I have learned about the prisoner’s dilemma and all of the other dilemmas listed a myriad of times weather it be in econ or political science classes. I think that the biggest thing that always stand out to me is the fact that cooperation and compromise will always make both of the parties involved in the dilemma better off, yet it is never the Nash equilibrium. I think that this has to do in part with the lack of communication, but I think that this says so much about our society as a whole. I think that we have become so self-involved that we do not compromise on anything anymore. For example, politics have become so polarized and one side will not hear the other sides point of view at all, when in reality if both sides were to work together out government would be able to function a lot more effectively. This brings in what Fisher was talking about with negotiations and promises, and how rewards are the best way to set up a negotiation. I think that if the congress people knew the rewards that the entire nation would benefit from cooperation on their part, there is a possibility that there could be less polarization.
Critical Thinking
It really is insane to see how often these dilemmas manifest into so many areas of life. But man, bringing in politics really does freak me out. I’m sure some of the dilemmas we learned are present in our current political system, and a general lack of compromise and cooperation, but I also feel like there are a million other ways there’s corruption that I can’t even fathom …
As mentioned, while cooperation and compromise often yields a better result, we are naturally drawn to the “best possible outcome” which often leads to the dilemmas talked about in Game Theory.
But reducing polarization requires good faith and trust, and there is none of that in politics. It’s not as simple as presenting the facts and allowing people to agree on solutions. We cannot even agree on basic facts, much less any solutions! The other problem is that people have fundamentally different beliefs, that can’t always be overcome by discussion and negotiation.