This ignores the many possible modes of social organisation for management of common property. The parable also fails to recognise economic externalities as they relate to the self-interested private owner. The important gap in Hardin's analysis is the existence of many examples of community management of their common pool of resources which act to limit open access and create sustainable resource regimes, and which are based on the notion of collective good and respect for the resource itself. Communities develop social rules and norms regarding resource use, as well as sanctions for those who do not comply with these informal rules. Community values often reflect moderation and prudence rather than excessiveness and recklessness.
Communities are social entities which amount to more than the sum of their individual parts.
For example, a community of fishermen is more than a collection of individuals with boats and nets, it is also a social system with recognisable attributes. The same sense of community exists for groups of economists, engineers or tourist operators. The larger community who will determine Australia's oceans policy in the final analysis is an amalgam of all these communities of common interest, representing a wide range of views and values. One of the strongest influences in the larger community are those groups whose economic, environmental or socio-cultural resources are strongly integrated within the locality of interest. Another problem with Hardin's model is the assumption that unrestricted privatisation will lead to ecologically sustainable outcomes.