THE PRISONER’S DILEMMA

The prisoner’s dilemma is an interesting scenario in Game theory, which is a branch of mathematics that explores the strategies people adopt in dealing with each other.

In the dilemma, we imagine two prisoners, locked together in a prisoner cell for 7 years.

They have two options before them

One, trusting each other and cooperating in digging a tunnel to freedom, or mistrust and the resignation to seven years imprisonment.

There is good reason not to trust each other, because if one of them betrays the other while the digging is in progress, he will earn his freedom and a reward besides, while the other prisoner will have to face life imprisonment.

IN THE END, GAME THEORY TELLS US, MISTRUST PREVAILS MOST OF THE TIME.

The prisoner’s theory mimics the quandary that we find ourselves in with respect to management of our natural resources.

Consider a forest. If all involved would agree to protect and nurture it, it could be highly productive. But every villager suspects that even if he does not graze his own cattle or lop wood for fuel in that forest, other villagers will do so; and even if none of the villagers did, the government will give away the forest to some unscrupulous contractor who will ruin it anyways.

In the end, the prisoner's dilemma ends up operating. Usually, nobody uses the resource prudently with the result that everybody loses and nature tends to suffer drastically.