Do you think that receiving a bounty or a medal for turning over Jews to the Nazis, black people passing as white to lynch mobs, or blasphemers to imams changes things? If so, what would your price be?
I don’t know what my price would be, and I hope it’s too high to ever come into play. I like to think there’s no possible situation I’d turn someone in, and I’d favor the individual over the mob at any cost to myself. But that’s not true for the vast majority of humans, and probably not for me either.
But we’re not talking about heroes (even if I hope I would qualify and fear I wouldn’t). We’re talking about the range of human behavior and motivation. It’s clear that social pressure _is_ enough for some people to turn others in. Medals, rewards, etc. likely increase that a little. Blackmail probably decreases it a little, as the data-holders can now get paid for keeping secrets rather than doing it in spite of incentives.
Do you think that receiving a bounty or a medal for turning over Jews to the Nazis, black people passing as white to lynch mobs, or blasphemers to imams changes things? If so, what would your price be?
I don’t know what my price would be, and I hope it’s too high to ever come into play. I like to think there’s no possible situation I’d turn someone in, and I’d favor the individual over the mob at any cost to myself. But that’s not true for the vast majority of humans, and probably not for me either.
But we’re not talking about heroes (even if I hope I would qualify and fear I wouldn’t). We’re talking about the range of human behavior and motivation. It’s clear that social pressure _is_ enough for some people to turn others in. Medals, rewards, etc. likely increase that a little. Blackmail probably decreases it a little, as the data-holders can now get paid for keeping secrets rather than doing it in spite of incentives.