3.2.7—Tragedy of the commons

A commons fails when each user captures a private short-term benefit while costs spread across the shared resource and community.

Trace private gain → shared cost → resource feedback → governance response. Rules work only if they cover enough users, are monitored and change incentives.

In a fishery, each fisher gains by catching fish before others, but combined harvest can push the stock below recovery. In an ocean gyre, each user gains convenience from disposable plastic while cleanup and ecological damage are spread across the shared ocean.

Users can gain by defecting while others restrain themselves; enforcement or cooperation must alter that payoff.

A commons is not ‘any public place’; the key is shared access plus an incentive that depletes it.