Tragedy of the

Commons
IF EVERYONE’S SUCCESS DEPENDED ON IT, WOULD YOU SHARE — OR BE SELFISH?
WHEN TESTED ON THAT QUESTION, MANY FAILED.
Tragedy of the Commons
 Article in the Science Magazine by Gerrett Hardin ecologist (1968 December)
 „Common”: sheep-grazing pasture that villagers shared. Generally: any freely
available and limited natural resource.
 „Should I increase the number of my sheeps?”
 The villagers has to choose between their short time benefit and the common
good of all users. If too many villagers choose his own welfare, eventually
they will deplete the pasture.
 This theory describes how people often use freely available natural resources
to their advantage without considering the good of a group or society as a
whole.
 Why it is
important?
 Relevant to many current issues:
overfishing, deforestation, climate
change, air pollution, etc.
 Criticizes the widely accepted
„invisible hand” concept of Adam
Smith
 The experiment

 Dylan Shelterman, 2005, University of

Maryland
 He offered extra credit points to
illustrate the interconnectedness of
choices individuals make in
communities.
 Two points or six points, but…
 If more than 10 percent of the class
members choose six points, no one gets
any points.
 Result: in the first 8 years only 1 class
(out of the dozens) got extra points.
Are we greedy
and selfish?
 Most people aren’t: about 80 %
of the students choose two
points.
 We could think: if someone else
is taking more for themselves
(running more water or
choosing six points), why
shouldn’t I?
 But if too much of us think this
way, eventually we’ll all lose.
Increasing the
cooperation
 He wanted to increase cooperation
somehow, tried to think creatively and
used behavioural science to find solutions.
 In 2016 introduced a third option: to
choose zero points.
 …reducing the total number of six-point
choosers by one.
 Self-sacrificial students forgo points for
themselves in order to help the group.
 This type of action is called altruistic
punishment. They believe that every
individual profits from increased
cooperation.
 … even a few
people …
 Just a handful of people can make a
huge difference.
 This additional element has
dramatically increased cooperation in
his courses (about 50%).
 Some of his classes have done this
without anyone actually choosing the
zero-point option
 It gives a hope…
 a few people who recycle or compost…
 a few politicians’ votes can alter
national and international policies
that affect millions…