The Arts, Civic Engagement, and the “Tragedy of the Commons”

In this essay, historian Mark Stern uses the metaphor of “the tragedy of the commons” to reflect on the rewards and frustrations of conducting research on the social and community impacts of the arts. He suggests that thinking about community culture as a “field”—rather than as a collection of individual programs—might prevent the logic of the commons from killing the many benefits the arts and culture can bring to communities and their residents.