On Saturday April 29, a running water problem persisted for several hours at Robarts Library, interfering with the usage of water fountains, toilets, sinks, and other water services. The library maintenance staff asked for the public’s cooperation in not using any of the water facilities for a few hours.
When I entered the washroom after the water service was restored, I was repulsed by the filth revealed as I opened the doors of the stalls, one after another. Common sense dictates that when the staff asks that the toilets not be flushed, they are telling you not to use them at all, not to use them and then just not flush them. This is a concept that was evidently lost on most library patrons.
The surprisingly low level of cooperation shown that day is a perfect example of a phenomenon Garrett Hardin called the “Tragedy of the Commons.” The term describes the effect of the inherent tension between individual interest and the collective good. People tend to use common property out of their own immediate interest, disregarding the collective interest. Therefore, any property held for common use is doomed to be overexploited by individuals who act with no regard for its preservation for the benefit of others.
The condition of the Robarts washrooms is a principal example. Out of laziness and selfishness, people refused to venture outside the building and instead ruined the facilities for others. The situation on that fateful day was especially grim because many washrooms became unusable after just a few hours, and the caretaking staff does not work on weekends. Rest assured that the accumulated filth reached truly tragic proportions.
And it doesn’t stop at washrooms. The exploitation of the environment is one of the most serious problems that we face today as a result of individuals prioritizing their own self-interest over the collective necessity of preserving the earth. And what is the solution? Privatization seems to be a catch-all answer for many pundits, as there is no “tragedy of the private property.” If every inch of the earth were privatized, the popular argument asserts, each owner would do his or her best to preserve it. But why should we go to such lengths? Why must the commons always be a tragedy? Common properties are your property too, collective interests are in your best interest.
Isn’t the civil society that we live in constructed for the preservation of all, asking only that individuals pay the small price of occasionally sacrificing themselves when it is reasonable to do so? Isn’t finding a working toilet a fair price to pay to preserve common interest and decency? I think so. So to those who desecrated the washrooms at Robarts that day: next time, find your own pot to piss in.
