“Tragedy of the Commons” — What It Is and How To Solve It

A system is an interconnected set of people/things/ideas that is organized in a way that achieves something. We are surrounded by systems: our digestive systems, our bodies overall, schools, our democracy, international trade, a forest ecosystem, global climate.

When systems stop working, there are a handful of predictable ways in which they breakdown. Fortunately, because these breakdowns are so common, there are well-known strategies for addressing them. Thus, if you can learn to spot the underlying systemic pattern, you’ll…