The Harbor Without a Harbormaster

A natural harbor could safely hold twenty ships. No one governed it.

When ten ships used it, there was room for all, and captains cooperated on docking and repairs. When fifteen used it, things grew tight but manageable. When thirty ships crowded in, ropes tangled, hulls scraped, and no one could move efficiently.

Every captain’s reasoning was sound: “I need shelter, and there’s still a gap.” No captain saw himself as the problem.

The harbor didn’t fail because of any one ship. It failed because no one’s calculation included the cost they imposed on everyone else.