How can a situation like the tragedy of the commons be corrected?
1 Answer
It can only be corrected by a clear positive linkage between the individual and community interests.
Explanation:
The tragedy of the commons is a situation where individuals acting independently and rationally according to their own self-interest behave contrary to the best interests of the whole by depleting some common resource.
The community must support the individual interest in order for the individual to maintain the common interest.
An unfortunate example in the Philippines is deforestation, particularly of other valuable plants, such as coconut palms. The failure of the Philippine government in many specifics to provide a productive working environment for its population engenders short-term individual interests (economic) to ignore long-term societal interests in sustainable agriculture and job creation.
