Maven Central and the tragedy of the commons

The tragedy of the commons is a concept in economics and ecology that describes a situation where individuals, acting in their own self-interest, collectively deplete a shared resource. In simpler terms, it's the idea that when a resource is available to everyone without restriction, some individuals tend to overuse it, leading to its eventual depletion and harming everyone in the long run. In the case of Maven Central, we are experiencing an unwitting tyranny by the few.

central commons community concept economics idea interest java maven own resource shared terms