Tragedy of the Commons

            In the article “The Tragedy of the Commons”, Harding presents the issue of “freedom in a commons”.  This problem deals with the Rational Choice Theory that Professor King lectured on today.  The theory states that people will always strive to maximize the utility of their interests.  This functions as the basis of human behavior.  In the “freedom in a commons” issue, Harding presents the idea of an open pasture where rational herdsmen will seek to maximize their gains.  Each sees that the positive (the herding of each additional animal) outweighs the negative (overgrazing of the pasture) and thus adds more cattle to his herd on the pasture.  However, since every herder has this mindset of Rational Choice, all will continue to add to their herd at the expense of the pasture.  This results in what Harding calls the “tragedy of freedom in a commons”.  He also observes this in the ocean with people exploiting what they believe to be renewable resources in the “freedom of the seas”, leading to the scarcity of these resources. 

            Harding offers two solutions to the problem.  He suggests to either sell off these commons areas as private property or to keep them as public property with limitations on who can access them.   The right to enter them could be based on wealth, merit, or a lottery system.   He feels that the solution we choose is not important as long as we act quickly to prevent further destruction of the limited world we live in. 

            I think the issue Harding presents is incredibly relevant today.  An example of the tragedy of the commons is the overharvesting of the Chesapeake Bay in Maryland.  Because nobody actually owns the Bay, people often exploit its resources without considering the consequences.  This has resulted in massive declines in the populations of the crabs and fish in the Bay.