Cooperation, Reciprocity and Forgiveness

In 1974, the philosopher and psychologist Anatol Rapaport from the University of Toronto got the idea that the most effective way to behave with others in society is:

1. Cooperation
2. Reciprocity
3. Forgiveness

This means that when someone, or an organisation, tribe, group, etc... encounters other individuals, tribes, groups... it is in their interest to seek an alliance. Seek cooperation. Then after, as reciprocity rules, they must give to others as such as is received. If the other helps, one helps. If the other commit an act of aggression, one must reply with aggression to the same manner and same level one has been experiencing. Then one has to forgive and propose cooperation again.

In 1979, the mathematician and professor of political science Robert Axelrod organized a tournament between autonomous softwares "capable" of human behavior. There were only one constraint each program had to be equipped with a communication routine making possible communication between programs.

Robert Axelrod received fourteen floppy disks (remember that? floppy disks?) containing programs from colleagues of the university interested in the tournament. Each program was proposing its own set of behavior rules. The simplest ones contained two lines of codes. For the more elaborate, a hundred lines. The goal of the game is to get the most points. Some program had the instruction to exploit other programs. To steal the other program's points and quickly change partner. Other programs were trying to handle the game by itself without help. Jealously keeping its point and avoiding rapport with others.

There were instruction such as "if the other is hostile, warn the other then proceed with punishment if its behavior persist" or "cooperate and then betray by surprise".

Each program has been opposed to each other two hundred times. Anatol Rapaport' program, equipped with the CRF (Cooperate, Reciprocity, Forgiveness) unit had beaten all the other programs.

More so, the CRF unit now placed in the middle of all other programs at once, was loosing in the beginning of the game against the more aggressive programs. But with time passing, it became victorious and even contagious! The neighboring programs "seeing" that the CRF was more effective to gain points, were aligning their behavior to the CRF. On the long run, this was the most paying system.

The results of this research shows that kindness alone is worthless. Treachery or living in autarcy is no better. One must not let its own interests go by. So seek for cooperation. Reciprocate according to the other behavior. Then forgive and seek to restore cooperation. That seems to be the best way to behave in society.