The Tragedy of the Commons: When Self-Interest Destroys Everything
The Tragedy of the Commons: When Self-Interest Destroys Everything Imagine a village where everyone shares a common grazing field. Each villager rationally decides to add one more cow to maximize their profit. Each individual decision makes sense. But collectively, they destroy the field that sustains them all. This is the Tragedy of the Commons — one of the most important concepts in game theory, economics, and environmental science. It explains why rational individuals often destroy the very resources they depend on. ...