What is the tragedy of the commons? - Nicholas Amendolare

00:04:58
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CxC161GvMPc

Summary

TLDRThe video explores the 'tragedy of the commons' through the example of a shared fish pond among villagers. To maximize food supply, each villager should catch one fish daily, allowing the pond to replenish. However, individual selfishness can lead to overfishing and depletion, highlighting the conflict between short-term self-interest and long-term benefit. This concept applies to various resources and problems in society, such as pollution and deforestation. While it's challenging to find collective solutions, humans can form agreements and laws to manage shared resources sustainably, benefiting everyone in the long run.

Takeaways

  • 🐟 Each villager should catch one fish daily to sustain food supply.
  • 📉 Overfishing leads to depletion and starvation for all.
  • 🤝 Individual self-interest conflicts with common good.
  • 📜 Social contracts can mitigate short-term exploitation.
  • 🌍 The tragedy of the commons applies to various resources.

Timeline

  • 00:00:00 - 00:04:58

    The thought experiment presents a scenario in a small village dependent on a fish pond for food. With a dozen fish and specific reproduction rules, the optimum solution for sustainability is for each villager to catch one fish daily. This maintains fish population and ensures a steady food supply, illustrating the concept of the tragedy of the commons. The original idea, highlighted by economist William Forster Lloyd and later revived by ecologist Garrett Hardin, demonstrates how individual short-term interests can conflict with the long-term good of the community, leading to resource depletion and social environmental issues. Hardin emphasizes the need for collective action and social contracts to mitigate such tragedies, underscoring the importance of balancing individual desires with communal welfare.

Mind Map

Video Q&A

  • What is the tragedy of the commons?

    It's a situation in which individual users act in self-interest regarding a shared resource, leading to common ruin.

  • Who first described the tragedy of the commons?

    Economist William Forster Lloyd in 1833.

  • What happens if each villager catches more than one fish?

    The fish population declines, threatening food supply for all.

  • How can societies mitigate the tragedy of the commons?

    By forming social contracts, communal agreements, and enacting laws.

  • What are some modern examples of the tragedy of the commons?

    Overuse of antibiotics, pollution from coal plants, and water shortages.

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  • 00:00:07
    Imagine as a thought experiment that you live in a small village
  • 00:00:11
    and depend on the local fish pond for food.
  • 00:00:14
    You share the pond with three other villagers.
  • 00:00:17
    The pond starts off with a dozen fish, and the fish reproduce.
  • 00:00:23
    For every two fish, there will be one baby added each night.
  • 00:00:27
    So, in order to maximize your supply of food,
  • 00:00:30
    how many fish should you catch each day?
  • 00:00:33
    Take a moment to think about it.
  • 00:00:36
    Assume baby fish grow to full size immediately
  • 00:00:39
    and that the pond begins at full capacity,
  • 00:00:42
    and ignore factors like the sex of the fish you catch.
  • 00:00:46
    The answer? One, and it's not just you.
  • 00:00:50
    The best way to maximize every villager's food supply
  • 00:00:53
    is for each fisherman to take just one fish each day.
  • 00:00:58
    Here's how the math works.
  • 00:00:59
    If each villager takes one fish, there will be eight fish left over night.
  • 00:01:04
    Each pair of fish produces one baby,
  • 00:01:06
    and the next day, the pond will be fully restocked with twelve fish.
  • 00:01:12
    If anyone takes more than one, the number of reproductive pairs drops,
  • 00:01:17
    and the population won't be able to bounce back.
  • 00:01:22
    Eventually, the fish in the lake will be gone,
  • 00:01:25
    leaving all four villagers to starve.
  • 00:01:28
    This fish pond is just one example of a classic problem
  • 00:01:31
    called the tragedy of the commons.
  • 00:01:34
    The phenomenon was first described in a pamphlet
  • 00:01:37
    by economist William Forster Lloyd in 1833
  • 00:01:41
    in a discussion of the overgrazing of cattle
  • 00:01:44
    on village common areas.
  • 00:01:47
    More than 100 years later, ecologist Garrett Hardin revived the concept
  • 00:01:52
    to describe what happens when many individuals
  • 00:01:55
    all share a limited resource,
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    like grazing land,
  • 00:01:59
    fishing areas,
  • 00:02:00
    living space,
  • 00:02:01
    even clean air.
  • 00:02:03
    Hardin argued that these situations pit short-term self-interest
  • 00:02:08
    against the common good,
  • 00:02:09
    and they end badly for everyone,
  • 00:02:12
    resulting in overgrazing,
  • 00:02:14
    overfishing,
  • 00:02:15
    overpopulation,
  • 00:02:16
    pollution,
  • 00:02:17
    and other social and environmental problems.
  • 00:02:20
    The key feature of a tragedy of the commons
  • 00:02:23
    is that it provides an opportunity for an individual to benefit him or herself
  • 00:02:28
    while spreading out any negative effects across the larger population.
  • 00:02:33
    To see what that means, let's revisit our fish pond.
  • 00:02:37
    Each individual fisherman is motivated
  • 00:02:39
    to take as many fish as he can for himself.
  • 00:02:42
    Meanwhile, any decline in fish reproduction
  • 00:02:45
    is shared by the entire village.
  • 00:02:48
    Anxious to avoid losing out to his neighbors,
  • 00:02:51
    a fisherman will conclude that it's in his best interest to take an extra fish,
  • 00:02:56
    or two,
  • 00:02:57
    or three.
  • 00:02:58
    Unfortunately, this is the same conclusion reached by the other fisherman,
  • 00:03:02
    and that's the tragedy.
  • 00:03:03
    Optimizing for the self in the short term isn't optimal for anyone in the long term.
  • 00:03:10
    That's a simplified example, but the tragedy of the commons
  • 00:03:13
    plays out in the more complex systems of real life, too.
  • 00:03:17
    The overuse of antibiotics has led to short-term gains in livestock production
  • 00:03:22
    and in treating common illnesses,
  • 00:03:25
    but it's also resulted in the evolution of antibiotic-resistant bacteria,
  • 00:03:29
    which threaten the entire population.
  • 00:03:32
    A coal-fired power plant produces cheap electricity for its customers
  • 00:03:36
    and profits for its owners.
  • 00:03:38
    These local benefits are helpful in the short term,
  • 00:03:41
    but pollution from mining and burning coal is spread across the entire atmosphere
  • 00:03:46
    and sticks around for thousands of years.
  • 00:03:49
    There are other examples, too.
  • 00:03:51
    Littering,
  • 00:03:52
    water shortages,
  • 00:03:54
    deforestation,
  • 00:03:55
    traffic jams,
  • 00:03:56
    even the purchase of bottled water.
  • 00:03:59
    But human civilization has proven it's capable of doing something remarkable.
  • 00:04:04
    We form social contracts,
  • 00:04:06
    we make communal agreements,
  • 00:04:08
    we elect governments,
  • 00:04:09
    and we pass laws.
  • 00:04:11
    All this to save our collective selves from our own individual impulses.
  • 00:04:17
    It isn't easy, and we certainly don't get it right nearly all of the time.
  • 00:04:22
    But humans at our best have shown that we can solve these problems
  • 00:04:26
    and we can continue to do so if we remember Hardin's lesson.
  • 00:04:31
    When the tragedy of the commons applies,
  • 00:04:33
    what's good for all of us is good for each of us.
Tags
  • tragedy of the commons
  • sustainability
  • resource management
  • collective action
  • environmental issues
  • shared resources
  • fishing analogy
  • social contracts
  • communal agreements
  • overfishing