TRAGEDY OF THE COMMONS
AND SOME OTHER LAND ANALOGIES TO SPECTRUM USE
Wikipedia's explanation of "tragedy of the commons" is:
"The tragedy of the commons is a phrase used to refer to a class of phenomena that involve a conflict for resources between individual interests and the common good. The term derives originally from a parable published by William Forster Lloyd in his 1833 book on population. It was then popularized and extended by Garrett Hardin in his 1968 Science essay 'The Tragedy of the Commons'. "
Economists have used the term in predicting that unlicensed bands will act like commons and will be overcrowded and inefficiently used. Some claim that this overuse is even inevitable!
Some views:
Gerald R. Faulhaber and David Farber
"Rinkonomics" by Daniel Klein
"An important quality of collision is mutuality. If I collide with you, then you collide with me. And if I don't collide with you, you don't collide with me. In promoting my interest in avoiding collision with you, I also promote your interest in avoiding collision with me."
As one who visits areas with long standing commons, I thought I would add to this debate by reporting on real commons as I encounter them.
Hamble Common
In July 2006 I went on a sailing cruise from Hamble, (old) Hampshire, near Southampton. Arriving early, I wandered around the town -- which was conveniently having a festival. Walking around, I discovered Hamble Common!
A map of Hamble Common
A field in Hamble Common. Any sign of overgrazing?
Do these Hamble Common cattle look unhappy?
Boston Common
See any tragedies around here?
Allemansrätten
Allemansrätten is the Swedish word for what is more generally called "right of public access to the wilderness" or the right of innocent passage on private property.
The US common law approach to private land ownership is that the owner has the right to exclude all access by others in the absence of an easement. Most spectrum licensees expect similar rights, although the legal basis is unclear. (Licensees who purchased their licenses at FCC auctions prefer to ignore that the low power unlicensed provisions of 47 CFR 15.209 were adopted in 1989, several years before the first spectrum auction in the US.)
Scandinavian countries and Scotland for hundreds of years have allowed certain public access to private land on the condition that it does not damage private property or disturb the immediate area surrounding a residence. In the UK outside of Scotland, the Countryside and Rights of Way Act 2000 creates similar rights that are now being phased in.
References:
Common sense and the right of Public Access (Sweden)
To Marcus Spectrum Solutions homepage
| Notice: I took all the photographs above, own all rights to them, and freely grant commercial and noncommercial reproduction rights to the photographs on this web page to anyone for use in publications on issues relating to "tragedy of the commons" - MJM |