The tragedy of the commons is the absence of incentives to
A)reduce marginal cost of common resources.
B)prevent underuse of common resources.
C)prevent overuse of common resources.
D)discover new common resources.
E)export wool in sixteenth-century England.

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

The tragedy of the commons occurs when individuals or groups act in their own self-interest and use a common resource at a level that is unsustainable, leading to depletion or degradation of the resource. There are no incentives to prevent overuse because each individual or group benefits from using the resource, but the cost is spread among all users. Therefore, Choice C is the best answer.

The Tragedy of the Commons Is the Absence of Incentives