The presence of big potential gains from collaboration, however, does not imply that collaboration will actually be achieved. In the world today, many great boons could be obtained via better global coordination—reductions of military expenditures, wars, overfishing, trade barriers, and atmospheric pollution, among others. Yet these plump fruits are left to spoil on the branch. Why is that? What stops a fully cooperative outcome that would maximize the common good? One obstacle is the difficulty of ensuring compliance with any treaty that might be agreed, including monitoring and enforcement
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