Cognitive Scaffold

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MENTAL MODEL · M9700

Tragedy of the Commons

Tragedy of the Commons
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Version 1.0.0 · Updated 2026-07-30

CORE DEFINITION

Shared resources are prone to overconsumption by self-interested behavior, leading to collective loss (e.g., public Wi-Fi abuse).

SCAFFOLDING EFFECT

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The tragedy of the commons is the idea that when a resource is shared and can benefit the individual at a cost to the community, it is rational for the individual to overuse the resource, even though this collectively leads to the depletion of the resource for everyone. The concept has been widely d…

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That is, 'tragedy of the commons': individuals rationally maximize their own interests, but this leads to overconsumption of shared resources and collective harm. The mechanism is the asymmetry of private benefits and shared costs.

MINIMUM ACTION

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Source support: Explicit

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    en.wikipedia.orghttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tragedy_of_the_commonsZH · Explicit
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