The tragedy of the commons arises from the:
A) good being rival.
B) good being excludable.
C) combination of rivalry and nonexcludability.
D) combination of rivalry and excludability.

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

The tragedy of the commons occurs when a resource is both rival (meaning one person's use of it diminishes its availability to others) and nonexcludable (meaning people cannot easily be prevented from using it). This leads to overuse and depletion of the resource, which is why it is called a tragedy. Option A is incorrect because a good being rival alone does not lead to the tragedy of the commons. Option B is incorrect because a good being excludable would mean that people can be prevented from using it, which is not the case in the tragedy of the commons. Option D is incorrect because a good being excludable would mean that people can be prevented from using it, and therefore the tragedy of the commons would not occur.

The Tragedy of the Commons Arises from The