Colombo, Sri Lanka, March 23, 2006

Garett Hardin's "Tragedy of the Commons" resulted in a massive, Orwellian sweep of the language previously used to attack collectivization and forms of communalism.  Rather than attacking communism directly, thinkers such as Hardin and the Chicago school of economists, led by Milton Friedman, led an attack against the unsustainabilities and instabilities of collective governance.

In a news item posted on the World Bank site earlier this year, Peter Harrold, Country Director for the World Bank Colombo Office, proclaims the need for economic growth to solve Sri Lanka's poverty. Harrold blames Sri Lanka's problems on the mismanagement of resources, in particular those resources managed collectively.  Paraphrasing Hardin, Harrold states that, "The freedom to consume the commons without cost leads to the ruin of all."

Common Property Resource Management and the World Bank

 The World Bank, in 1997, released this document siting the importance of recognizing traditional common property resource management systems. The brief concludes that, "all natural resources that are managed in a traditional way, or in a way that combines traditional and more modern approaches, are affected by Bank projects." However, little to no research has been done on these impacts. The blame is placed on the shoulders of borrowers: "As a rule, borrowers attach little value to supporting and maintaining communally managed natural resources." Two years prior to the publication of this report, the Common Property Resource Management Network (CPRNET) was established to raise awareness among Bank staff about common property resource regimes.