Cover of The Evolution of Cooperation

The Evolution of Cooperation

The Evolution of Cooperationprovides valuable insights into the age-old question of whether unforced cooperation is ever possible. Widely praised and much-discussed, this classic book explores how cooperation can emerge in a world of self-seeking egoists—whether superpowers, businesses, or individuals—when there is no central authority to police their actions. The problem of cooperation is central to many different fields. Robert Axelrod recounts the famous computer tournaments in which the "cooperative" program Tit for Tat recorded its stunning victories, explains its application to a broad spectrum of subjects, and suggests how readers can both apply cooperative principles to their own lives and teach cooperative principles to others.

Audience
adult
Length
medium · 264 pages

Click a tag to see books like this one that share it. Point at it (on a phone, tap it) for less of it instead.

Read it? Sign in to help tag it.

Liked The Evolution of Cooperation? Here’s where I’d start.

These suit anyone who liked The Evolution of Cooperation. Sign in and mark a few books for picks shaped around your own taste.

  1. Game Theory. Analysis of conflict Shares economics, game theory, science
  2. Micromotives and Macrobehavior Shares economics, nonfiction, game theory
  3. Prisoner's Dilemma Shares nonfiction, game theory, science
  4. Game Theory: A Very Short Introduction Shares economics, game theory, science

“People who read The Evolution of Cooperation tend to reach for these next.”

  1. The Logic of Collective Action: Public Goods and the Theory of Groups
  2. Governing the Commons: The Evolution of Institutions for Collective Action
  3. Theory of Games and Economic Behavior
  4. The Origin of Wealth: Evolution, Complexity, And the Radical Remaking of Economics

“If you want more of the same (science about politics), start with these.”

  1. Decisions, Uncertainty, and the Brain: The Science of Neuroeconomics
  2. An Appeal to Reason: A Cool Look at Global Warming
  3. Game Theory: A Nontechnical Introduction
  4. How Economics Shapes Science

“If it was the economics that hooked you, try one of these.”

  1. Games People Play: Game Theory In Life, Business And Beyond
  2. The Mind of the Market: Compassionate Apes, Competitive Humans, and Other Tales from Evolutionary Economics
  3. Rock, Paper, Scissors: Game Theory in Everyday Life
  4. The Strategy of Conflict: With a New Preface by the Author

“These start from a similar idea, even if they go somewhere else with it.”

  1. The Origins of Virtue: Human Instincts and the Evolution of Cooperation
  2. Attack and Defense
  3. Together: The Rituals, Pleasures and Politics of Cooperation
  4. Rethinking Money: How New Currencies Turn Scarcity into Prosperity