‘The Tragedy of the Commons’

“Therein is the tragedy. . . Freedom in a commons brings ruin to all.” – Garrett Hardin

WHILE we want to live comfortably, we may not realize that as we do so, we leave an imprint of our actions not only on the global commons but also on our social, political and economic and other cultural commons. The United Nations-identified global commons are the High Seas, the Atmosphere, Antarctica and the Outer Space. During this pandemic, we stage the tragedy of the local commons as we assure ourselves that we have with us what we need — top in our list being food and healthcare. Let us draw the attention of our learners to the lessons of how our actions impact on the availability of common community resources. How much damage can result from their overuse can be more meaningfully and effectively taught to our learners if we employ the picturesque analogy of a grazing land where differently owned herds vie in consuming the grass that very soon, not being enough, there will be none to graze for — it being over-populated.