Tragedy of the Commons
https://www.washingtonpost.com/posteverything/wp/2015/07/20/why-i-give-my-students-a-tragedy-of-the-commons-extra-credit-challenge/ In this article, a professor at the University of Maryland poses a challenge to his class. He offers an “extra credit” bonus of either 2 or 6 points. Everyone has to choose either of the two options, and they receive a boost on their grade correlated to what they chose. However, there is a […]
The Tragedy of the Commons and Project Ocean Shield
We’ve mentioned the applications of Networks, graph theory, and game theory to the field of international relations in the context of officially positive or officially negative relationships; we can also use the study of game theory to understand the challenges nation states face in the process of international cooperation. With issues such as climate change […]
Tragedy of the Commons: The Great Pacific Garbage Patch
In the mid 1960s Garrett Hardin, an evolutionary biologist published a paper titled “The Tragedy of the Commons”, the concept of which is formally referred to as the “commonize costs – privatize profits game”. It is a situation that arises when individuals have access to a shared, and sometimes free, resource. With each individual acting […]
Why a Professor gives his students a “tragedy of the commons” extra credit challenge
https://www.washingtonpost.com/posteverything/wp/2015/07/20/why-i-give-my-students-a-tragedy-of-the-commons-extra-credit-challenge/?utm_term=.ef2793eceecf Since 2008, a psychology lecturer at the University of Maryland has been stumping his class every year with an unusual extra credit opportunity. Professor Dylan Selterman asks his students whether they want two points or six points added onto their final paper grade. The catch is that if more than 10% of the class […]
Canberra and the tragedy of the commons
Canberra, the capital of Australia, is known as the “garden city.” However, with increasing construction of residential areas and large areas of urban infill, the city is losing its greenery. Canberra has had policies in place that tried to limit the impact buildings could have on a property and allow plants to grow alongside them. […]
Tragedy of the Commons
The “tragedy of the commons” states that in some cases, when individuals act independently of each other and in their own self-interest, it can actually be detrimental overall to the group that the individuals are in by depleting the common resource. Common examples are rhinoceroses (because rhinos don’t belong to anyone, poachers are mindlessly murdering […]
Real World Tragedy of the Commons
Chapter 24 introduces us to a concept called “The Tragedy of the Commons”. This concept is essentially the idea that when individuals act independently and rationally according to each’s own self-interest, these actions are contrary to the best interests of the group as a whole by depleting some common resource. The textbook explains to us […]
Tragedy of the Commons: Climate Change
The idea of the Tragedy of the Commons always comes up with discussions regarding climate change. The Tragedy of the Commons is when individuals act upon what is best for themselves individually and not in the interest of a group. It usually involves depleting a resource or making a scenario worse for everyone else by […]
Tragedy of the Commons: The Environment
First introduced in 1968 by Garrett Hardin, the Tragedy of the Commons describes the situation in which some public property will continue to be used until there is no net benefit and instead leads to the detriment of everyone involved. Oftentimes there is a decreasing benefit function at play in the situation, which leads to […]
Wikipedia and the Tragedy of the Commons
The tragedy of the commons presents the importance of property rights. However, this article discusses the example of Wikipedia that contradicts the idea from the tragedy of the commons. The article starts by addressing the general case of public goods that people are interested in using, and people volunteer to contribute to the production of […]
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