Elinor Ostrom on the Myth of Tragedy of the Commons

[nthperson]

Hardin later told a colleague (the late Robert V. Andelson, professor of philosophy at Auburn University) that there would be no tragedy of the commons if the socio-political arrangements and institutions were structured as proposed by the American political economist Henry George.

[rachelscuri]

Elinor Ostrom gave the biggest middle finger to Hardin and I love her

[furtivedolus]

The tragedy of the commons is a POTENTIAL outcome, not a guaranteed one.

[upstateNYfinest]

I really have no idea how people consider this a "debunking". Governments are people, but they are not "1 individual" they are a group of individuals. So when she says that there is no difference between the government and individuals that isnt 100% correct. Also the government had the ability to use force to get people to adhere to the law they choose to implement whereas an individual does not.

Government prevents the "tragedy of the commons" through private land ownership or state control of the land (national park service) in which case the land is owned by the government. Land cannot just be "not owned".

[JBvB]

Could someone give me more examples were the Tragedy of the Commons is solved by people themselves and not through government regulation?

[Nomadtherapist]

Where was the myth?! This woman essentially affirmed Hardin's conception of "commonism" then went on to misrepresent his proposed solutions. He never said an external authority is necessary.

[JeremyHelm]

0:30 in that imagined pasture, people didn't talk… Reminds me of the prisoners dilemma as a paradigm of cooperation… they couldn't talk either!

[smartpig]

Love getting my environmentalism theory from a member of the Akatsuki, love you long time Itachi

[wesjones]

Try testing it to prove the null hypothesis. That’s how you disprove theories. It’s painfully obvious when you do how it works.
The hypothetical she describes was used as a thought experiment in an essay to explain it. The concept was conceived of as a result of the outcomes of British common land that had been observed. Hence the name. It wasn’t just a supposition.

But don’t take my word for it. Try it yourself. Get a group of strangers together and tell them that they all have access to whatever is within the mat on the floor in front of them. Then tell them they can take as many of the coins you place in it as they wish, but for every coin in it, you will double the number every minute. See how long they last.

Now divide it into sections and assign them each their own property. They can only take from their own section. Add a coin to each and repeat.

Note what happens. Hint: this is the story of how thanksgiving came to be. ;)