Greed and Human Nature

Here is a UK game show based on a classic conundrum of game theory, do you cooperate or defect. Here is your chance to watch the human drama...



Ah... the joys of human nature. There are doves and hawks, there are sheep and wolves. How can you tell if there is a hawk or wolf among you. Here are two people looking "into the soul" of the other, as Bush did with Putin, and making their judgement of whether they would cooperate or defect. Is there a moral here?

I'm generally a cooperator in life. But could I be tempted to defect? Probably. How would I feel if I did that: crappy. But would I do it? I claim that you cannot really know what is in your own soul until you are tempted. It is easy to pontificate until you are faced with the temptation.

Can you trust somebody who professes high ethical standards (think Bernie Madoff). How does a society build a system in which trust pays and greed does not? These are tough questions.