the tragedy of the uncommons
You've heard of the Tragedy of the Commons, right? The idea that whenever there's something that's public property, it gets abused by individuals who have no vested interest in not abusing it. Everybody lets their cows overgraze, because each person wants to get as much for their pooled resources as possible, but the overgrazing actually makes the commons unusable after a while.
Well, Adam Gopnik has introduced me to the idea of the Tragedy of the Uncommons. Unusual, small businesses are generally what give a place its character. But, even though every one of us cherishes those things —– the local restaurants, the cool hardware store where everybody knows you —– no one wants to shell out enough to keep them going, because the fact is that Macaroni's and Wal-Mart are just fine. The food at Macaroni's is absolutely delicious; the coffee at Starbucks is truly excellent; anyone who's ever spent time in a Communist country recognizes Wal-Mart for what it is: a consumer wonderland. And yet it is precisely those giant forces that give each place its monotony.
No one goes to Paris for its Gap, Old Navy, Starbucks, Hard Rock Cafe, and Best Buy. Nor to San Antonio. But we all contribute to the demise of the uncommon and the triumph of the monotonous by patronizing those very places, which is in our best immediate economic interest but not in the long-term interest of our unusual locality.
The Tragedy of the Uncommons.
Well, Adam Gopnik has introduced me to the idea of the Tragedy of the Uncommons. Unusual, small businesses are generally what give a place its character. But, even though every one of us cherishes those things —– the local restaurants, the cool hardware store where everybody knows you —– no one wants to shell out enough to keep them going, because the fact is that Macaroni's and Wal-Mart are just fine. The food at Macaroni's is absolutely delicious; the coffee at Starbucks is truly excellent; anyone who's ever spent time in a Communist country recognizes Wal-Mart for what it is: a consumer wonderland. And yet it is precisely those giant forces that give each place its monotony.
No one goes to Paris for its Gap, Old Navy, Starbucks, Hard Rock Cafe, and Best Buy. Nor to San Antonio. But we all contribute to the demise of the uncommon and the triumph of the monotonous by patronizing those very places, which is in our best immediate economic interest but not in the long-term interest of our unusual locality.
The Tragedy of the Uncommons.
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