Happy Tau Day!

Happy Tau Day!

The Tragedy of the Common Beach

I think that I have always known this, from my travels with my father to the reachea of North America. When property is owned in common, when it is public, few give enough concern to take care of it. Our recent family vacation to a Third Coast, third world beach reminded me of as much, that when there is no direct ownership of natural resources, exploitation tends to be common. 

We spent the first afternoon picking up trash, a big bag for each of us. When we wandered toward the more populated public beaches, I realized that even if I were tasked and emploed full-time to keep just a half-mile section clean, my work would never be finished. 

When one owns propert directly, there is an incentive to conserve resources, to protect the environment. When property is held in common, the inverse is true. Each has a perverse incentive to exploit resources at a competitive rate to other exploiters, further driving the quality of the resourcea into decline. 

Where's the beach? Its under the subsequent trash. 

Imagine that.