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“tragedy of the commons.”

Richard H. Thaler • Nudge: The Final Edition

Each man is locked into a system that compels him to increase his herd without limit—in a world that is limited. Ruin is the destination toward which all men rush, each pursuing his own best interest in a society that believes in the freedom of the commons. Freedom in a commons brings ruin to all.” 3

Rhiannon Beaubien • The Great Mental Models Volume 1: General Thinking Concepts

The Tragedy of the Commons The tragedy of the commons is a socioeconomic dynamic where it is in the best interest of each individual to overuse a resource unless everyone else also does likewise. The dilemma arises when members of a group share a common good, such as an ecosystem, where this common good is rivalrous and non -excludable, meaning... See more

Not specified • Systems Guide Series

Ivan Illich described the commons this way: “People called commons that part of the environment which lay beyond their own thresholds and outside of their own possessions, to which, however, they had recognized claims of usage, not to produce commodities but to provide for the subsistence of their households.”

L. M. Sacasas • The Enclosure of the Human Psyche

the commons refers to any source of sustenance and well-being that has not yet been appropriated by the state or private ownership: the air, water, sunshine, as well as human creations like language, cultural traditions, and scientific knowledge. It is virtually ignored in most economic discussion because, like household work, it doesn’t fit into... See more

Jeremy Lent • What Does An Ecological Civilization Look Like?

Value in the Commons Economy: Developments in Open and Contributory Value Accounting

The document explores developments in open and contributory value accounting in the commons economy, including case studies and policy recommendations.

boell.de

“Tragedy of the Commons” always opens with people benefiting individually by sharing a common resource—a brand-new freeway, for example. But at some point, the amount of activity grows too large for the “commons” to support.

Art Kleiner • The Fifth Discipline Fieldbook: Strategies for Building a Learning Organization

The idea dated back to the Roman Empire. According to a mandate adopted by Justinian, who governed from A.D. 527 to 565, the sea, shoreline, air, and rivers belonged to everyone as part of the commons: Salus populi suprema lex esto. The welfare of the people is the supreme law.

Eliza Griswold • Amity and Prosperity: One Family and the Fracturing of America

Garrett Hardin in “The Tragedy of the Commons,” Science, December 13, 1968.