The "Tragedy of the Commons" is an economic theory that describes a situation where individuals, acting in their own self-interest, deplete shared resources. This occurs because each person benefits from using the resource, but the costs of overuse are distributed among all users. As a result, the resource becomes overexploited, leading to its eventual depletion. This concept is often illustrated with examples like overfishing in oceans or overgrazing on public lands. When too many people use a common resource, such as fishing grounds or pastures, it can lead to environmental degradation, harming both the resource and the community that relies on it.