The Tragedy Of The Commons

~ a modern version of the classic tale ~

Once upon a time there was a little farm town. In the center of town was a large, grassy area called the Commons. Everyone was free to use it as they saw fit. Farmers brought their livestock there to graze when they came into town. Because everyone respected and shared the Commons, it was a wonderful resource for all.

Well, one day a farmer got to thinking. "You know, I could let my cows graze here all day, and then I could use more of my own land for growing crops. And why not? The Commons are big enough to feed my two cows and plenty more" ... And so, he brought his two little cows into the Commons and let them graze all day every day.

The other farmers saw what was going on, and realized instantly the logic of it. Each of them only had a cow or two, so they each reasoned that their little cows would leave plenty for everyone else.

Well, the days went on, and soon there were twenty cows all living on the Commons and there just wasn't enough grass to go around. Not only that, there were piles of cow dung everywhere, and quite frankly, the Commons started to stink. In fact, the cows all died of methane poisoning, the farmers all went bankrupt and some slick looking corporate types bought all the land for a song and built a giant shopping mall right on top of the Commons.

the end