Robert Wright: How cooperation (eventually) trumps conflict

http://www.ted.com Author Robert Wright explains "non-zero-sumness," a game-theory term describing how players with linked fortunes tend to cooperate for mutual benefit. This dynamic has guided our biological and cultural evolution, he says -- but our unwillingness to understand one another, as in the clash between the Muslim world and the West, will lead to all of us losing the "game." Once we recognize that life is a non-zero-sum game, in which we all must cooperate to succeed, it will force us to see that moral progress -- a move toward empathy -- is our only hope.

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[Darwyn43]

I get so frustrated when people say "that's so obvious" - yeah, well than why doesn't anyone seem to know it? The point of this kind of work is to make explicit, to make conscious, what we may know subconsciously to have this rule over our petty thoughts of the moment. Articulating the obvious has proven elusive for thousands of years, so contribute, don't dismiss.

[Farweasel]

ThinkFirst08 I reckon there's maybe an error in your reasoning as follows:

You (apparently) think trade which is unequal is wrong because one party benefits more then the other.

But which is the least desirable:

A trade where one side does gain, but not as much as the other. Or no trade so the outcome for the side which would have gained only a modest amount now gains nothing at all?

I'd rather eat steak than rice,

but I'd rather eat rice than starve.

[2eelShmeal]

Not a fan of Robert's

[TripuraiHrim]

2 decades ago, the same idea was conveyed by UG

" The cooperation there springs from the total selfishness of mutual survival. It's like the cell in your body which also can survive only when it cooperates with the cell next to it. Otherwise it has no chance of survival. That's the only way we can live together. But that has to percolate to the level of, if you want to use that word, your `consciousness'. Only then you will live in this world peacefully"

[crudhousefull]

When you commit any action you have to know how it affects all other humans and other beings in the world before committing it. The western world is so complicated they have no idea how any of their actions are affecting anyone else. The ego moves them to further complicate their lives since they don't acknowledge that they have already surpassed the brain's capacity to understand any phenomenon holistically any more

[crudhousefull]

Talk about moral evolution in the west.  The east was far more morally evolved. Actually, the west is only now starting to wake up morally and they are still very short-sighted in their actions. Meditate more, at least now you're on the right track

[blackmaxpayne]

its why relationships fail today at damn near a geometric rate. no cooperation in relationships. damn girl, cooperate with me... bend over. its that simple!

[iAmEhead]

@Farweasel

I think the issue involved is disparities in power and knowledge. Also, disparities in hopelessness, despair, comfort, etc...

When you have a poor, hungry, sick, and desperate person entering into a contract with a happy, fat, well-rested, complacent person, the later is almost certainly going to have more bargaining power and is going to end up with a better deal. They will use their position to do so.

Some people find this situation distasteful, or even immoral.

[CharlesvanderHaegen]

Humorous and wise:

Reasons to be cheerful:

• Growing lethality of Hatred

• Death spiral of negativity

Major round of moral progress is absolutely key....business class morality

• He is after the root causes of their hatred of Americans : understanding them will force us to a higher moral basis

• All the salvation the world needs is the intelligent pursuit of self-interest in a disciplined and careful way

From zero sum to the win-win meme

[mutbutyt]

@earthfell

In your first line u comment "evolutionist" argument - immediately we can see that any further comments u make will be hopelessly biased and prejudiced

[BMacW650]

Everybody go read books from Ron Paul and Richard Dawkins. World peace coming soon

[earthfell]

God what a terrible evolutionist argument. This is just a rehash of Herbert Spencer with an emphasis on this thing called "morals." His take on issues of race are hilariously ignorant of what actually happens in the real world today. Universalizing arguments have never worked and have always toppled in the face of endless streams of contradictory evidence, and this argument will be no different.