2 just seems like another framing of Moloch: burn the commons, or be outcompeted by those who do.
But that isn’t normative advice. No, it’s not the incentives—it’s you.Morality is not about overcoming temptation. It’s about what you choose based on your own values. We do not need to posit two separate decision-making systems, a selfish agent plus a moral compass. Being in a situation which resembles a prisoner’s dilemma usually doesn’t mean we’re in a true prisoner’s dilemma, because we usually care somewhat about the other person, plus we care about fairness and other such things. Not to mention reputation. The same goes for all the other games where social good doesn’t align with “individual good”.
The implied normative advice, as with all things Moloch, is that we should coordinate to stop [horizontal transmission]. I think I’m just biting the bullet you called “severe and counterintuitive”.
But that isn’t normative advice. No, it’s not the incentives—it’s you. Morality is not about overcoming temptation. It’s about what you choose based on your own values. We do not need to posit two separate decision-making systems, a selfish agent plus a moral compass. Being in a situation which resembles a prisoner’s dilemma usually doesn’t mean we’re in a true prisoner’s dilemma, because we usually care somewhat about the other person, plus we care about fairness and other such things. Not to mention reputation. The same goes for all the other games where social good doesn’t align with “individual good”.
The implied normative advice, as with all things Moloch, is that we should coordinate to stop [horizontal transmission]. I think I’m just biting the bullet you called “severe and counterintuitive”.