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For South Africans, the battle against the Covid-19 coronavirus began with a classic tragedy of the commons. As soon as President Cyril Ramaphosa announced the 21-day national lockdown on March 23, effective from midnight on March 26, the middle class went on a bulk-buying tailspin, preparing for Armageddon.
If the intention of the lockdown was to keep people away from one another and from meeting in large groups, the three days of panic-buying before the lockdown had the opposite effect.
The tragedy of the commons is when people take decisions independently, in their own individual self-interest, and end up congesting in one place to devastating consequences for themselves and others.
