Summary Quiz for “Tragedy of the Commons”

Question 18.63

1. Watch “Tragedy of the Commons” and summarize the selection below. Be sure to put the summary in your own words and to avoid using the sentence structure of the reading selection. Remember that your summary should restate the author’s main idea (or thesis) and that it should include only the author’s most important supporting ideas. Then “submit” your work.

Here is an example summary of this reading selection:



Your summary will differ from this one in the way it is written, but it should include roughly the same information. This two-part animated video by The National Science Foundation defines “commons” as a common resource shared by many. The commons can be maintained if the drain on the resource equals the rate of replenishment; the “tragedy” occurs when individuals drain the resource for their own profit to the detriment of the good of all. When this occurs, the resource is rapidly diminished, and everyone suffers. Resources can be protected through privatization, cooperation, and regulation, as long as enforcement is sufficient. Your summary will differ from this one in the way it is written, but it should include roughly the same information.
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