Tragedy of the Commons
De Young, Raymond
1999
Citation: De Young, R. (1999) "Tragedy of the Commons," In Encylopedia of Environmental Science, edited by David E. Alexander and Rhodes W. Fairbridge, Dordrecht: Kluwer Academic Publishers (Pp. 601-602) <http://hdl.handle.net/2027.42/83704>
Abstract: Despite the reception of Hardin's essay on the tragedy of the commons, it was not a new concept: its intellectual roots trace back to Aristotle who noted that "what is common to the greatest number has the least care bestowed upon it." What Hardin recognized was that this concept applies in its broader sense to a great many modern environmental problems (e.g., overgrazing on federal lands, acid precipitation, ocean dumping, atmospheric carbon dioxide discharges, firewood crises in less developed countries, overfishing). Simply stated, we face a serious dilemma - an instance where individual rational behavior (i.e., acting without restraint to maximize personal short-term gain at the possible expense of others) can cause long-range harm to the environment, others and ultimately oneself.
ISSN: 978-1-4020-4864-7 print+eReference (book + online access), 978-0-412-74050-3 print (book), 978-1-4020-4494-6 eReference (online access)
DOIs: 10.1007/1-4020-4494-1_328
Handle: http://hdl.handle.net/2027.42/83704
Series/Report no.: Encyclopedia of Earth Sciences Series, ISSN: 1388-4360
Subject(s): natural resources, nonrenewable resources, renewable resources, precautionary principle, conservation of natural resources, localization, sustainability, conservation behavior, environmental psychology, common property, tragedy of the commons
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