Tragedy of Commons

Tragedy of Commons
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Institution: The tragedy of commons can be explained as a situation in which people who share a resource over exploit it and as a result, the resource becomes depleted. According to Ponce, the term ‘share’ means that none of the parties can claim ownership of the resource. Ponce attributes the overexploitation of such resources to the fact that there lacks regulation on the usage and therefore, individuals lack limitation on the extent to which they should utilize the resource. Hardin (1968) presents an interesting concept of viewing the tragedy of commons. He implies that the term ‘commons’ can be metaphorically applied to almost all resources provided by nature. Hardin further suggests that the solution to such a problem rests not on the commons but on the parties that are entrusted with limiting the use of these resources.
The solutions to the tragedy of the commons rest not with the resources too. According to Mcardle (2012), if overgrazing is a problem, then the solution rests not with the pasture rather with the herder. That is, every herder’s aim is to maximise the use of pasture to their own benefit, bringing about the aspect of self-interest; this presents a clear situation of the tragedy of commons. If parties in charge of regulating the grazing ground do not step in and institute measures that will regulate its usage, then the pasture shall be overexploited to the point of depletion. According to Mcardle (2012), however, although administrative regulations may yield a couple of benefits, they also bear their own share of failures.

Federal regulations, Mcardle (2012) adds, only seem to get in the way instead of providing useful solutions. One example of such a scenario is the imposition of the Endangered Species Act, which seemed to discourage conservation attempts on private land (Mcardle, 2012).
One of the most occurring tragedies of commons is the degradation of the ocean. The ocean is a resource shared by several nations and, serves a wide range of purposes for each. According to Spooner, no nation has the power to pass laws that can secure the entire ocean and, therefore, each nation can only regulate the ocean’s use along its coastline. As a result, the ocean becomes prone to degradation by oil spills, garbage disposal, nuclear tests and other activities that threaten its sustainability. It is also impossible to divide the ocean so that each nation can only harm their side of it. Therefore, the activities of one nation affect another and consequently, the fate of all humanity. The fate of the ocean can, therefore, rest on the policies made by international bodies such as the UN.

Traffic congestions also provide a tragedy of commons scenario. According to Spooner, public roads are a resource shared by many hence lack single ownership. Every day, public roads are filled with a variety of people with different agenda such as traveling, commuting to and from work or just locomotion for leisure. Worse still, these roads are shared by motorists, cyclists, and pedestrians, simultaneously, bringing about congestion. Each and every one of the road users only have their interest in mind and does not care about the road or other commuters. It is therefore up to the local authorities to pass rules and regulations that guide the use of public roads. Such regulations include traffic rules and road conservation policies e.g. rules that discourage heavy trucks from accessing certain parts of the road so as to minimize damage.

It is safe to conclude that the tragedy of the commons is largely a government- reliant situation that can only be fixed by figures of authority and administration. The solution rests neither on the individuals misusing such resources nor on the resources rather on policies regulating their utilization. Although it may seem that it is entirely the government’s responsibility to regulate the situations, effectiveness can only be enhanced by mutual cooperation with members of the public. Since the public already knows the importance of such resources, they need to be educated on the importance of conservation and the dangers of overutilization.
Reference
Hardin, G. (1968). The Tragedy Of the Commons. Retrieved January 11, 2018, from
HYPERLINK “http://www.garretthardinsociety.org/articles/art_tragedy_of_the_commons.html” http://www.garretthardinsociety.org/articles/art_tragedy_of_the_commons.html
McArdle, M. (2012). Property Rights and the Tragedy of the Commons. Retrieved January 11, 2018, from HYPERLINK “https://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2012/05/property-rights-and-the-tragedy-of-the-commons/257549/” https://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2012/05/property-rights-and-the-tragedy-of-the-commons/257549/
Ponce, V. (n.d.). HARDIN’S “TRAGEDY OF THE COMMONS” REVISITED OR WE ARE ALL IN THE SAME BOAT. Retrieved January 11, 2018, from HYPERLINK “https://www.reddit.com/domain/tragedy.sdsu.edu/” https://www.reddit.com/domain/tragedy.sdsu.edu/
Spooner, A. (n.d.). Ten Real-Life Examples of the Tragedy of the Commons. Retrieved January 11, 2018, from HYPERLINK “http://www.dummies.com/education/science/environmental-science/ten-real-life-examples-of-the-tragedy-of-the-commons/” http://www.dummies.com/education/science/environmental-science/ten-real-life-examples-of-the-tragedy-of-the-commons/