Dictionary

tragedy of the commons en · NOUN

Etymology

Coined by American ecologist Garrett Hardin in 1968.

Meanings

1. (qualifier:social criticism) A situation in which unmanaged use of a shared resource (such as the atmosphere or an ocean) by a number of participants results in the unintended ruin or total consumption of that resource.
   • One theory, known as the tragedy of the commons, holds that people will exploit and abuse something in which they have no ownership stake. 1995 May 7, Timothy Egan, “Let the Owner Beware”, in New York Times, retrieved 04 Jul 2012:
   • Overfishing is the classic tragedy of the commons. Since no single nation "owns" the high seas, they exploit it without restraint and without thought to sustainability. 2010 November 18, “Troubles as deep as the oceans lie ahead”, in The Independent, UK, retrieved 04 Jul 2012:
   • The economist Elinor Ostrom, who is on our list this year, has written about the tragedy of the commons, which is the idea that self-interest can undermine the common good. 2012 April 18, Richard Stengel, “Editor's Letter: A World of Possibilities”, in Time, archived from the original on 04 Feb 2013:

Forms

Relateds

let George do it · anticommons · public good · free rider · commons

Translations (16)

ru трагедия общих ресурсов (tragedy of the commons) · nl tragedie van de meent (tragedy of the commons) · pl tragedia wspólnego pastwiska (tragedy of the commons) · it tragedia dei beni comuni (tragedy of the commons) · es tragedia de los bienes comunales (tragedy of the commons) · fr tragédie des biens communs (tragedy of the commons) · de Tragik des Gemeinguts (tragedy of the commons) · fi yhteismaan ongelma (tragedy of the commons) · sv allmänningarnas tragedi (tragedy of the commons) · ru трагедия общин (tragedy of the commons) · de Tragödie des Allgemeinguts (tragedy of the commons) · de Tragik der Allmende (obsolet: Allmende) (tragedy of the commons) · sv allmänningens dilemma (tragedy of the commons) · sh tragedija zajedničkog dobra (tragedy of the commons) · cmn 公地悲劇 /公地悲剧 (tragedy of the commons) · lt bendruomenių tragedija (tragedy of the commons)