The Evolution of Cooperation

“For anyone involved in settling disputes” (Richard Dawkins), a famed political scientist offers a classic argument for how to achieve a more cooperative world

We assume that, in a world ruled by natural selection, selfishness pays. So why cooperate? In The Evolution of Cooperation, political scientist Robert Axelrod seeks to answer this question. In 1979, he organized the famed Computer Prisoner’s Dilemma Tournament, which sought to find the most effective strategy for the ubiquitous prisoner’s dilemma, a model of strategy problems in the nuclear age. The expectation had been that some complicated scheme of competition would win the day. Instead, a simple, cooperative program called Tit for Tat did. The effects of that victory continue to reverberate today, from college campuses to the Situation Room.

A vital book for leaders and decision-makers, The Evolution of Cooperation reveals how cooperative principles help us think better about everything from military strategy to political elections to family dynamics.