Treachery Of The Common

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Treachery Of The Common

n.
the fear that everyone around the world is pretty much the same—that despite our local quirks, we were all mass-produced in the same factory, built outward from the same generic homunculus, preinstalled with the same tribal compulsions and character defects—which would leave you out of options if you ever want to reinvent yourself, or seek out a better society on the other side of the globe.

A riff on the tragedy of the commons, which is a situation where individual users acting in their own self-interest end up harming the common good, usually by depletion or pollution of resources.

Lilo

Cover image for the Lilo word card on the Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows

Amentalio

a person in a white dress, facing away

Rasque

close-up of the shards of a broken vase

Feresy

Cover image for the Feresy word card on the Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows

Ringlorn

Cover image for the Ringlorn word card on the Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows

Fawtle

Cover image for the Fawtle word card on the Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows