Tragedy of the Commons

India is gripped by a strange case of Tragedy of the Commons – a situation where individually rational users over-use or exploit resources in such a way that they create a complete system breakdown at a larger level. Those who are in a position to appropriate to themselves the returns — be it time, money or resources — do not bother about the after-effects of their mode of exploitation. For them, factory shutdowns, environmental degradation and corruption are not things that have to be bothered too much about as long as they are meeting their selfish ends.

Why is the Tragedy of the Commons so pronounced in India compared with other developed countries? Firstly, as a society we have always been competitive, primarily because of the resource constraints that we faced – a case of too many people chasing too few resources. We fight tooth and nail because the other person could really be after our bread, putting even survival in question. In the global market, this trait has helped us to excel as individuals. However, the irony is that we have not yet been able to consolidate our position as leaders in team situations, where cooperation more than competition is required for us to survive.

Secondly, we lack built-in systems to deal with the Tragedy of the Commons, unlike some other societies which have put social rights over individuals. Societies such as those in the United Kingdom and the United States during the initial stages of their development resorted to iron-hand leadership mechanisms of stiff penalties and stringent punishments to ingrain social consciousness into every individual.

This difference is apparent even in a comparison between India and China. The Harvard professor Tarun Khanna suggests that in the case of any conflict between public interest and private rights, India would err on the side of private rights; China with public interest. This makes social issues such as infrastructure building and resource management much easier to manage in China. When building a road in China you would be given compensation and moved away; in India the project would stall if it caused the slightest discomfort to the interests of a single individual, causing discomfort to millions.

This difference is apparent even in corruption. While the corrupt in China demand a piece of something new that is being created for the social good, in India the corrupt are content with their own selfish interests without any real contribution to society.

Winning as individuals has helped Indians end about 200 years of misery to get back on the world stage. But what took India to this stage will not help it to get to the next level. India’s current glory will be short-lived if it is not able to prioritize between individual and social needs. That is the big challenge standing in the way of India’s growth.

Author: Sangeeth Varghese is a renowned leadership thinker and the founder of LeadCap. He is an advisor to two heads of states and several CEOs on matters of leadership. His last book ‘Open Source Leader’ was the number 1 business best seller in India. Varghese is a Young Global Leader 2010 and a member of the Global Agenda Council. 

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