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Strategies & Market Trends : ahhaha's ahs -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: ahhaha who wrote (10398)	12/21/2007 6:15:17 PM
From: Wildstar	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 24758

n degree prisoner's dilemma = enlightened self interest The problem comes with large n's. For cooperation to emerge with low n's, members need to be able to identify others as unique, evaluate cooperative behavior, remember this identity and behavior. Humans are pretty much the only species that have well-developed reciprocal altruism behavior precisely because we're the only ones with the necessary brainpower, though it has been observed on a very limited scale in other species like vampire bats. As n's increase, it becomes more and more difficult to keep track of who is who, who is cooperative, and who is trying to screw you over. As n approaches 150 (Dunbar's number), even we lose the necessary reputational tracking ability. Modern economies develop other mechanism to fill this space - credit ratings, third party evaluations, etc. But when the n's are special interests, no such mechanisms exist. We don't see any sort of bargaining between say, the NEA and the NRA, or the AARP and unions. There are too many groups to keep track of, too difficult to see which groups' interests align with which, or which group is trying to pass which legislation. It's too difficult to coordinate such bargaining. The most profitable strategy for each special interest group is to spend money on socialism.