Answer:
• The tragedy of the commons is a problem in economics that occurs when individuals neglect the well-being of society in the pursuit of personal gain.
• This leads to over-consumption and ultimately depletion of the common resource, to everybody's detriment.
• Solutions to the tragedy of the commons include the imposition of private property rights, government regulation, or the development of a collective action arrangement.
• For a tragedy of the commons to occur a resource must be scarce, rivalrous in consumption, and non-excludable.
• Solutions to the tragedy of the commons include the imposition of private property rights, government regulation, or the development of a collective action arrangement.
Explanation:
•|The tragedy of the commons is an economics problem in which every individual has an incentive to consume a resource, but at the expense of every other individual -- with no way to exclude anyone from consuming. Initially it was formulated by asking what would happen if every shepherd, acting in their own self-interest, allowed their flock to graze on the common field. If everybody does act in their apparent own best interest, it results in harmful over-consumption (all the grass is eaten, to the detriment of everyone).
