The Tragedy of the Commons and Collective Action Essay

The tragedy of the commons and the problem of collective action are two key concepts in the world of political science. They act under the assumption that man is a rational being who will act in his own self interest. Humanity id broadly diverse meaning that each individual has their own ideas as to how society should run and how people should live.(heywood) This inevitably results in disagreement and this is where politics steps in. Aristotle described politics as the ‘master science’, ‘the activity through which human beings attempt to improve their lives and create the Good Society.’ Through the tragedy of the commons and the problem of collective action we can see how politics is essentially the ‘search for conflict resolution’†¦show more content†¦However Mancur Olson (cite) states in his book that ‘rational self-interested individuals will not act to achieve their common or group interests.’ Coercion or other incentiv es are needed for this to occur. Communication can be used as moral suasion (ostrom) This became known as the ‘zero contribution thesis’. A social dilemma is when individuals choose actions that will affect others as well as themselves. The individual will aim to benefit themselves short term which generally results in a lower joint outcome. If the individuals acted collectively they would achieve a better optimal outcome than the one they would achieve on their own. These social dilemmas have been characterised in game theory by the prisoners dilemma. They will achieve the Nash equilibrium which is lower than the socially desirable outcome. This is the problem of collective action. This is not to say that forms of collective action cannot be seen in everyday world. Mobs, gangs, cartels, neighbourhood associations, charities and voting are all forms of collective action. (ostrom) These social dilemmas are related to common-pool resources. The problem of free riding can be an issue. . There has to be governance of common pool resources. If, for example collective action was man’s natural instinct thenShow MoreRelatedClimate Change Is The Single Greatest Threat Facing Our Planet1504 Words   |  7 Pageshuman activity, and it is already causing devastating harm here in the United States and to people all around the world.’ Nonetheless but humans are liable to climate change, and are also affected by it with others. This article will focus on our collective and individual moral obligations to reduce greenhouse gas emissions as well as our moral obligations to climate change affected poorer countries in order to argue that we have a moral obligation as a whole. The United States, the wealthiest countryRead MoreTransnational Issues And The Global Community1486 Words   |  6 Pagesthat collective action is a critical component in resource governance, adaptation to various forms of environmental change, and resilience (Adger, 2010). Th e firm ability to collectively gather and work towards a cause relies on principles of communication, trust and most importantly, a shared vision (Beitl, 2014). However, in relation to the environment, it seems as if the world is facing a rather large scale version of the collective action problem. There are two types of collective action problemsRead MoreThe Tragedy of the Commons: By Garrett Hardin805 Words   |  3 PagesA common resource refers to a natural or man-made property that is characterized by high rivalry in consumption, meaning an increase in the amount of resource consumed by one person reduces that for others to consume, and non-excludability, meaning the resource is freely accessible to a large group of people. These factors make a common resource susceptible to its overuse and damage in the long run, especially without a controlled management and protection of the resource. In his writing, HardinRead MoreGlobal Character of Climate Change645 Words   |  3 Pagesqualify it as a collective problem. In Garrett Hardin’s (1968) Tragedy of the Commons it is argued that such problems need collective action to solve them; if individuals uninhibitedly chase their self-interest, they come to a result that is not in their common interest and which they would not prefer given their possibilities. Working together by agreement they can come to a result that in the end will much better serve their (common) interests. But where Hardin focused on commons shared by a groupRead MoreCollective Action Problems And Solutions Essay966 Words   |  4 PagesCollective Action Problems Incentives Required For Individuals to Work Together Collective action problems arise in politics because as individuals we are conflicted between our own interest and the interest of the group. Our choice is either to be selfish or cooperate with the group. â€Å"It involves building, combining, mixing, and amalgamating people’s individual goals† (Lowi, et al. 13). There are three main theories as to why collective action problems exist. First, according to Mancur OlsonRead MoreEssay about Book Report on Martin Esslins an Anatomy of Drama1039 Words   |  5 PagesThe book discusses the common definitions of drama in the first chapter, goes over the theories and critical aspects of drama as a genre in the following chapters, and concludes by declaring some statements about the truth of drama in the last chapter. Esslin often follows a pattern throughout his chapters; he undermines a critical thought or unravels a common critical confusion then injects his own notions and critical thoughts. In the first chapter Esslin deems all common definitions of dramaRead MoreThe Dangers Of Global Warming914 Words   |  4 Pagesissues are bad, but why is it so difficult to take action against them? Well, people look at the world with a short time horizon. Many people view profits versus well being of the planet only with a short-term perspective, not worrying about the future of the earth after they are gone. It seems that there are many reasons leading to the inaction in our society, but a significant issue is collective action failure, otherwise known as â€Å"tragedy of the commons.† It is a complex system, mostly filled with misunderstandingsRead MoreNatural Resource Depletion And Pollution1547 Words   |  7 Pagesthe idea of â€Å"tragedy of common† had been brought out by Garrett Hardin in 1968. In fact, the problem rooted in the tragedy of common can not be illustrated just based on its literal meaning, rather it should be understanding in more metaphorical way in which the word â€Å"tragedy† is not deemed to be a condemn resulted from reasons. However, the central argument Hardin said is that nowadays we had one technical problem that the tragedy of the common is inevitable if there has been common property andRead MoreDifferent Meanings And Values Of Poetry1385 Words   |  6 Pagessounds of the words when read aloud often follow a particular rhythmic pattern ´ (Cambridge Advanced Learner’s Dictionary Thesaurus, 2017). Nowadays definitions of poetry embrace the fundamental functions such as metre, imagination, emotion and sound, common for all of them. This characterization has its root in the very ancient times. Undoubtedly, the possibility to consider poetry as the first literal language is legitimate. The beginnings of poetry are often connected to other elements of art suchRead MoreEssay751 Words   |  4 Pagesidentity, culture, and preserve its way of life while expanding to different territories, this alone has led to countless wars and skirmishes resulting in devastation over Europe including the 30 year war, 100 year war, and the Napoleonic era. After the tragedy known as World War II, an attempt to integrate France along with other European states to form a supranational government resulted in the formation of the European union. Along the way France has battled with proponents and opponents going back and