Rachael & Cicely

Tragedy of the Commons

Goals:

1. Introduce the Tragedy of the Commons

2. Considers the values of collective action vs. self interest

   1. In what situations does an individual action justify itself against group interest?

   2. Where are these situations in our own life?

   3. How do we trust that others will also act for the good of a community?

3. Apply this problem to real life scenarios

Skills:

1. Addressing and discussing alternative or dissenting viewpoints [Counterexamples]

2. Develop perspective taking; Consider a perspective that you disagree with

   1. What if you were in the 100 who would not fit on the lifeboat?

   2. What if you were already one of the 50 who had secured an original seat on the boat?

Background:

1. Garrett Hardin’s “Tragedy of the Commons”

   1. The scenario: “Picture a pasture open to all...As a rational being, each herdsman seeks to maximize his gain. Explicitly or implicitly, more or less consciously, he asks: “What is the utility of me addingone ore animal to my herd?...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 the commons brings ruin to all.”

   2. Ethical considerations:

      1. Privatization vs. collective ownership

      2. Alternative to socialized system vs. private ownership

      3. System changes under changing conditions (population size, resource quantity/quality, policies)

Conceptual Game: Bag of Candy

1. Explain Tragedy of the commons to the group: Tell the group you have a bag of candy with X pieces. Give each person a piece of paper and ask them to write down how many pieces they will claim.

   1. Round 1 Rules: Each person must make a claim such that the group’s total claim does not exceed the pieces of candy in the bag

   2. Round 2 Rules: Each person can make a claim for any amount of candy, but they have to justify their claim in competition for that amount of candy

   3. Round 3 Rules: Students have to make up their own rules as a group, creating one amendment if the group size were to change/the number of candy was to decrease

2. Questions for discussion:

   1. What was your thinking in making your “claim”?

   2. If your claim is satisfied, is it fair if others in the group get less than they asked for or none at all?

   3. Why did the total claims exceed the total number of candy? How did the rules of the game encourage this outcome?

   4. Who owns the bag of candy?

   5. Is one form of distribution better than the other?

   6. How could you establish ownership of candy? By making a claim.

Application: Corona Virus in the news

Activity: Put students in pairs, give each pair a piece of paper, and for each headline ask them to

1. Write one argument in favor of the headline

2. Write one argument against the headline

Share out:

1. Ask the pair to argue for the perspective they wrote against the headline

Headlines: