Meaning of tragedy of the commons | Babel Free

Definitions

A situation in which unmanaged use of a shared resource (such as the atmosphere or an ocean) by a number of participants results in the unintended ruin or total consumption of that resource.

Equivalents

Examples

“One theory, known as the tragedy of the commons, holds that people will exploit and abuse something in which they have no ownership stake.”

“Overfishing is the classic tragedy of the commons. Since no single nation "owns" the high seas, they exploit it without restraint and without thought to sustainability.”

“The economist Elinor Ostrom, who is on our list this year, has written about the tragedy of the commons, which is the idea that self-interest can undermine the common good.”

CEFR level