“From this equality of ability, ariseth equality of hope in the attaining of our Ends. And therefore if any two men desire the same thing,...they become enemies … if one plant, sow, build, or possesse a convenient Seat, others may probably be expected to come prepared with forces united, to dispossess, and deprive him.” 

Leviathan, by Thomas Hobbes, is a monumental piece of work in the fields of political and ethical philosophy through its description of man’s natural state as well as social contract theory. Hobbes argues that, without the impositions of society, the natural state imposed upon man is one of “warre,” or of conflict, mistrust, and lack of cooperation. Hobbes believed this anarchistic state would only be alleviated by a social contract, where individuals renounce or forfeit certain freedoms in exchange for security and order. Otherwise, as he claims, those who “plant, sow, and build” will likely lose what they create to malicious others. 

The Tragedy of the Commons is an economic theory popularized by Garrett Hardin, detailing a social phenomenon where individuals, when all acting in their self-interest regarding public goods, inevitably exhaust such resources leading to a net loss for the entire community. Without any power or authority regulating the consumption of these resources, it’s only natural that individuals overuse resources. The most typical examples of these resources are grazing fields, fish stocks, clean air, deforestation, and even traffic. 

Both Hobbes and Hardin’s theories have striking similarities in that they both emphasize the necessity of authority to check individual self-interest. Both advocate for similar solutions: a social contract, according to Hobbes, and regulation of governing authorities, suggested by Hardin.