Harambe and the Tragedy of the Commons
The economic theory of the fuckin’ week (“ETFW”) is a rational discussion about horrible national nightmare that we are currently all a victim too: the death of Harambe. Sweet, beautiful, majestic, poop-throwing Harambe, the 17 year old ape who was stolen too soon from us. The silverback gorilla was ripped out from under us, before we even got to know him. But, like many of our nation’s greatest heroes (Washington, Lincoln, the man who popularized hot sauce, etc), he left a legacy for us to remember for eternity. And although there are many things we can learn from that sweet, pure boy, there is one I want to focus on – the tragedy of the commons. Yes, Harambe’s death was a tragedy, but it could be a harbinger of terrible things to come.
So, what the hell is the Tragedy of the Commons? It’s an economic theory that dates backs to the mid-nineteenth century. Essentially, it states that in an economy where individuals make decisions on there own and in there own interests regarding a shared resource will behave contrary to the “common good”. In other words, when there is an opportunity for a population to take advantage of some that is to be used by all (i.e. an open water source, free food for animals, the environment, etc.), they most likely will act in their own interests and against the interests of everyone else. Citizens will act in a manner that makes them better off, even if that means burning everything else to the ground while doing so. Now, there is something to be said about conscious decisions to preserve something everyone needs, but that gets into much more complicated economics. For now, let’s just assume everyone is a selfish jerk.
The traditional example is that of open lands for a farming community to let their animals graze upon. Since the farmers have no responsibility to the land, they will let their livestock graze the land as much as they want. Sort-of think about it like the honeybadger – these farmers just don’t care. They are going to take what they want so that their cattle and goats and shit are in the best possible shape. For each animal, the farmer could reap more benefits, but each animal could lead to more and more damage to the common grounds. Eventually, the commons will cross a threshold and the grazing grounds will be destroyed. At this point, everyone is adversely affected.
A more recent example of this would be with our earthly-environment. There is no way to privatize air (Dr. Seuss tried in the Lorax and I think that failed), so anyone can use it however they want. That includes polluting it with toxic chemicals (or the city of Pittsburgh’s toxic attitudes – talk about a bunch of losers!) and allegedly(1) destroying the environment. Another theoretical tragedy revolves around the welfare state and how it affects human reproduction(2).
Now you might ask, how can we understand this issue through Harambe? It is simple – we need to recognize the beast for what he was: a precious, common resource. A ticket at the Cincinnati Zoo is not very expensive (I would know – I fucking love going to the Zoo) and a walk over to the Ape Exhibit is not very far. And last time I checked, it is definitely handicap accessible. So, in other words, everyone could probably go see the gorilla’s. Even if you are not from Cincinnati, it is very easy to get to the Queen City. Harambe’s majesty was a natural resource we could all enjoy. For a while(3) these exhibits have been around and the Cincinnati Zoo has kept good care for all to see. Our society consumed and consumed and consumed and there were no rules(4) surrounding what to do with these gorillas! Eventually, we ended up enjoying the gorillas too much and too close that one of them had to be put down for OUR safety. Thus, we lost our National Pride because of the Tragedy of the Commons. And boy, was it a true tragedy… unless it wasn’t??(5)
I am glad you all were able to experience our first weekly column and – more importantly – the only sarcastic thing written on the internet about the death of Harambe.(6) I hope you all enjoyed.
I leave this caveat in there because I am a firm believer that conspiracy theories are an extremely important aspect of science. Otherwise, we would all believe everything that each scientist says at face-value all the time. I really want scientist to have to work to gain my trust!
This theory is very fascinating. So fascinating that I am not sure I entirely understand it.
Since 1875! This Zoo is has been around forever! The Wikipedia page says that it was “the second oldest intentionally constructed zoo in the United States”. Wait… Hold up. Intentionally Constructed? What could that possibly mean???
There are a shit ton of rules. Actually, it was extremely difficult and mind boggling for that toddler to get into that enclosure.
It was probably an inside job.
It should be noted that the Cincinnati Zoo did pioneer in breeding programs, including with Western Lowland Gorillas, you know, which Harambe was one of.