Game Theory in the Current Political Environment
https://www.bloomberg.com/view/articles/2017-09-08/a-game-theory-solution-for-a-fractured-america
The article above explains how the volatile political environment could benefit if everyone learned a little game theory. In this scenario, one political extreme would be Player A and the other would be Player B. The article argues that the problem mirrors the prisoner’s dilemma in which two prisoners must decide whether or not to betray their partner-in-crime or to remain silent. For these two prisoners, the choice that would result in a Nash equilibrium is the case in which they both decide to betray their partners despite this case not being the most optimal (if they both remained silent, they would both end up getting reduced sentences). As it turns out, there exists another form of the prisoner’s dilemma in which the game is repeated multiple times with each prisoner knowing the results of the previous games. This outcome appears bleak, but the article argues that, eventually, the prisoners should realize that their continued betrayal is not benefiting either of them. Thus, at some point and after numerous iterations, the prisoners will begin to cooperate.
The ties between the repeated prisoner’s dilemma and the deadlock that seems to be forming between the two political extremes become more apparent. Just as the prisoners had bashed heads stubbornly for so long, so too have our two political parties. And so, these two parties should set aside past grievances and cooperate in order to minimize the damage. Furthermore, the article points to how interconnected the people of the United States are and how ideas of secession could not possibly work when everyone is likely to live near people who supported the other party. Explosive rhetoric further divides both parties and make each election appear like a “one-shot…fight to the bitter end.” However, no matter the outcome of each election, elections will still continue every four years, further likening the issue with parties to the repeated prisoner’s dilemma. Thus, the article concludes that cooperation is the solution.