Public Goods Game

After observing the public goods game in class, it is evident that cooperation trumps selfishness and greed. It was funny to see who would hold back, because that person inevitably wound up with fines from the three other players. In essence the more you invest the more you make, not unlike how our economy (is supposed) to run. One would think that competition would make the stakes higher and prove more fruitful, but that is not the case. Once the player had been fined, they quickly conformed to an amount that was acceptable to the group.

Dr. rice compared the game to anarchism (cooperation) and liberalism ( competition). Watching it, it seemed to make sense with the rules that were given, however when thinking back on the game, if some of the rules had been altered, say, no fines, people would have been much greedier and more competitive right from the start.