Feb 6, 2009
I am thinking about the tragedy of the commons

We neglect what we collectively own.

More than a theory of economics, it is a cognitive phenomenon. Humans have trouble with small numbers. One millionth of this subway gets rounded down to zero. (This is one of the reasons gambling has allure.)

'Cognitive rounding' applies also to shared responsibility. This financial crisis has no single culprit because we all reacted to a situation, and by our reactions made it worse.

Kevin Kelly suggests we'll just go past ownership as an incentive. Is the free movement realistic in this expectation? I think it under-estimates human nature.

Comments gratefully appreciated. Please send them to me by any method of your choice and I'll include them here.

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