[Craig, previously] > Adam Smith argues that society prospers more by each > pursuing their self-interest (“invisible hand”).
[John] > But the thought experiment "tragedy of the commons" refutes Adam > Smith. Actually the "tragedy of the commons" SUPPORTS Adam Smith. If you have land & divide it among 4 ranchers, each rancher will balance his number of grazing cows with the amount of feed that grows in his sector. It is in the self-interest of each rancher not to let his cows consume all the feed before it can replenish, since then his cows would starve. However, if the land is held in common, each rancher is not so constrained, because after his cows demolish 1/4 the feed, they invade the next 1/4, then the next… Craig Moq_Discuss mailing list Listinfo, Unsubscribing etc. http://lists.moqtalk.org/listinfo.cgi/moq_discuss-moqtalk.org Archives: http://lists.moqtalk.org/pipermail/moq_discuss-moqtalk.org/ http://moq.org.uk/pipermail/moq_discuss_archive/
