By Vincent Geloso

A Book Review of Solving Social Dilemmas: Ethics, Politics, and Prosperity, by Richard D Congleton

Economists like blackboards. Using chalk (or markers), they construct logically consistent abstractions of the world. They call them “models”. This invites derision from both academics and the general public. However, the abstractions are often tested against the real world to assess their relevance of the models. The bad ones (i.e., those that are irrelevant) are thrown out.

In Solving Social Dilemmas, Roger Congleton flips this perspective by asking how real-world individuals, through trial, error, and adaptation, generate rules and norms that sustain cooperation—and how these emergent solutions are later captured by economists in abstract form.

...read more at econlib.org