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Game Theory, Tragedy of the Commons, and Space Debris

Right now, there are thousands of pieces of debris in the earths orbit. This poses a problem for any space craft wishing to make a trip to the International Space Station. If a large enough piece of debris hits a spacecraft, it could be catastrophic. However, it seems nothing is really being done about it. This is strange as cleaning up space debris would benefit any country that has a space program. Looking at the situation and using an understanding of game theory, you can start to recognize the issues at hand. The main issue from the article is obviously the cost. The first person to begin cleanup accrues the largest cost and they receive the same payoff as anyone else. Nobody wants to do that because what’s the point when someone else might cleanup first and give them a better payoff. This is the strategy that all countries are following leading to the “tragedy of the commons” when all groups are operating in their own self interest rather than the interest of the whole group. That is why we seem to be stuck at an equilibrium where no one is starting the cleanup due to wanting to maximize their own payoff.

 

This relates to our discussion of game theory in class. As we saw from our example of the prisoners dilemma in which both players are trying to maximize their payoff, we can begin to understand how a situation with multiple players, all trying to maximize their payoff would end up. Because of the type of payoff this game in particular entails, it makes sense for a player to play the strategy in which it would pay the least, and earn the most. In this case leading to no one cleaning up space debris. This leaves the game in a Nash equilibrium, each country unwilling to change their strategy because they are operating optimally for themselves. It is only when either rules are implemented or a country breaks out of their “optimal strategy” will anything actually get done. This also relates to the tragedy of the commons that we discussed in class. Because everyone operates in their own self interest, as in the example in our book with the village and cows, a valuable resource is wasted.

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