The Real Tragedy Is Not the Commons

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Are humans doomed to pursue narrow, short-term self-interest even when it hurts us in the long-run? Or are we capable of overcoming this and learning to cooperate for everyone’s benefit? 🙤❖🙦 “The Tragedy of the Commons” is a catchphrase coined by Garrett Hardin and the title of his extremely influential essay, which has been used as propaganda to push policies that strengthen the power of the ruling class at the expense of everyone else, and to spread beliefs that discourage us from abolishing this destructive power.

This video looks at research debunking the tragedy of the commons, especially that of the Nobel-prize winning Elinor Ostrom. It also looks at the related issues of private/capitalist ownership and state control of economic resources, particularly natural resources, and discusses how and why this is leading to environmental ruin.

Why does the topic of “the commons” matter?

It matters because of what’s at stake: the natural resources we use for food, water, heat, energy, shelter, and more; the environment that we and all lifeforms depend on for our wellbeing and survival.

The issue of the commons is also tangled into questions of who should have power: Must power take a form that gives economic elites and political elites the power to dominate decision making in society, while the rest of us are excluded? Or can power take a form that prevents these hierarchies of domination, and gives everyone power over the decisions that impact their life?

And finally, it’s connected to the question posed above: Are humans doomed to pursue narrow, short-term self-interest even when it hurts us in the long-run – or are we capable of overcoming this and learning to cooperate for everyone’s benefit?

These are questions that this video will attempt to (at least partially) answer.

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BIBLIOGRAPHY
Sources are listed in text in the video


VIDEO CHAPTERS
00:00 Intro
02:08 What is this video about? And why does it matter?
12:11 The Tragedy of the Commons: Impact & Influence
19:30 What is The Tragedy of the Commons?
24:35 Finding Some Fact Within the Fiction
26:13 Debunking The Tragedy of the Commons
31:41 Governing a Commons: Who & How?
51:53 Hardin’s “Solutions” to the “Tragedy”
1:00:16 The Tragedy of the Comments
1:02:03 Privatizing the Commons: A False Solution to the “Tragedy”
1:16:21 Propaganda
1:20:09 William Forster Lloyd
1:24:27 Interlude for Empathy
1:26:15 State Control of the Commons: Another False Solution to the “Tragedy”
1:50:07 Commons vs. Privatized vs. State-control: Comparing resource management outcomes
1:59:23 The Real Tragedy
2:02:43 The Dark Side of (Some) Commons
2:06:52 Adding to the Pile of Evidence that a Better World Is Possible
2:10:08 Review: Four Points to Remember
2:11:41 Outro


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►►Check out some of my other videos◄◄

► (Self-)Governing the Commons: Survive Apocalypse; Build a Better World
^ The sequel to this video

► How We Lost Our Freedom

► POST-CAPITALISM: A Detailed Look at How It Could Work

► Political Compass Rap but it’s ALL SOCIALISTS

► Playlist



FYI
Quotes from texts by Ostrom and Hardin are AI mimicry of their voices

MUSIC CREDITS
Grieg: In The Hall Of The Mountain King
Bizet: Les Toreadors
Sir Cubworth: Earthly Destiny
Kevin MacLeod: Carefree
Unicorn Heads: Boardroom theme

VISUAL CREDITS
BBC “Planet Earth: A Celebration - a message from Sir David Attenborough”
Community Forest Meeting in Nepal flickr.com/photos/usaid-biodiversity-forestry
Walter E. Block photo: Mises Institute (Creative Commons 3.0)
(Other credits listed in the video)

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Search term aid: So What’s the REAL Tragedy?