Tragedy of the commons

Back in 1968, Hardin popularized the concept that people suck: when we have shared resources, we overuse them. Common pastures end up overgrazed. We nuked the Atlantic cod fishery.

One of the courses I taught last fall used Pennington & Cech's 2021 opus, Introduction to Water Resources and Environmental Issues (2nd ed.). The authors make a good case for ancient humans degrading the environment, summarized:

"Early humans did not necessarily live in harmony with nature because human activity caused severe soil erosion and deforestation even during ancient times." (Pennington & Cech, 2021, p. 64)

Surely some early humans were good stewards. When we live like we are part of the biosphere, we know our well-beings are all connected.

So naturally I sought out things that align with my beliefs. Sometimes I make the confirmation bias work for me.

It seems like Hardin's article has been discussed a fair bit by bigger brains than mine. His "commons" is a free-for-all and seems problematically tied to terra nullius. Regarded this way, it approaches myth or unverified personal gnosis. Looking back at what inspired the piece, the concept of the tragedy of the commons is also an exercise in confirmation bias. Neat.

Maybe the contemporary tragedy of the commons happens when we privatize it for profit. It's the tragedy of the market.

Grab on to a piece of hope and know that, as a species, we are not ruthless hoarders driven by fear and greed. It doesn't have to be this way.

Choose to belong.


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