What did the Tragedy of the Commons ultimately say?

The Tragedy of the Commons is a term used to describe a situation in which people, acting as individuals, choose to exploit a shared resource to the point of depletion or destruction. In such a situation, individuals are rational and act in a perfectly reasonable manner in accordance with their own self-interests. However, when all individuals make these same rational decisions, it results in the degradation or destruction of the shared resource. This is an example of a tragedy of the commons, and it can result in lasting negative consequences for the communities that rely on the resource. Ultimately, the Tragedy of the Commons reveals that common resources are difficult to manage because of the unpredictability of individual interests and behaviors. Although individuals may act in reasonable ways when it comes to their own self-interests, when everyone acts in the same reasonable manner it can have detrimental effects for a shared resource.