Using Game Theory to Bridge a Divided America
The schisms in American society have become more apparent through the years and are causing great obstacles for the nation’s progress. Various cultures and communities that once vibrantly painted America are facing opposition despite the nation’s identity as being a melting pot. While minimizing the tensions will be a difficult task that will take many years, the author of “A Game-Theory Solution for a Fractured America” claims that American society can find some relief by understanding and applying game theory and analyzing the prisoner’s dilemma to find the best way to move forward as a nation.
The author takes the concept behind prisoner’s dilemma to show that over an unspecified, almost indefinite number of times where two groups have to take decisions, both parties eventually learn to cooperate and not turn in the other; this logic can be applied with different communities and identities. In one perspective people of different groups have to live together indefinitely in this nation- each group is growing and will never return to the same population numbers and proportions from history. While in lectures, we discussed the prisoner’s dilemma in regards to a single decision making event. In a situation where two parties need to decide whether to support or go against the other once, it would be beneficial for both parties to support each other. However, in such situations, the parties are tempted to go against the other. Although there is the possibility of turning against others, over an indefinite series of decision making opportunities, parties will tend to support one another because of the ambiguity of when they should save themselves and when will they take their last decision. This is a remarkable way to examine the struggles of American society today. Indeed, being respectful and empathetic to others seems to be the way to loosen tensions. However, by applying something we learned in lectures, we are able to examine the situation in a different perspective while still arriving to the same conclusions. Because people of different communities and identities will continue to coexist in America, it would be best to learn to support one another and maintain the nation’s identity as a welcoming society of diverse cultures and ideas.
Source: “A Game-Theory Solution for a Fractured America”
https://www.bloomberg.com/view/articles/2017-09-08/a-game-theory-solution-for-a-fractured-america