Pasture commons present a problem, though: Each additional cow that a farmer gets benefits their family, but if all the farmers keep getting new cows, then the commons can be depleted. All farmers would experience the negative effects of overgrazing on the health of their herds and land. In an 1833 essay, "Two Lectures on the Checks to Population," economist William Lloyd described a similar, but hypothetical, overgrazing scenario, now called the tragedy of the commons. However,
Chapter:
Anything That Can Go Wrong, Will
Section:
Harm Thy Neighbor Unintentionally