The Hill News

We are caught in a prisoners' dilemma of our own making.
 
In a classic “prisoners' dilemma,” two prisoners face three potential outcomes. If they cooperate with each other, and both refuse to talk with the police, they each get a one-month sentence. If one turns the other in, then the first to speak with the police is freed, while the second receives a year’s sentence. If they both finger the other, then they both serve three months each, which is the second-best outcome.
 
In game theory this is known as a "collective action" problem ­â€" a circumstance in which cooperation yields the best outcome, and antagonism yields a second-best result.
 
The question for the United States is this: Do we have a massive collective action problem?

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