3 ms·

> Of course, without an owner, the property is immediately subject to the tragedy of the commons which is almost always worse than even the worst landlords. II

by tivert 4y ago

> Of course, without an owner, the property is immediately subject to the tragedy of the commons which is almost always worse than even the worst landlords. IIRC, the "tragedy of the commons" is basically a fiction, at least when it comes to things like the example literal plot of common grazing land. People aren't the stupid, pathologically self-centered and antisocial agents simple economics often assumes they are. If they're in a community, they work out systems to prevent overgrazing. IMHO, "tragedy of the commons" only really happens when no community can form and no community coordination can happen. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tragedy_of_the_commons#Criticism https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tragedy_of_the_commons#Critici...

mc32 4y ago
Fishing with overfishing and depletion of fish stock is an example of tragedy of the commons. Also it’s seen in BLM grazing lands when mismanaged by the BLM. It’s not a fiction.
- tivert 4y ago
  > Fishing with overfishing and depletion of fish stock is an example of tragedy of the commons. Also it’s seen in BLM grazing lands when mismanaged by the BLM. It’s not a fiction. I don't disagree, but I think the "tragedy of the commons" is overstated to imply that commons are always a failure (ultimately as propaganda for private-property-is-the-only-solution). I think, if you have a stable community using the resource that can take responsibility for it, it will manage it to avoid the tragedy. If no community can form (e.g. fishing in international waters) or one is prevented from forming (e.g. by some authority like the BLM asserting responsibility but failing to take it), that's when you'll get the tragedy. A "building without an owner" is a case where I definitely could see a tragedy of the commons being avoided, so long as it has relatively stable set of tenants. It'd basically turn into a co-op.

by tivert 4y ago

mc32 4y ago

Fishing with overfishing and depletion of fish stock is an example of tragedy of the commons. Also it’s seen in BLM grazing lands when mismanaged by the BLM. It’s not a fiction.

tivert 4y ago
> Fishing with overfishing and depletion of fish stock is an example of tragedy of the commons. Also it’s seen in BLM grazing lands when mismanaged by the BLM. It’s not a fiction. I don't disagree, but I think the "tragedy of the commons" is overstated to imply that commons are always a failure (ultimately as propaganda for private-property-is-the-only-solution). I think, if you have a stable community using the resource that can take responsibility for it, it will manage it to avoid the tragedy. If no community can form (e.g. fishing in international waters) or one is prevented from forming (e.g. by some authority like the BLM asserting responsibility but failing to take it), that's when you'll get the tragedy. A "building without an owner" is a case where I definitely could see a tragedy of the commons being avoided, so long as it has relatively stable set of tenants. It'd basically turn into a co-op.