tragedy of the commons

Etymology

Coined by American ecologist Garrett Hardin in 1968.

Noun

tragedy of the commons (plural tragedies of the commons)

1. (ecology, economics, politics, social criticism) A situation in which unmanaged use of a shared resource (such as the atmosphere or an ocean) by a number of participants results in the unintended ruin or total consumption of that resource.
   • 1995 May 7, Timothy Egan, “Let the Owner Beware”, in New York Times, retrieved 4 July 2012:

     One theory, known as the tragedy of the commons, holds that people will exploit and abuse something in which they have no ownership stake.

   • 2010 November 18, “Troubles as deep as the oceans lie ahead”, in The Independent, UK, retrieved 4 July 2012:

     Overfishing is the classic tragedy of the commons. Since no single nation "owns" the high seas, they exploit it without restraint and without thought to sustainability.

   • 2012 April 18, Richard Stengel, “Editor's Letter: A World of Possibilities”, in Time‎, archived from the original on 4 February 2013:

     The economist Elinor Ostrom, who is on our list this year, has written about the tragedy of the commons, which is the idea that self-interest can undermine the common good.

See also

• free rider
• let George do it
• public good

References

• “tragedy of the commons”, in OneLook Dictionary Search.