This delicious, comprehensive, careful, provocative and (to some) radical blog essay by the Happy Tutor will become a permanent link on the sidebar of my blog.
It should be read regularly, IMO … about once every couple of weeks … to keep in mind the enormity of the challenges that lie in front of us all.
An excerpt:
Winning the Game of Tit for Tat – In Wealth Bondage
Posted by The Happy Tutor
(Apropos of the section on Symbiosis in Cooperation in Business)
Robert Axelrod, author of Evolution of Cooperation, created a computer simulation of the Prisoner’s Dilemma (or call it Darwinian or Hobbesian struggle; or call it the Dilemma of the Cubicle Slaves in Wealth Bondage) to see which strategies of competition or cooperation would evolve. Here were the winning strategies under conditions of transparency.
Ideal Strategies under Conditions of Openness and Symetrical Power Among Players
1. Be nice – don’t be the first to turn ugly. (This is how Mr. Minim was raised, and it, though I love him dearly, is the extent of his repetoire.)
2. Retaliate – defect if others do. (This is how to handle bullies, and exploiters. The law is supposed to do this, but the law is often corrupted by those who win by aggressive means. Gossip is retaliation for semi-secret wrongs. Osctracization is retaliation. Satire is retaliation.)
Forgive – once the bully backs off, extend the open hand of cooperation. (I try to do this in my comment section. First you spank, then forgive. In the Catholic Church through confession, penance, and restitution, you can be reconciled.)
Be Clear – Be consistent, never give into a the bully, never fail to forgive when the bully is broken.
Now, kids, let’s see how in modern life we can foul up this natural system, this “hidden hand” of civil society, from which good comes from evil, and we how can prosper ruthlessly as bullies at the expense of others – and get them to kiss our ass in the process. These are the strategies of Machiavelli’s Prince and many a business book. How to win; how to gain power; and how to use power to crush potential critics.
Go back to the link at the beginning of this post, click through to the essay, and read it … if you don’t get all of it, or get bored, force your self to keep going. Then read it again. It’s all there, it’s important, and it will remain important … and the advice is clear, well-researched, sound and actionable if you exercise mindfulness and discipline.
IMO, a must-read for all humans who care about themselves, their family and friends and the fact that we are all more similar than dissimilar, all over this planet, and share the same hopes, dreams, aspirations and emotions after all the propaganda and ideologies are stripped away to our basic human-ness.
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