Reflective Writing Assignment

At the beginning of the semester, I was unaware of the “tragedy of the commons” dilemma which I now understand as a universal problem. The tragedy of the commons, as I understand it, is a conflict in which individuals have the incentive to consume a resource at the expense of every other individual in the market with no way to exclude anyone from consuming. Ultimately, a problem such as this would lead to overconsumption and depletion of a finite resource. We see this problem repeatedly in economics. For instance, the market for Grand Fisheries across the world represents the tragedy of the commons. Overfishing is a problem in ocean bodies across the world, and with little or minimally enforced regulations, fishermen have been exploiting the fish population for personal profit. Furthermore, the exploitation of these resources has caused great competition because there is no incentive for one competitor to follow regulations and lose profit if others are overfishing. The only way to manage this problem and alleviate the issue is for collective agreement about the amount of fish that may be caught and brought to market. The tragedy of the commons dictates that this would be a nearly impossible solution as long as individuals act in their own personal interests first and foremost. The tragedy of the commons is also evident in the issue of overgrazing. Overgrazing occurs when plants are exposed to intensive grazing over long periods of time, or without a sufficient recovery period. Livestock overgrazes on confined spaces and irreparably damages the soil which will no longer be able to produce green-life. When farmers compete with one another, it is essential to produce as much livestock as possible to have products that can be brought to market. Farmers will often ignore the effect that their maximum efficiency will have on their land, and find themselves overgrazing to a point where they have no utilizable land to graze their cattle upon. The incentives of personal interest conquer reason in large markets such as agriculture where there are other extraneous variables such as poor weather (little rain), illness among animals, and more that can cause place great economic stress on a farmer. Reflecting on the tragedy of the commons, I realize now that this principle applies to different facets of life (economics, politics, culture), and it is important to realize the harm of greed in these scenarios where others will be negatively affected, and we will do harm to ourselves. I believe this is one of the most important fundamental lessons that can be taught because it negates selfish behavior, and reminds us about the importance of collective action.