Vision to Reality: The Reut Blog

In ‘Managed to Death,’ the Economist describes the plummeting of the world’s stocks of the bluefin tuna due to unmanaged fishing quotas. Because they live in the high seas, these fish belong to everyone, and are thus no one’s responsibility. The situation reflects a classic example of the ‘Tragedy of the Common’s which is a major component of Predictable Surprises.

The concept of the Tragedy of the Commons is based on an influential article written by Garrett Hardin describing a dilemma in which multiple individuals acting independently in their own self-interest can ultimately destroy a shared resource even though the result is not in anyone’s long term interest. In addition to fisheries, other examples include foresting, burning fossil fuels and global warming.

This concept is discussed in by Max Bazerman and Michael Watkins’ book Predictable Surprises which describes a series of cognitive, emotional and political reasons for why even though a group perceives the existence of a problem, it doesn’t attempt to solve it.

Which situations in Israel suffer from the tragedy of the commons?