QN 1. What do these economists mean when they sing, “Good for me, good for you, bad for us?”

After watching the video, it is evident that the two economists are disturbed by the trend in the modern society where everyone is striving for their own good and disregard the plight of others in the society. The two economists are trying to show the importance of common pool resources not only to an individual but the community at large.  It is crystal clear from the video that these selfish behaviors have brought about some social problems such as deforestation, overgrazing, population growth, overfishing and non-renewable resources just to mention a few (“Tragedy Of The Commons 1: What The Tragedy Is”). Although these are social challenges, we contribute towards them even though we seem not to realize. For instance, the video shows the pleasure of having herds of sheep. Nevertheless, this will have a devastating effect on the land in the long run which will be felt by the society.  Use of cars and other machinery that emit greenhouse gasses is another example of how people forget the issue of the common good to fulfill their personal interests.

In essence, the phrase “Good for me, good for you, bad for us” implies the fact that most common pool resources are used for personal gain. However, the long run effects will be bad for all of us and the benefits they get now will be outweighed by the devastating consequences.  From an economic point of view, the marginal cost will no longer equal the marginal benefit and consequently profits realized in the short run will be diminishing over time. In many cases, people are tempted to make choices that will benefit them individually (“Tragedy Of The Commons 1: What The Tragedy Is”). However, if people began to work together for the common good, there would be no “good for you, good for me, bad for us” there would just be good for all.

2. Common pool resources considered in the video include pasture (forage), fisheries, and atmosphere. Explain what the specific problem is for each resource and identify some ways that society has tried to mitigate the problems of that common resource.

As aforementioned, most people today are overusing common pool resources for their short term benefits and ignorant of the long term repercussions. For example, the video cites pasture (forage), fishery and atmosphere as some of the resources. Nevertheless, each of these resources led to some problems that affect the lives of the society. To start with, forage has become an important part of the society today. Most people are willing to keep large herds of animals that depend on this forage. However, it should be noted that these pastures allow for a certain amount of grazing occurring each year without depleting this critical resource. Nevertheless, the society is coping with this problem by controlling the number of animals kept as well as providing alternative feeding means to their animals.

Fisheries are cited as another important common resource that should be handled with great care. In most cases, people are tempted to carry out excessive fishing from these fisheries and in the long run, lead to depletion of these fish thus creating a social problem. To cope with this challenge, the society is engaging in fish rearing (“Tragedy Of The Commons 1: What The Tragedy Is”). This helps reduce excessive fishing from natural fisheries. On the same note, the atmosphere is another common pool resource that has been abused over the years. For instance, from the video, the two economists show how people enjoy driving vehicles. Nevertheless, some of these vehicles are known to cause greenhouse effects through their emissions. However, improved technology has played a significant role in ensuring that the carbon emissions are reduced significantly.

Work cited

“Tragedy Of The Commons 1: What The Tragedy Is”. YouTube. N.p., 2016. Web. 7 Nov. 2016.

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