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Theory
Is Climate Change the Ultimate Tragedy of the Commons? By Olivia Moore (Understanding The Tragedy of the Commons), JS Law and Political Science and Samantha Tancredi (Climate Change and Accountability: A Tragedy of the Commons?), JS Law and Political Science Caithfidh sé a bheith cóir a rá gur tír í Éire atá bunaithe ar phobal. Is cuid luachmhar d’ár n-oidhreacht í. Tóg an seanfhocail “Ar scáth a chéile a mhaireann na daoine”, mar shampla, a thaispeánann seo dúinn go soléir. Ach é sin ráite, ní féidir linn a rá go bhfuil Éire, ná aon tír eile dá ndéarfainn é, ag déanamh machnaimh ar an gcomhairle sin – go háirithe laistigh de cheist na timpeallachta. (It must be fair to say that Ireland is a country based on community. It is an important part of our heritage. For example, take the old Irish phrase “People live in each other’s shadows”, that we rely on each other for shelter, which shows this clearly. But, that said, we cannot claim that Ireland, nor any other country for that matter, is taking this advice – especially where it concerns the environment.) Understanding The Tragedy of the Commons The Tragedy of the Commons is a concept that has been making the rounds since the days of Aristotle. However, the modern application of this model, and the one that most might be familiar with, is associated primarily with Mr Garrett Hardin, an American ecologist who published a famous article on the subject in 1968. In it, he details a situation in which the rational choices of individuals, acting independently and in their own self-interest, clash with the interests and needs of the larger community. This, he argues, will inevitably result in the depletion of resources against the long-term interests of both individuals, and the group as a whole. Breaking this down further, the commons can be defined as any shared resource to which all persons have open, free, and unrestrained access. Examples might be the atmosphere, rain forests, outer space, oceans, fisheries, and public land. Thus, the tragedy aspect of his theory occurs when individuals act solely in their own best interests, but consequently to the worst interests of the broader population. One of the most poignant examples of this phenomenon occurs in the realm of the environment - and more specifically, in problems of pollution. Here it is not so much a question of taking something out of the commons, but of putting something in – sewage onto land, or chemical, radioactive, and heat wastes into water, or harmful and dangerous fumes into the air. However, the system remains much the same: the calculations of utility are much the same as before. The rational man finds that his share of the cost of the wastes he discharges into the commons is less than the cost of purifying his wastes before releasing them. And since this is true for everyone, we are locked into a system of “fouling our own nest” – provided we behave only as independent, rational, free enterprisers acting only in our own self-interest. Climate Change and Accountability: A Tragedy of the Commons? With the salience of the current climate crisis pressing our everyday, the urgency of change brings in the necessity to analyze the Tragedy of the Commons in conjunction with climate change. As is previously mentioned, it is the logic of the individual to act in his or her own self interest, which drives the exploitation of open lands, or the “commons.” Drawing this metaphor to a global scale, one must view the Earth’s atmosphere as the commons of the future. While the effects of climate change are unfortunately both plentiful and catastrophic, the magnitude of the phenomenon expands when considering the intrinsic economic and humanitarian consequences.
