It is worth reading back on the origin of the phrase 'tragedy of the commons'.
There is little evidence that commons always have a tragedy associated with them. The term itself was coined in order to facilitate a transfer of commons from the communities which looked after them to the crown and the gentry. This process was called the 'enclosure'.
The degradation of the land was not due to the self regulating commons, it was and is due to the commercial imperative for continuous and rising returns on the capital investment. The commons version of the internet was great early on because there was no commercial imperative. Though the commercial imperative creates more throughout (just like with farmland), it also destroys the landscape and the communities which supported it.
There is little evidence that commons always have a tragedy associated with them. The term itself was coined in order to facilitate a transfer of commons from the communities which looked after them to the crown and the gentry. This process was called the 'enclosure'.
The degradation of the land was not due to the self regulating commons, it was and is due to the commercial imperative for continuous and rising returns on the capital investment. The commons version of the internet was great early on because there was no commercial imperative. Though the commercial imperative creates more throughout (just like with farmland), it also destroys the landscape and the communities which supported it.