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Decentralisation is beautiful but it has one fatal weak spot: tragedy of the commons. That isn't some politicophilosophising; it is a mathematical fact (see game theory, which is consistently vindicated in this model). The only way to combat this is centralising governance of the resource being overused. Fishing is an example, and CO2 (a "negative" resource use which follows the same patterns).

I won't argue that the people in power are doing great, but I can guarantee you that throwing our hands in the air and giving up on centralisation entirely is not the answer. For the above reason. It's throwing out the baby with the bathwater.



> The only way to combat this is centralising governance of the resource being overused.

"Centralizing governance" can mean one of two things: political control by a government, or private ownership.

The latter does indeed work as a solution.

The former always ends up making things worse instead of better, because special interests can capture the government's regulatory power.




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