TRAGEDY OF THE COMMONS

And why it is a vulgar world we live in.

2 min readMar 24, 2022

Fuck me but I never heard of this until last Thursday during my blockchain course!

Tragedy of the Commons is an economic problem that argues that when individuals act with self-interest and neglect the well-being of society, the result is a harmful over-consumption of common goods (i.e. food, materials, land, etc).

In turn, the problem exacerbates as the common good is under-invested as no ones wants to pay for it. And as a result, demand overwhelms supply and no one can further enjoy the fruits of the commons.

Bluntly put, everyone suffers in the end.

So what do we do?

Well, one solution to the Tragedy of the Commons is to impose some sort of central government or collective action arrangement.

But how the fuck is this related to crypto? Especially, when it doesn’t give a shit about central authority, government or banks¹.

In fact, people in the crypto world are as selfish, greedy and narcissistic as those in the fiat world. Probably more so² ³.

Industrial pollution is one of the consequences of operators ignoring their effect on the shared environment as espoused by the Tragedy of the Commons. — Industrial pollution is one of the consequences of operators ignoring their effect on the shared environment as cautioned by the Tragedy of the Commons. Photo by Frank John Aleksandrowicz, 1921-, (NARA record: 8452210) — U.S. National Archives and Records Administration

CONSENSUS, RECORD & TRUST

Thankfully, smart folks like the Satoshis decided to build in consensus, record and trust in cryptocurrency⁴.

These three elements would ONLY work if each of the elements is used against each other.

This is because a decentralised system like blockchain is operated by many. Every one is a faceless unknown. And people in general aren’t always trustworthy nor agreeable.

But at the same time, humans are tribal. We congregate together for survival, growth and progress. So, if the majority does something in a certain way, the remaining tribe will follow (or else be left out from “safety in numbers”).

If we have records of everyone’s action, the probability of consensus becomes higher. And in turn, trust in the system veers toward a given. All in, we have a working decentralised system in cryptocurrency.

Similarly, in a Catholic household like mine, swear words are frowned upon, even though I like to say fuck a lot with friends and foes, especially after a Glenfiddich. Ironically, my mother would curse me for using a cursed word, much like Connor Sephton⁵.

So I refrain from vulgarities at home, expand my vocabulary to curse with non-swear words⁶, and abide by the consensus of my tribe.

I just became a crypto bro, baby!

REFERENCES:

TRAGEDY OF THE COMMONS

And why it is a vulgar world we live in.

CONSENSUS, RECORD & TRUST

Written by NOÉL