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In case you'd like to read a counterbalance to "Tragedy of the Commons", I highly recommend Nobel laureate Elinor Ostrom's works which describe how commons actu

by sn41 8y ago

In case you'd like to read a counterbalance to "Tragedy of the Commons", I highly recommend Nobel laureate Elinor Ostrom's works which describe how commons actually work and regulate themselves in the real world, and how they avoid tragedies. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elinor_Ostrom https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elinor_Ostrom I remain optimistic about our future.

luckylion 8y ago
Is there a short overview version of that explanation that includes, for example, the "self-regulation" of the fishing industry?
- gratzdhg 8y ago
  I'd check out her book: Governing the Commons: The Evolution of Institutions for Collective Action It provides specific examples (in fact a number of them are of fisheries) which could be read without necessarily needing to read the whole thing.
  - luckylion 8y ago
    Thank you, I will. The title sounds like regulation (instead of self-regulation), that sounds much more plausible.
pdpi 8y ago
> describe how commons actually work and regulate themselves in the real world There's an important point there — the Tragedy models the outcome of selfishness, short term thinking, and deregulation governing the usage of the commons. Ostrom's work provides a model for what regulation can achieve. Putting the two together, whenever you see somebody somebody pushes for deregulation at the government level and little to no effort towards self-regulation at the industry level, you can conclude following that course of action will lead to the Tragedy scenario.
- notacoward 8y ago
  > Putting the two together That's the key. Treating these as contradictory, as though Ostrom's work refutes the very possibility of TotC, is just weird. It's like saying that the existence of a measles vaccine means that measles can't exist. Solutions don't apply themselves, even when well known and once ubiquitous. Hardin's idea and Ostrom's seem strongly complementary to me.

by sn41 8y ago

luckylion 8y ago

Is there a short overview version of that explanation that includes, for example, the "self-regulation" of the fishing industry?

gratzdhg 8y ago
I'd check out her book: Governing the Commons: The Evolution of Institutions for Collective Action It provides specific examples (in fact a number of them are of fisheries) which could be read without necessarily needing to read the whole thing.
- luckylion 8y ago
  Thank you, I will. The title sounds like regulation (instead of self-regulation), that sounds much more plausible.

pdpi 8y ago

> describe how commons actually work and regulate themselves in the real world There's an important point there — the Tragedy models the outcome of selfishness, short term thinking, and deregulation governing the usage of the commons. Ostrom's work provides a model for what regulation can achieve. Putting the two together, whenever you see somebody somebody pushes for deregulation at the government level and little to no effort towards self-regulation at the industry level, you can conclude following that course of action will lead to the Tragedy scenario.

notacoward 8y ago
> Putting the two together That's the key. Treating these as contradictory, as though Ostrom's work refutes the very possibility of TotC, is just weird. It's like saying that the existence of a measles vaccine means that measles can't exist. Solutions don't apply themselves, even when well known and once ubiquitous. Hardin's idea and Ostrom's seem strongly complementary to me.