Game Theory in a Politically Fractured America
Since that one fateful day on November 8th, its seems that the nation we live in has been rife with tensions and conflicts. Nearly every week there’s some story about the latest protests, the latest clash between the right and the left, the latest indication that the United States of America are far from united.
The animosity that exists in our society perpetuated by the strict loyalty to partisanship not only paralyzes any policy we as a nation need to enact to move forward, it lowers the level of trust among neighbors, hurts our economy, and decreases our happiness. In this society, torn apart by the strict divide that defines our political ideologies, Noah Smith from Bloomberg believes that the classic concepts in Game Theory can bridge the gap.
Smith explains that while Game Theory is one of the main branches of economic theory used to make precise quantitative predictions, its often useful to view human interactions through this similar, logical lens. One of the most prominent metaphors in Game Theory is known as the prisoner’s dilemma. In the hypothetical situation described by the prisoner’s dilemma, two criminals, with no forms of communication must decide whether to refuse to confess and sell out his/her partner, or betray them to the authorities. The best outcome possible would be if both parties refused to confess. However, due to the set up of the game and the lack of communication, both prisoners have an incentive to sell the other out resulting a two-loser game.
If the prime outcome is for both prisoners to cooperate with each other, and the game is played a finite number of times, the incentive and self-interest would prevent the prime outcome from ever happening. Smith argues that while this seems like a good reason for a pessimistic view of human interaction, when the game is repeated for an indefinite number of times, parties actually begin to cooperate because they can’t preemptively decide to screw the other over at the end, since the end is unknown. Instead, granted that they care about the future, they will choose to cooperate with one another again and again, leaving both parties better off.
Now apply this concept of perpetuity to the nation divided. Currently, both parties choose the incentivized option of not cooperating, believing instead, that the side we are on will win out soon and replace the other party. It is essential, however, to realize that neither side is disappearing any time soon. The future of liberalism and conservatism is alive and well. Demographics remain diverse in terms of race, gender, age, and religion. In fact, one of the largest causes of division, the rural versus urban cities, will remain in place for years to come. America relies on larger cities that account for nearly two-thirds of the economy while small cities and rural areas contribute essential natural resources and land for development. In so far as these fundamentally different groups remain essential to the makeup of the United States of America, our best strategy is to cooperate to get the best outcome.
This article clearly relates to our class which focuses on the way Networks form and spread. Often the best strategic move is one that follows the rules of Game Theory. So while there seems to be an ever growing divide between the networks of the left and the right, discounting the human, emotional part of decision making, it would be the best outcome for both parties to cooperate with one another and win the prisoner’s dilemma united.
Source: A Game Theory Solution for a Fractured America