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The Evolution of Cooperation

by Robert Axelrod

4.07 · rating details · 206 ratings · 28 reviews

The Evolution of Cooperation provides 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...more

Paperback, 241 pages

Published December 5th 2006 by Perseus Books Group (first published April 15th 1984)

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Jan 11, 2011

Mangoo rated it

Dagli anni '40 dello scorso secolo, attraverso i contributi seminali di Neumann & Morgenstern, Nash e Wittgenstein tra l'altro, la teoria dei giochi e' emersa come uno strumento potentissimo e affascinante per l'analisi e la possibile soluzione di molteplici situazioni economiche, politiche, sociali, ecologiche. E questo accadeva proprio mentre la Guerra Fredda richiedeva un simile archivio di strategie ed esempi di condotta per scongiurare una guerra calda ancora piu' distruttiva di quella mond...moreDagli anni '40 dello scorso secolo, attraverso i contributi seminali di Neumann & Morgenstern, Nash e Wittgenstein tra l'altro, la teoria dei giochi e' emersa come uno strumento potentissimo e affascinante per l'analisi e la possibile soluzione di molteplici situazioni economiche, politiche, sociali, ecologiche. E questo accadeva proprio mentre la Guerra Fredda richiedeva un simile archivio di strategie ed esempi di condotta per scongiurare una guerra calda ancora piu' distruttiva di quella mondiale appena conclusa.
Il Dilemma del Prigioniero cattura nella semplicita' della sua astrazione una situazione comportamentale che si ritrova in molti contesti, dal disarmo alla politica estera, dall'organizzazione delle gerarchie burocratiche al libero commercio. In questo gioco, due prigionieri vengono catturati ed il risultato del loro interrogatorio puo' portare a diverse ricompense. Se un prigioniero collabora mentre l'altro trasgredisce, il trasgressore prende la massima ricompensa mentre il collaboratore la minima; se entrambi collaborano, prendono una ricompensa intermedia; infine se entrambi trasgrediscono, ricevono una ricompensa inferiore a quella che avrebbero se avessere collaborato. Se la partita e' giocata una volta sola, un semplice ragionamento porta a concludere che la migliore strategia e' trasgredire. Ma se il gioco e' ripetuto un numero indefinito di volte, allora trasgredire non e' sempre conveniente. E da qui nasce la cooperazione.
Il libro di Axelrod si impernia attorno ad un torneo di Dilemma del Prigioniero cui furono presentate diverse strategie da diversi partecipanti appartenenti a varie discipline scientifiche. Il primo round fu vinto dalla strategia piu' semplice: TIT FOR TAT, ovvero la legge del taglione: il giocatore collabora all'inizio, e poi compie la mossa che l'avversario ha compiuto nel turno precedente. E il secondo round del torneo, con molti piu' partecipanti del primo, e tutti al corrente del risultato e dell'analisi del primo round, fu ancora vinta da TIT FOR TAT.
Da qui Axelrod deriva una quantita' di osservazioni, teoremi e suggerimenti per sviluppare la cooperazione in diversi ambiti. Per i giocatori, consiglia di non essere invidiodi, non essere mai i primi a trasgredire, usare un comportamento reciproco e non essere troppo cervellotici. Per i promotori della cooperazione, egli suggerisce di rendere le interazioni tra partecipanti durature e frequenti (per far pesare l'"ombra del futuro" sul presente), sviluppare le capacita' di riconoscimento della strategia degli avversari, interessarsi agli altri, e forzare comportamenti cooperativi attraverso ricompense e punizioni.
Il testo e' semplice, molto scorrevole, molto chiaro e interessante. E' sorprendente in effetti pensare che un grande insieme di insegnamenti pratici (e confermati anche da molti esempi pratici, come la tattica vivi-e-lascia-vivere sviluppatasi lungo le trincee nemiche durante la Prima Guerra Mondiale) sulla condotta in situazioni di paradosso possano scaturire da un torneo per computer. L'autore commenta ogni minimo aspetto delle strategie piu' interessanti , i motivi del loro successo (sintetizzabili in: essere buoni, perdonare, essere provocabili, essere chiari) o dell'insuccesso (troppa competitivita', pessimismo). Sono spesso osservazioni quasi triviali, eppure profonde e ramificate. Si scopre in sostanza che nelle situazioni descritte del Dilemma del Prigioniero ripetuto, essere in grado di sviluppare ed indurre la cooperazione paga.
Un testo fondamentale, che mostra come in un mondo di egoismo una condotta altruistica puo' essere la soluzione piu' auspicabile per tutti, anche senza la presenza di un Leviatano coordinatore.(less)

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Jan 05, 2009

getAbstract rated it

A groundbreaking study on effective cooperation

Every so often a book comes along that is so groundbreaking it changes the popular worldview. This book, written in 1984 by Robert Axelrod, is just such a seminal work, an original analysis that changed the way experts view cooperation. Its ramifications apply to individuals, organizations, countries and even nonthinking – but nevertheless cooperative – biological life forms, such as bacteria. Axelrod based his book on the famous Prisone...more

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Nov 03, 2010

Bart Thanhauser rated it

A very good book that makes me interested in reading more game theory. The first two chapters are a bit dense (but really not too bad) as Axelrod goes over the "Computer Prisoner's Dilemma Tournament" that sparked this book. These chapters are an analysis of computer programs (not as dull as it sounds), but it proves to be the evidence for his theory and the meat of the book.

A quick synopsis of the book: In the late 70s, Axelrod, a University of Michigan poli sci professor,...moreA very good book that makes me interested in reading more game theory. The first two chapters are a bit dense (but really not too bad) as Axelrod goes over the "Computer Prisoner's Dilemma Tournament" that sparked this book. These chapters are an analysis of computer programs (not as dull as it sounds), but it proves to be the evidence for his theory and the meat of the book.

A quick synopsis of the book: In the late 70s, Axelrod, a University of Michigan poli sci professor, held a Computer Tournament. The Computer Tournament invited participants to create computer programs to wage battle in a Prisoner's Dilemma. A Prisoner's Dilemma is one of the foundational game theory scenarios/models. In it two prisoners are caught and are being interrogated. Each prisoner has two options. They can either keep quiet (cooperate with their accomplice) or they can rat on their accomplice (defect). As each prisoner has two options, there are four possible results: mutual cooperation (CC), mutual defection (DD), or defection/cooperation (CD or DC) by either of the two prisoners. Game theorists have assigned points to these results--if both prisoners cooperate they both get minimal sentences (3 points). If both defect they get strict sentences (each gets 1 point). If one cooperates and the other defects, the cooperator receives a life sentence (0 points) while the defector gets freedom (5 points). The conclusion from this scenario is that it is in each of the prisoner's best interests to rat out their accomplice. If they rat out their accomplice they are guaranteed at least some points. Sure, they receive a harsh sentence if their partner also defects--but if their partner doesn't defect they get freedom! The best result of all. And more importantly, if they cooperate, they risk getting the harshest sentence--life in prison. So what often ends up happening with rational actors is that they both end up with harsh sentences (mutual defection) rather than the more appealing and mutual-beneficial light sentences (mutual cooperation). The Prisoner's Dilemma explains that in acting rationally, actors often forgo mutually beneficial solutions. Downer of a conclusion.

But in steps Axelrod. Axelrod, with the clarity of a political scientist, makes a plain and convincing argument. He answers this book's central question: in a world of egoists without a central authority (some power to force or incentivize), how did cooperation ever come to exist? The key to cooperation is ensuring that a relationship is sufficiently long. He makes this point clearer than I can:

"What makes it possible for cooperation to emerge is the fact that the players might meet again. This possibility means that the choices made today not only determine the outcome of this move, but can also influence the later choices of the players. The future can therefore cast a shadow back upon the present and thereby affect the current strategic situation."

In short, people have incentive to cooperate if they meet again and again. If the prisoner's dilemma is run indefinitely (tens, hundreds, thousands of times), then pretty soon people will realize that it's in their best interest to cooperate rather than mutually defect. The two rounds of Axelrod's Prisoners' Dilemma Computer Tournament back this up. The highest finishers are the "nice programs" and the winner of both tournaments is "Tit for Tat" (T4T)--a program that cooperates with its partner on the first move, and then copies whatever it's partner's previous move was. As a result, T4T is never the first to defect and therefore can build a cooperative relationship with other programs. But at the same time, if T4T meets a "mean program" it will respond to defection with defection of its own. So it's no pushover.

I've already gone into too much detail with Axelrod's theory and results, but that's only a testament to how easily understood his ideas are. Pick up the book for more details--chapter 6, "Advice for Participants and Reformers" is particularly good.

A few thoughts on the book in general: at times I thought this book could be significantly shortened so that it was a long academic article. The book itself is pretty short (~190 pages) and Axelrod repeats the same main points over and over. I really enjoyed this repetition, as I felt like I had a firmer understanding of it each time he repeated it. But nonetheless, I think this book could've been a long journal article without losing too much important information. Also, I'd be interested to see this applied to international relations issues. In some ways I'm glad that Axelrod didn't do this himself--otherwise, he would've stamped a Cold War mentality on to his book. The book and its theory seems purer without too many real world applications. But I'd still love to read other people's use of and twists on this theory when applied to international relations.

Lastly, I know this isn’t a self-help book. I know that life is more complex than game theory, but there are things from this book that are helpful/tempting for me to apply to life. And Axelrod encourages this. In the last pages of his conclusion, he writes, "Perhaps it is not too much to hope that people can use the surrogate experience of the Computer Tournament to learn the value of reciprocity for their own Prisoner’s Dilemma interactions” (189). But I'll take these with a grain of salt: people are more complex than computers.

Nonetheless, the idea that life is not a zero-sum game is important to be reminded of. What's more, the fact that T4T, won the tournament and yet lost every single interaction it had resonated. It won by cooperating and establishing mutually beneficial relationships (which it slightly lost/tied), not by defeating its opponents. And the last take away point I'll keep is that, reciprocity is important to interactions. If a partner cooperates, you cooperate. And if someone defects, you respond immediately and clearly with defection of your own. Responding to defection with defection seems sort of rash--especially since it can be tough to interpret other people's actions--but T4T makes a convincing argument that reciprocity is the most stable strategy in a wide range of environments.

In short, this simple read provides a lot of tempting fluff for real world interactions and makes me excited to pick up some more game theory. (less)

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Feb 08, 2010

Steven Peterson rated it

Robert Axelrod’s “The Evolution of Cooperation” is a classic in our understanding of why cooperation occurs in humans. The book begins with a simple question (Page vii): “When should a person cooperate, and when should that person be selfish, in an ongoing interaction with another person?” The ultimate explanation for the choice, according to Axelrod (and evolutionary theorist William Hamilton) is evolution. This is thoroughly discussed in Chapter 5, which outlines how cooperation could evolve a...moreRobert Axelrod’s “The Evolution of Cooperation” is a classic in our understanding of why cooperation occurs in humans. The book begins with a simple question (Page vii): “When should a person cooperate, and when should that person be selfish, in an ongoing interaction with another person?” The ultimate explanation for the choice, according to Axelrod (and evolutionary theorist William Hamilton) is evolution. This is thoroughly discussed in Chapter 5, which outlines how cooperation could evolve as an adaptive behavior within a species.

One key part of this book is a round robin tournament in which a variety of strategies are tested in an “Iterated Prisoner’s Dilemma” game. Prisoner’s Dilemma is a game among the variety of those used in what is called Game Theory. The premise is simple: two thieves have been caught by the police. The policy offer a deal: Rat out your partner, s/he gets a tough sentence and the turncoat gets off. If both rat one another out, they both get a tougher sentence (although not as bad as if one person keeps quiet and the other one squeals). The assumption is that neither trusts the other; they rat one another out; they are both worse off than if they had kept their mouths shut.

One approach to Prisoner’s Dilemma that did the best was Anatol Rapoport’s entry, “TIT FOR TAT.” Here, one keeps one’s mouth shut, for example, as long as one’s confederate does not rat him/her out. If the other person rats one out, you turn the tables and rat him/her out. If the other player quits ratting out, then one ceases ratting the other out. This was the simplest of the entries, according to Axelrod. But it is the one that worked best. In short, cooperate as long as the other player cooperates; be nasty when the other player is nasty; don’t hold grudges and keep punishing if the other person begins cooperating.

Of course, things are actually more complex than this, but the above gives a sense of the nature of the winning strategy. It does raise questions about the common assumption that everyone is selfish and will always do what is needed to advance one’s interests at the expense of others. It begins to raise approaches to understanding “altruism,” self-sacrifice that benefits others (and would also benefit the altruist in the long run).

At any rate, this is a thought provoking book and a genuine classic, with many applications in public life and in our own daily lives.
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Feb 13, 2011

Nick Klagge rated it

An interesting analysis and interpretation of the computerized Prisoner's Dilemma tournaments that Axelrod held some 30 years ago. These were the tournaments in which "TIT FOR TAT" was shown to be an extraordinarily successful and robust strategy in the iterated PD. I read this because I read an article about it for one of my classes, which sparked my interest. There was a bit more interesting material in the book than in the article (by Doug Hofstadter), but not a great deal more. The...more

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Aug 19, 2011

Ronald Wise rated it

· review of another edition

A study of the game "The Prisoner's Dilemma" in which two players play a number of rounds in which each player can either cooperate with the other or defect. Tournaments were held in which intellectuals of varying professions submitted strategies of play and each was paired against the other. Though this would seem to be very dry material, the implications were fascinating when applied to bacterial and viral survival, individual human behavior, international relations, and military con...more

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Feb 06, 2010

Brad rated it

Shelves: business

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

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Aug 14, 2010

Mark rated it

· review of another edition

Shelves: poli-sci, change

"Explores how cooperation can emerge in a world ruled by selfishness with no central authority or rule. Axelrod demonstrates that enlightened self interest can lead to effective cooperation in any situation where the participants believe that they will need to interact with each other in the future. These lessons can, and should be applied to personal, corporate, national, and international interactions. After reading this book I noticed that I was much less likely to take an all or nothing...more

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Sep 22, 2011

Henri Hämäläinen rated it

This book is about prisoner's dilemma. It's an older book (from year 1984), but this is a subject that will never go old. It's not an entertaining book, but is full of excellent observations about everyday selections between two living creatures or organisations. Writer of this book is respected professor Robert Axelrod best known from this subject.

I really liked it. You just must have some interest towards game theory to take this to your hand. Like said, it's not an easy read, but fu...more

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Jul 02, 2009

Tyson Strauser rated it

Shelves: economics

The Evolution of Cooperation is an approachable read on game theory. Evolution was recommended by one of my economics professors in college; this book lays out the prisoner's dilemma, tit-for-tat, and other common games that have been useful tools when analyzing competitive behavior, negotiating tactics, and in investing.

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May 09, 2011

Alex Whalen rated it

Shelves: complex-systems, political-science

Its not an exaggeration to say that this is one of the most important books you will ever read. Nor is it an exaggeration to say that this book completely upended how I see the world. My only complaint? That it took me 39 years of walking around this planet before I finally had the good sense to read it!

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Dec 29, 2010

Al Burns rated it

I think about this book constantly. The book doesn't need to be read thoroughly, just understanding the properties of the "tit for tat" strategy is important, and at the end Axelrod gives some good advice if you want to build cooperative relationships in the future.

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Aug 27, 2011

Words Deeds rated it

Shelves: cred

Truly the first book to discuss the mathematical modeling of evolutionary biology, but not the easiest entry into that space.

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Mar 01, 2008

Gretch Engelson rated it

This book was a great read. There were parts that were hard for me to grasp during my first read, but upon going back to re-read those areas more slowly; I was able to understand the concepts. Robert Axelrod uses a game called "Prisoner's Iterated Dilemma to illustrate how cooperation evolves in real society. His conclusions that were drawn from this game showed cooperation can happen in many forms and under a lot of various conditions. It is a great read for anyone who wants to know more a...more

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Aug 22, 2008

John rated it

I grabbed this book while browsing in the BYU bookstore. It was located with the Computer Science textbooks. It provides an interesting explanation of Cooperation Theory. I think the following provides a great synopsis of the book: "We are used to thinking about competition in which there is only one winner, competitions such as football or chess. But the world is rarely like that. In the vast range of situations mutual cooperation can be better for both sides than mutual defection. The key...more

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Sep 26, 2008

Sourav rated it

This is probably the first and only book I've read in grad school that was thoroughly enjoyable for me to read -- enjoyable for me while I was actually reading it and not only in retrospect. I usually have slog through most texts for the sake of knowledge and insights I hope to gain if I am able to make it through. As I read Axelrod's book, however, I gained pleasure and insight during the very act of reading. He tackles profoundly important ideas and implications while writing in a style acc...more

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Sep 21, 2009

Kirt rated it

Shelves: 2009

I thought that this was an interesting book. Although it isn't as nearly technical as a research paper would be you do need to have some computer science background to understand the book. I really like the concept of how cooperative and alturistic attributes can be a desirable traight that can be selected by evolution. He applies this to the prisoners dilemma, a classic game theory problem.

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Aug 02, 2009

Frank rated it

Shelves: non-fiction, philosophy, math-science

Seminal work demonstrating how cooperation and develop, thrive and protect itself within a society of egotists. This book gave birth to the field of quantiative ethics, pointing a way for separating morality from superstition.

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Aug 18, 2007

Kevin rated it

Shelves: social

A good introduction to game theory as it pertains the Prisoner's Dilemma. If you aren't seriously into game theory, then it is easy to lose interest after the first half of the book after a few basic lessons are taught. But, if you are interested in applying it to business / software, then it pays to finish the text.

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Oct 09, 2008

Elizabeth marked it as to-read

Shelves: science-and-medicine

As reviewed by Martin Nowak in the 25 Sep 2008 issue of Nature (the 2008 US election special issue).

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Jan 02, 2008

Dora marked it as to-read · review of another edition

Shelves: economics

No. 7 from a list of 10 books to read on economics by the authors of Freakonomics.

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Mar 17, 2007

David rated it

Looks promising, though more technical than other layman economic books. Has a nice chapter called "Live and Let Live." Book on game theory and the conditions for cooperation to arise.

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Dec 10, 2009

John rated it

Great book lots of interesting ideas and gives a new perspective on a lot of problems in many of areas.

A revisit(1yr later): Did I mention it's excellent and everyone should read it?

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Jan 03, 2008

Ean Schuessler rated it

Axelrod's investigation of game theory neatly surmizes a basic operating premise for dealing with people in groups. Its oversimplifies but that is sort of the point with game theory.

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Mar 27, 2010

Cheryl in CC NV rated it

· review of another edition

I read this while I was in rehab; and even under the infulence of drugs found it understandable. Fascinating.

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Jan 20, 2011

Michael rated it

My head is spinning. I can't think of another non-fiction book I've enjoyed more lately.

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Sep 09, 2011

DJ marked it as to-read

Shelves: priority, evolution

recommended by Hokiat

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Dec 26, 2010

Ilya rated it

In the 1980s, political scientist Robert Axelrod organized two competitions of programs playing iterated prisoner's dilemma against each other; both times, the winner was a 5-line FORTRAN program called Tit for Tat by mathematical psychologist Anatol Rapoport: first cooperate, and then do whatever the opponent did during the previous round. This book grew out of a 9-page article describing these competitions, and it covers more material: suppose a player can choose among several strategies to pl...more

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Feb 11, 2012

Kyle Miller marked it as to-read

Feb 10, 2012

Phillip marked it as to-read

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About Robert Axelrod

From wikipedia:

Robert Axelrod (born 1943) is a Professor of Political Science and Public Policy at the University of Michigan. He has appointments in the Department of Political Science and the Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy. Prior to moving to Michigan, he taught at the University of California, Berkeley (1968-1974). He holds a BA in mathematics from the University of Chicago ...more

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Books by Robert Axelrod

The Complexity of Cooperation: Agent-Based Models of Competition and Collaboration

Structure of Decision: The Cognitive Maps of Political Elites

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