Tragedy of the commons

Writing in Science magazine in 1966, ecologist Garret Hardin coined the term "Tragedy of the Commons" to describe the difficulties we face in managing a shared resource.  Hardin summed things up in a simple parable:

"The tragedy of the commons develops in this way. Picture a pasture open to all. It is to be expected that each herdsman will try to keep as many cattle as possible on the commons.....As a rational being, each herdsman seeks to maximize his gain. Explicitly or implicitly, more or less consciously, he asks, "What is the utility to me of adding one more animal to my herd?... the rational herdsman concludes that the only sensible course for him to pursue is to add another animal to his herd. And another.... But this is the conclusion reached by each and every rational herdsman sharing a commons. Therein is the tragedy. Each man is locked into a system that compels him to increase his herd without limit -- in a world that is limited. Ruin is the destination toward which all men rush, each pursuing his own best interest in a society that believes in the freedom of the commons. Freedom in a commons brings ruin to all."

The article is one of the most cited in Science, and it sparked a fierce and still somewhat ongoing debate  that is very interesting...although it mostly revolves around a host of social, political, and economic questions and philosophies that are only tangentially related to understanding better resource management.

But all that is just a preamble to saying that the above video is one of the most visceral examples of the tragedy of the commons in real life action that I have ever seen!  Wow!