeast. They earn revenue from lodges, campgrounds and guide services, both as partners in joint ventures and as solo operators. They participate in annual surveys of game and wildlife populations and, in cooperation with the national conservation ministry, set quotas for both subsistence and commercial hunting within their boundaries. They employ their own game guards, who are currently fending off a continent-wide wave of rhino poaching driven by Asian demand for powdered rhino horn (a discredited traditional medicine). And, every year, the members of each conservancy assemble to call their governing committees to account.

Detailed recods are made of local wildlife. Photo courtesy NACSO/WWF Namibia

Local hunting quotas are agreed upon. Photo courtesy NACSO/WWF Namibia

In August 2019, I attended the general meeting of Orupembe Conservancy, held in an open-air pavilion on the outskirts of Onjuva, a tiny town hundreds of miles from the nearest gas station, and even further from a paved road. Most of the people at the meeting were semi-nomadic herders, many of whom had travelled long distances from even more isolated corners of the conservancy. (I was present thanks to the expert off-road driving skills of the guide Edison Kasupi, who grew up in nearby Purros Conservancy.) When the Onjuva committee called the meeting to order, there were 95 people seated inside the pavilion, about half of the conservancy members and just enough for a quorum. The chairman Henry Tjambiru commented that the current drought had forced many people to take their herds further afield, preventing them from attending.

Orupembe Conservancy has several sources of income, all relatively modest: a campsite, a small lodge that it co-owns with two other conservancies, and contracts with a handful of hunting guides. (Some conservancies have very little income, and fund their operations with donations from international conservation groups; others, such as the neighbouring Marienfluss Conservancy, have joint venture agreements with upscale lodges that can net more than $100,000 a year in salaries and fees.)

After a review of the year’s earnings, the committee distributed a list of local species and the current hunting quotas for each. Because the drought had worsened since the quotas were set, conservancy members had voluntarily left most of them unfilled. While wildlife surveys earlier in the year had suggested that 75 oryx could be killed without harming the population, for example, only three had been shot so far. The meat from two of those was currently boiling in a nearby row of pots, about to be served for lunch.

The meeting, which lasted several hours, was disrupted by procedural inefficiencies, lively sideline arguments and, at one point, an accusation of petty corruption. But as the sun sank and the meeting came to a ragged end, I realised with surprise that I was exhilarated. During an exceptionally difficult year, these conservancy members had taken the trouble to travel to the meeting, consider the long-term future of other species, and recommit themselves to ensuring it.

I n reviving the commons, the Namibian conservancies have revived the relationships between people and wildlife – and the results, as Ostrom would be unsurprised to learn, are complex. Where parks and reserves separate land into clearly defined categories, community-based conservation proposes that land can be simultaneously protected and utilised – through the cooperative efforts of the people who live on it. It’s a profound challenge to Hardin’s assumptions, and while some of its outcomes are easy to applaud – the recovery of elephants and rhinos, the arrival of new jobs – others make outsiders squirm.

A vulnerable rhino is relocated. Photo courtesy NACSO/WWF Namibia

John Kasaona, who grew up in northwestern Namibia and, as a boy, watched Owen-Smith and his father set out on game-guard patrols, is now the executive director of Integrated Rural Development and Nature Conservation, a nonprofit organisation that provides technical support to the conservancies. When he travels overseas to talk about the accomplishments of the Namibian conservancy system, he mentions only briefly, if at all, that its success depends in part on income from trophy hunters – tourists who pay for the privilege of shooting an animal for sport, and who in some cases keep hides or horns for display. For many conservancies, trophy hunting is not only a source of income but a tool for preserving the peace between humans and other species, since trophy hunters are sometimes directed toward individual lions or elephants who have become aggressive toward people.

Kasaona is well aware of the images that trophy hunting conjures in his listeners’ minds: Theodore Roosevelt standing next to a fallen elephant, dwarfed by the carcass and its upturned tusks; Eric Trump grinning as he hefts the limp body of a leopard, his brother Don Jr beside him; the Zimbabwean lion named Cecil, whose illegal killing by a dentist from Minnesota during a guided hunt in 2015 caused a global outcry. For some in North America and Europe, trophy hunting in Africa has come to symbolise human sins against other species.

In 2017, after Kasaona spoke at a Smithsonian Institution conference in Washington, DC, a young woman stood to speak at the audience microphone. ‘I think that some pieces were missing from the presentation,’ she began. Kasaona had not shown images of the animals slain by trophy hunters, she said. He had neglected to mention that the lion or elephant spotted by a visiting family on safari might be killed the next day. Kasaona, at the podium, acknowledged the international controversy over trophy hunting, but said that regulated commercial hunts remained an important source of revenue for the Namibian conservancies. There was more to say, but the session was over, and any further discussion was washed away by chatter.

Even in the darkest times, Ostrom’s work reminds us that the future is unpredictable and full of opportunity.

More than two years later, I met up with Kasaona in the town of Swakopmund, about halfway down the Namibian coast. We talked over generous plates of springbok curry at the colonial-era Hansa Hotel, where German is spoken more frequently than English, and both are far more common than any of Namibia’s 20-plus Indigenous languages and dialects.

I asked Kasaona to finish answering his questioner at the Smithsonian conference. ‘People say: “I don’t like what they’re doing to animals,” but most of them wouldn’t want to live next to a lion that could harm their family,’ he said. The majority of tourists who hunt for sport in Namibia pursue more common species such as springbok, whose hunting is permitted through the conservancy quota system. In the case of globally threatened species, the number of animals (if any) that can be shot each year is set by the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES). In 2004, the parties to the convention approved applications by Namibia and South Africa to allow limited hunting of black rhinos, determining that the population had recovered to the point that five male rhinos could be shot in each country each year. In Namibia, the national conservation ministry chooses which rhinos will be hunted – usually older animals that have become aggressive or territorial – and issues permits for the hunts. The permit fee is deposited in a national conservation trust fund, and in one recent case a hunter paid $400,000 to shoot a single male rhino, far more than most conservancies earn in a year.

The trophy-hunting system in Namibia isn’t perfect, Kasaona acknowledges – there are cases where hunters have killed the wrong animal – but over the long term, he said, it benefits both the conservancies and the species in question by reducing conflicts between people and wildlife. When international conservation groups promise to regulate and censure trophy hunting out of existence, Kasaona hears what he calls ‘another kind of colonisation’ – a violation of the local authority that he and others have spent decades building up, and a threat to the revenue it depends on. ‘What do they say to the people whose livelihood depends on what they are trying to ban?’ he says.

Global restrictions on trophy hunting, Kasaona argues, are a simplistic response to a complex situation – what Ostrom might call a panacea. Not all countries are alike; not all conservancies are alike; not all conservancy members are alike; not even all trophy hunters are alike. And a few individual lions and elephants are far more dangerous than others, as those who have lost loved ones and livelihoods to rogue animals can attest.

While those viral images of trophy hunters with carcasses might all seem to say the same thing, they don’t. Some, surely, are symbols of corruption or needless violence. But, in the best cases, they’re examples of sustainable utilisation: colonial nostalgia, harnessed by the formerly colonised to further multispecies survival.

O strom’s principles of commons management now underlie not only the Namibian conservancy system but hundreds of similar efforts throughout the world. Many have revived and adapted conservation practices developed centuries ago, developing new rules suited to current circumstances. Their creators cooperate in the management of coral reefs in Fiji, highland forests in Cameroon, fisheries in Bangladesh, oyster farms in Brazil, community gardens in Germany, elephants in Cambodia, and wetlands in Madagascar. They operate in thinly populated deserts, crowded river valleys, and abandoned urban spaces.

While conservation almost always carries at least some short-term costs, researchers have found that many community-based conservation projects reduce those costs and, over time, deliver significant benefits to their human participants, tangible and intangible alike. And while community-based conservation began as a reaction to top-down conservation strategies, it can operate in parallel with large parks and reserves – and even foster their creation. In northwestern Namibia, two neighbouring conservancies have proposed to establish a ‘people’s park’ where livestock would be excluded and tourist numbers would be limited by a permit system, allowing lions and other large predators to more easily avoid conflicts with humans. Should the national legislature approve the conservancies’ proposal, the region could serve as a core habitat from which large carnivores can range in relative safety – since the region’s biological diversity is now protected not only by law, but by supportive human neighbours.

Community-based conservation can’t solve everything, and it doesn’t always succeed in protecting the commons. In many cases, national governments don’t recognise the longstanding land claims of Indigenous and other rural communities, creating uncertainty that interferes with community efforts to manage for the long term. Even well-established systems are vulnerable to internal conflict, and to external pressures ranging from drought to war to global market forces. As Ostrom often reminded her audiences, any strategy can succeed or fail. Community-based conservation is distinctive because many societies have only begun to understand – or remember – its potential. ‘What we have ignored is what citizens can do,’ she said.

At Indiana, Ostrom and her husband Vincent, also a political scientist, founded the Workshop in Political Theory and Policy Analysis, affectionately known as ‘The Workshop’ to the researchers who continue to gather there. Current students of commons management struggle, as Ostrom did, with the difficulty of managing large-scale resource problems such as air pollution at the community level. They wrestle with the implications of her findings for the digital landscape, where the veneration of open access often collides with Ostrom’s definition of the commons as a boundaried, regulated space. And despite what one researcher in 2011 dubbed ‘Ostrom’s Law’ – that whatever works in practice can work in theory – even Ostrom’s admirers sometimes echo her earliest critics, lamenting that the field lacks an overarching theory.

The challenge of understanding the complexity of all species continues, as does the challenge of seeing possibility in what so often looks like a collective tragedy. But even in the darkest times, Ostrom’s work can remind us that the future is deliciously unpredictable, and full of opportunities for us to stumble away from the edge.

This original essay draws on the book ‘Beloved Beasts: Fighting for Life in an Age of Extinction’ (2021) by Michelle Nijhuis, published by W W Norton & Co.

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Tragedy of the Commons Analytical Essay

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The “tragedy of the commons” idea was first brought to fore by Garrett Hardin. By it, Hardin refers to a scenario where selfish utilization of resources by an individual ends up having negative effects on the entire community. People have various private and selfish needs that they seek to satisfy at any given moment. On the other hand, the community as a whole has collective interests which may not necessarily be the same as individual needs (Manning 32).

In this regard, the way one person will want to use certain resources may not be in the best interest of the group as a whole. In his view, people should be regulated in that how they use various resources so that society at large can benefit. Tragedy of the commons affects continuity of life in an ecosystem. Hardin refers to common resources whose unregulated consumption can affect the community negatively (Hetzel 3).

According to Hardin, common resources should be regulated so as to ensure that their consumption is beneficial to the community as a whole. Tragedy of the commons occurs because people are given too much freedom when it comes to making choices about resource utilization. In his view, if a common resource is used while taking into consideration the collective interests of a community, each individual will benefit (Manning 112). Tragedy of the commons can lead to overuse of various resources and inability of an ecosystem to sustain itself.

It is important to note that tragedy of the commons is catastrophic to the community if it is allowed to happen. Depletion of one resource can lead to extinction of various organisms. I disagree with Hardin on his argument that tragedy of the commons is a problem with no technical solution, as the solution to tragedy of the commons calls for both technical and non-technical approaches.

It should be noted that for tragedy of the commons to be avoided, values and believes of people must be changed (Dauvergne 223). People should learn the virtue of sharing and avoid egocentric desires for the benefit of everybody in the society. To achieve this, the change of moral values in individuals will be required.

Nonetheless, one cannot be prevented from using a given resource if he or she is not given a substitute (Hetzel 9). Therefore, tragedy of the commons requires a technological solution in order to be averted. To ensure sustainable energy sources in the future we have to come up with renewable sources of energy and embrace them.

Notably, common resources have to be utilized albeit in a manner that serves the interests of the whole community. It is important to note that there are circumstances when it is acceptable to use common resources without necessarily depleting them. One of the ways is when the rate of consumption is lower than the rate of replacement or renewal (Manning 134). This will ensure that resources are saved for future generations.

Moreover, if there are regulations that control utilization of common resources, then their depletion can be put under control. Any resource will be depleted if it is over used and control is necessary. Also when societal interests are put first before the individual interests, utilization of communal resources would be reasonable (Dauvergne 256). These can be achieved through regulation or by exhorting people to change their values. These circumstances can help avert the tragedy of the commons.

Works Cited

Dauvergne, Peter. Handbook of Global Environmental Politics . Northampton: Edward Elgar Publishing, 2005. Print.

Hetzel, Julia. To What Extent is the Tragedy of the Commons Restricting Option When Dealing with a Gloabal Ecological Crisis . Munchen: GRIN Verlag, 2011. Print.

Manning, Robert E. Parks and Carrying Capacity: Commons Without Tragedy . Washington: Island Press, 2007. Print.

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The Tragedy of the Commons

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Describe how a small annual increase in a human population can lead to exponential growth in that population.

What process limits the populations of plants and animals in the natural world? How do humans get around that limitation?

Explain how individuals using an unregulated common resource can gradually overuse that resource until it collapses.

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What Is the Tragedy of the Commons?

Economic theory, supply and demand, preventing the tragedy of the commons, the bottom line.

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What Is the Tragedy of the Commons in Economics?

A common resource or "commons" is any resource, such as water or land, that provides users with tangible benefits but which nobody has an exclusive claim. The tragedy of the commons is an economic problem where the individual consumes a resource at the expense of society.

If an individual acts in their best interest, it can result in harmful over-consumption to the detriment of all. This phenomenon may result in under-investment and total depletion of a shared resource.

Key Takeaways

• The tragedy of the commons is an economic problem where the individual consumes a resource at the expense of society.
• A common resource or "commons" is any resource, such as water or land, that provides users with tangible benefits but which nobody has an exclusive claim.
• The tragedy of the commons occurs when an economic good is rivalrous in consumption, non-excludable, scarce, and a common-pool resource.

Investopedia / Julie Bang

The tragedy of the commons is an economic theory claiming that individuals tend to exploit shared resources so that demand outweighs supply, and it becomes unavailable for the whole.

In 1968 evolutionary biologist Garrett Hardin published "The Tragedy of the Commons" in the peer-reviewed journal Science , which addressed the growing concern of overpopulation. Hardin used an example of sheep grazing land, taken from the early English economist William Forster Lloyd.

Grazing lands that are held as private property are prudently used by the landholder to preserve the land and the health of the herd. Common grazing lands become over-saturated with livestock because the food the animals consume is shared among all sheepherders. Hardin equated his point to humans who over-consume the commonly accessible scarce resource, making it harder to find.

The tragedy of the commons occurs when an economic good is rivalrous in consumption, non-excludable, scarce, and a common-pool resource . Each consumer consumes as much as they can as fast as they can before others deplete the good, and no one has the incentive to reinvest in maintaining or reproducing the good.

• Rival good: A rival good is one that only one person can consume and cannot be shared. All consumers are rivals competing for that unit, and each person’s consumption subtracts from the total supply of the good.
• Non-excludable: A good is non-excludable when individual consumers are unable to prevent others from also consuming it.
• Scarce: The good must be scarce since a non-scarce good cannot be rivalrous in consumption.
• Common-pool resource: A common-pool resource functions as a hybrid between a public and private good because it is shared and available to everyone but also scarce, with a finite  supply . 

Institutional and technological factors play a role in the rivalry and excludability of a good. Societies have developed methods of dividing and enforcing exclusive rights to economic goods and natural resources or punishing those who over-consume common resources.

Regulatory Solutions

Top-down government regulation or direct control of a common-pool resource can reduce over-consumption, and government investment in the conservation and renewal of the resource can help prevent its depletion. Government regulation can limit how many cattle may graze on government lands or issue fish catch quotas.

Assigning private property rights over resources to individuals can convert a common-pool resource into a private good . Technologically it may mean developing a way to identify, measure, and mark units or parcels of the common pool resource into private holdings, such as branding cattle.

William Forster Lloyd argued for this around the time of the English Parliament’s Enclosure Acts, which stripped traditional common property arrangements to grazing lands and fields and divided the land into private holdings.

Collective Solutions

Economists led by Nobelist Elinor Ostrom touted customary arrangements among rural villagers and aristocratic lords, including common access to most grazing and farmlands and managing their use and conservation. Practices such as crop rotation, seasonal grazing, and enforceable sanctions against overuse and abuse of the resource meant collective action arrangements readily overcame the tragedy of the commons.

Elinor Ostrom was the first woman, and one of just two women, to win the Nobel prize in economics.

Collective action is used where technical or natural physical challenges prevent the division of a common-pool resource into small private parcels by instead relying on measures to address the good’s rivalry in consumption by regulating consumption.

Has the Tragedy of the Commons Led to Extinction of a Resource?

The extinction of the dodo bird is a historical example of the tragedy of the commons. An easy-to-hunt, flightless bird native to only a few small islands, the dodo was a source of meat for sailors traveling the southern Indian Ocean. Due to overhunting, the dodo was driven to extinction less than a century after its discovery by Dutch sailors in 1598.

Where Is the Tragedy of the Commons Evident in Industry?

Before the 1960s, the Grand Banks fishery off the coast of Newfoundland was abundant with codfish because the fishery supported all the cod fishing they could do with existing fishing technology while reproducing itself each year through the natural spawning cycle. However, advancements in fishing technology made it so fisherfolk could catch massive amounts of codfish unsupportable with natural replenishment. With no framework of property rights or institutional common regulation, the entire industry collapsed by 1990.

How Is the Tragedy of the Commons Handled When Different Nations Share Resources?

Within individual countries, governments at the local level can manage shared resources with clear boundaries. At the international level, rules regarding shared resources are difficult to enforce across jurisdictions. When resources cannot be divided, international law regarding shared resources is essentially voluntary, according to the economist Scott Barrett at Columbia University.  

The tragedy of the commons occurs when individuals overconsume a resource at the expense of society. When a common resource, such as water or land, is rivalrous in consumption, non-excludable, scarce, and a common-pool resource, the tragedy of the commons occurs. A common resource is any resource that provides users with tangible benefits but to which nobody has a claim.

Scientific American. " The Tragedy of the Tragedy of the Commons ."

American Association for the Advancement of Science. " The Tragedy of the Commons ."

The Nobel Prize. " Elinor Ostrom—Facts ."

Panorama. " How Humanity First Killed Dodo, Then Lost It as Well ."

National Park Service. " The Grand Banks: Where Have All the Cod Gone? "

Earth.org. " What Is the Tragedy of the Commons ?"

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The Tragedy of the Commons - Essay Example

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Extract of sample "The Tragedy of the Commons"

Beyond the Tragedy of the Commons Garret Hardin’s 1968 opus, “The Tragedy of the Commons,” is an often-cited work. A quick look in the internet literature on the subject suggests that a great deal of theorizing and literature emerged from Hardin’s write-up. Science, the journal that published the work of Hardin, described Hardin as a biologist but Hardin’s work also appears popular among anthropologists, economists, sociologists, environmentalists, and development professionals. In his analysis, Hardin developed an argument based on a hypothetical situation.

He said, “picture a pasture open to all” and argued that when a pasture is open to all, each herdsman will keep as many cattle possible on the commons (Hardin, 1968, p. 1243). In contrast, when resources are not owned in common or pasture is not open to everyone, a herdsman places just enough cattle so that benefits or utility exceeds the impact on grazing that the additional cattle would bring (Hardin, 1968, p. 1242). When resources are owned in common or are free for access, the tragedy of the commons manifests itself.

This definition is implied but not directly stated in Hardin’s work. According to Hardin (1968, p. 1243), the problems associated with commons or the tragedy of the commons can be averted by private property or something similar. Hardin also said that the other solutions are “coercive laws” or “taxing devices” that make it cheaper for the polluter to treat his pollutants” (Hardin, 1968, p. 1244). As suggested earlier, commons refer to properties owned in common or in which people can have free access or freely use.

When no one owns the resource and the resource is free for access like the air or the ocean, it can also be considered as part of the commons or the communally-owned resources. In the United States, one example in which the tragedy of the commons may be happening is in the Georges Bank in Northeastern United States (Hinson, 2010, p. 1). According Hinson, fish catch in the Georges Bank has been decreasing since the 1960s because of over-fishing (Hinson, 2001, p. 1). Another example is the Ogallala Aquifer which is an “underground repository of fresh water” covering eight states (Hinson, 2010, p. 6). According to Hinson (2010, p. 6), the Ogallala Aquifer used to be in equilibrium wherein water discharge is equal to water recharge.

However, because it is being held as a common resource, the discharge today is at least ten times the recharge (Hinson, 2010, p. 7). According to Varian (2005, p. 644), the problem of the tragedies associated with the commons can be addressed via institutional measures. One of the ways through tragedies associated with the commons can be addressed is via the institution of private property rights rather than the communal rights (Varian, 2005, p. 655). However, Varian pointed out that it is not only the institution of private property that can prevent the tragedies associated with the commons.

According to Varian, the other ways are through rules as well as through reducing or eliminating the ambiguity of rules, or even in setting up rules where there is none (p. 644). In the United States, an important legislation is the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 or NEPA for short. The law was amended on 31 December 2000. According to Section 2 of the Amended National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (as amended, 31 December 2000), the purpose of the law is to “declare a national policy which will encourage productive and enjoyable harmony between man and his environment” as well as promote efforts that can prevent or eliminate environmental damage.

In line with the purpose, the law established a Council on Environmental Protection. According to the Council on Environmental Quality (2007, p. 2), the NEPA is often called as the “Magna Carta” of environmental laws. The NEPA “requires agencies to undertake an assessment of the environmental effects of their proposed actions prior to making decisions” (Council on Environmental Quality, 2007, p. 2). Section 101 of the NEPA decreed that “it is a continuing policy of the Federal Government” to “use all practicable means and measures” that will “create and maintain conditions under which man and nature can exist in productive harmony” (Council on Environmental Quality, 2007, p. 2). Thus, the NEPA is an example of an institutional solution to the problem and the creation of the Council on Environmental Quality is part of an institutional solution.

References Council on Environmental Quality, (2007). A citizen’s guide to the NEPA: Having heard your voice heard. Office of the President of the United States: Council on Environmental Quality. Hardin, G. (1968). The tragedy of the commons. Science, 162, 1243-1248. Hinson, S. (2010). Tragedy of the commons. Available in: http://cnx.org/content/m35288/latest/ (accessed 14 July 2011). National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (2000). Public Law No. 91-190 (as amended, 2000), United States Congress.

Varian, H. (2005). Intermediate microeconomics. 7th Ed. New York and London: W.W. Norton & Company, Inc.

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Americans used to unite over tragic events − and now are divided by them

Professor of Sociology, University of California, Davis

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Thomas D. Beamish does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

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Tragedy seldom unifies Americans today.

Every year, horrific crises induce tremendous suffering. Most are privately tragic, affecting only those directly harmed and their immediate relations.

A small number, though, become politically notorious and, therefore, publicly tragic.

Natural disasters , school shootings , terrorist attacks and economic crises can become public tragedies. Sexual assaults – primarily of women – by abusive executives and other men in positions of power recently emerged as a public tragedy , as has police brutality against African Americans , which has sown political unrest across the United States.

Even the COVID-19 pandemic, a seemingly natural disaster, quickly transitioned into a public tragedy as deaths mounted and a pervasive sense of mismanagement, distrust and blame galvanized the public on the political left and right.

Events like these represent a change in how tragic circumstances are cast and how they are responded to in the United States and beyond. Public tragedies are heartrending events that gain widespread public attention. They involve stylized public expressions of shock, outrage, social blame, claims of victimization, protest and memorialization.

My book, “ After Tragedy Strikes ,” explores the recent proliferation of public tragedies as a distinctive kind of political crisis that has produced far-reaching positive and negative effects on social and political relations in the 21st century.

As a sociologist who studies risk, politics and social movements , I didn’t set out to evaluate the authenticity of claims made in public tragedies. Rather, through comparison, my goal was to understand better why some of these events exert tremendous influence, while other, objectively similar, traumas do not.

Public tragedies have contributed to the increasing political polarization and the sectarian tone of political rhetoric today. One question I sought to answer in my book is why?

Old way: ‘God, fate, bad luck’

The short answer is that the public’s understanding of tragic events has changed.

Well into the 20th century, tragedies were mostly explained differently than now. Explanations often referenced forces such as God, fate, bad luck, blameless accidents or, in line with the U.S. liberal political tradition, individual responsibility. Even when suffering was extreme and known to have been caused or worsened by the actions or omissions of other persons, explanations of what caused it typically took these forms.

Take Pennsylvania’s Johnstown Flood of 1889 , in which more than 2,200 people and much of the city were swept away by a deluge after a dam failed. The wealthy South Fork Fishing and Hunting Club had built the dam to create a private lake. Despite the failure due to poor construction and maintenance, neither the club nor its wealthy members would be held responsible . In the most prominent legal case brought against the club, the final verdict attributed the tragic deaths and destruction to an act of God.

Today, this explanation would be indefensible.

New way: ‘government, industry, culture’

After a tragedy, accounts now focus on assigning blame. I found that they also typically center on social blame, in which societal institutions such as the government, industry, civil society and even American culture are held responsible.

Social blame attributes harm to social forces, not individuals or God. And because some group or aspect of society is blamed, public tragedies involve political conflict.

Another reason public tragedies have become so politically consequential lies in a change in the contemporary American mindset.

Polls show that many Americans are experiencing fear and a deep sense of vulnerability to circumstances that feel beyond their control.

This mindset inspires sympathy for victims of tragic circumstance, especially when the harms they suffer are portrayed by political elites, the media and social activists as reflecting political failure and an unfair society. Political interests on both the left and right now routinely use claims of victimization to gain support and advantage.

George Floyd’s murder: A public tragedy

Take the story of George Floyd, killed in 2020 by Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin.

Floyd’s murder provoked nationwide outrage as video footage of it circulated first on social media and then through sustained news media coverage. The news and social media story of Floyd’s death emphasized his innocence: As a Black man, he had suffered an unjustified death at the hands of the police.

This representation was unusual at the time. Standard coverage of such killings often focused on resistance to arrest, prior indiscretions or the victim’s criminal record, which implies individual responsibility. Stories regarding Floyd’s death did not emphasize these elements.

Nor did the stories suggest Floyd’s death was a necessary part of police fighting crime – another common feature of news accounts. Nor did stories emphasize that Chauvin was a rogue cop, which would have suggested his killing of Floyd was his responsibility alone.

Rather, the initial stories connected Floyd’s killing to police violence across the country, suggesting it was a common police behavior.

Thus, Floyd’s murder was quickly blamed on “policing ,” gaining enormous public sympathy and notoriety – and, with this, political significance. It became a public tragedy, highlighting a set of societal conditions surrounding Floyd’s death in a way that few police killings of Black men had achieved.

‘Good people brought low’

In the past, Americans might have attributed Floyd’s killing to fate, bad luck, accident or his individual responsibility, which might have weakened public outrage.

Yet explanations of this kind are not as believable as they once were. Instead, the heartrending stories characteristic of public tragedies follow a routine storyline I call the “trauma script.” It is a stylized rendering that taps into American fears and vulnerabilities and prompts emotional response and moral panic.

The script centers on innocent victims harmed by unforeseeable, uncontrollable and unwarranted circumstances blamed on the actions or omissions of “society.”

In this telling, public tragedies convey a moral struggle in which good people are brought low by a bad society. This tragic struggle is not internal and personal but external and socially focused. It’s a scenario in which bad things happen to good people who have no choice.

The public perception of trauma and loss and its underlying causes has, therefore, changed over time.

In an earlier era, Americans often justified hardship because it reflected the sacrifice necessary to get ahead. Now, a shift in sentiment reflects a change in view. Americans now focus on unjustified hardship caused by society. This reflects a cultural shift from a progress-centered worldview toward a risk-focused one.

Victimhood as a political identity

As Americans have become more aware of risks, they increasingly view them as reflecting political choices.

Whether the issue is climate change, energy sources, guns, sexual harassment, discrimination, policing, abortion or even free speech, these are now understood as involving decisions regarding risks that will benefit some and victimize others.

Politically, these have become zero-sum disputes, leading to political polarization among Americans and social distrust of American institutions.

Recent Pew surveys show that two-thirds of Americans believe other Americans have little or no confidence in the government or other citizens. Gallup, too, has shown that American confidence in the government and other major societal institutions has fallen to historic lows .

Growing American distrust of their fellow citizens and perception of an unfair government have also intensified political competition. Americans increasingly blame their political rivals for their hardships and show compassion only toward those who share their beliefs. This shift has also cultivated sympathy for claims of societal victimization and elevated victimhood as a political identity.

These conditions are the context within which public tragedies, as polarizing not unifying political events, have proliferated.

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• 9/11 (September 11)

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Train Collision Again Highlights Modi Government’s Misplaced Priorities

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Instead of equipping existing trains with anti-collision devices, it is preoccupied with introducing “super-fast” and high-speed trains.

Onlookers watch as rescuers work after a cargo train rammed into Kanchanjunga Express, a passenger train, near New Jalpaiguri station, West Bengal state, India, Monday, June 17, 2024.

Ten people were killed and scores of others injured when a freight train rammed into the Kanchenjunga Express, a popular passenger train, near Jalpaiguri in eastern India on Eid morning.

The accident occurred within a fortnight of the Narendra Modi government being sworn into office. It put the spotlight once again on the appalling safety record of Indian Railways, and the misplaced priorities of the Modi government.

In the past five years, Indian Railways has been in the news for Prime Minister Modi flagging off high-speed Vande Bharat express trains with much fanfare. Since 2019, he has flagged off 50 such trains, with ten of them being launched on a single day in the run-up to the recent general elections.

However, the prime minister has been conspicuously absent when massive train accidents repeatedly thrust Indian Railways into the headlines. The Kanchenjunga Express accident occurred almost exactly a year after the horrific Balasore train tragedy where 300 people were killed when three trains collided in the eastern state of Odisha.

Incidentally, as per the Ministry’s data, as reported in the Business Standard newspaper, in the past five years there have been three train accidents on average every month. The multiple train collision in Balasore in June last year was followed by two more train accidents in quick succession; the North East Express derailed in Bihar in early October leaving four dead and by the month’s end a train collision in Andhra Pradesh in southern India killed 14 people.

Derailment followed by rail collisions are the main reasons for train accidents. Train collisions have spiked in the past year. In the accident in Bengal early this week too, a freight train collided with a stationary passenger train.

Under fire from all quarters, the Railway Ministry initially blame d the dead loco-pilot (locomotive driver) of the goods train. Subsequently, it backtracked and admitted that the automatic signaling system was not working along the route. Moreover, the injured passenger who the Railways alleged had lodged the complaint incriminating the driver, denied having done so.

Investigations after every accident have repeatedly raised red flags about rail safety. They have highlighted the need for modernizing the signaling system and upgrading railway safety measures.

Railway Minister Aswani Vaishnaw has often made big claims about the Railways installing state-of-the-art, anti-collision “Kavach”  devices. However, the reality is that to date, only about 1 percent of the total rail track length of over 104,000 kilometers has been covered.

The anti-collision device enables the automatic application of brakes in case the loco-pilot fails to do so. No such device was installed in the ill-fated Kanchenjunga Express.

What angered many was the utter insensitivity of Vaishnaw, a technocrat-turned-politician. Hours after the collision, even as people were mourning the dead, Vaishnaw seemed more interested in making video reels of himself riding pillion on a motorbike, without a helmet, to the accident site, charged Congress spokesperson Supriya Shrinate.

“He is not the rail minister, he is the reels minister of India ,” she mocked.

Expectedly, the opposition demanded the resignation of the “incompetent minister.” Shockingly, despite humongous tragedies like the Balasore accident under his watch, Vaishnaw has been retained as rail minister in Modi’s new cabinet in his third term.

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee lashed out at the Modi government, saying that while “a lot of big talk and beautification was happening,” “passenger amenities were compromised.” She accused the government of negligence and being preoccupied with doing publicity for the Vande Bharat trains.

It is not just opposition leaders that are targeting the Modi government for incompetence. Technical experts like former Railways Chief Engineer Alok Kumar Verma lambasted the “misplaced priorities” of the government. While the “existing network [of Indian Railways] was caught in a downward spiral,” it is being “inundated with big plans for costly projects with seriously questionable financial viability,” he wrote in Indian Express. He cited the bullet trains and “‘semi high speed’ Vande Bharat trains which are more about luxury and cosmetics than speed.”

Recent reports of the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) have highlighted that the special fund for rail safety was misused to buy foot massagers, crockery, electrical appliances, furniture, winter jackets, computers and escalators, and to develop gardens and build toilets. The report drew attention to the poorly funded rail safety fund. Critical lacunae in the maintenance of tracks and renewal of tracks as well as human factors such as overworked loco drivers and staff had led to derailments and accidents, the CAG report stated.

The Indian rail network is one of the largest in the world and transports 24 million people daily. It is also 163 years old. Therefore, rail infrastructure maintenance is vital to the health of the railways.

Accusing the Modi government of “destroying the Railways,” Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge asked, “Narendra Modi ji, tell us who should be held accountable , the Railway minister or you?” He asked why 300,000 posts in the Railways have not been filled.

Of late, social media has been flooded with visuals of overcrowded passenger trains. Kharge asked why the number of Sleeper Class (non-air conditioned) coaches in trains, most commonly availed by the poor, had been reduced and train fares hiked. He wondered whether the Modi government had merged the Rail budget with the general budget since 2017 to avoid accountability.

Sudhanshu Mani, the designing brain behind the “super-fast” Vande Bharat trains, slammed the government for its “mistake” of not focusing on the common man’s travel needs. Calling on the government to increase the number of non-airconditioned coaches in trains to meet the travel needs of the poor, he pointed out that the Vande Bharat trains cater to high-end travelers who could afford to pay more for comfort. But the common man’s interests should not be neglected, he said. Incidentally these high-speed trains average 83 km per hour instead of their highest speed of 130 km per hour due to poor track conditions .

Undoubtedly, rail travel continues to be the only means of mass transportation for the common man in India, with the upwardly mobile middle class opting for the luxury of air travel. The Modi government’s dreams of high-speed and bullet trains could come a cropper if it is oblivious to focusing scarce resources on rail safety and the interests of the common rail passenger as well.

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