Structuring for Cooperation

We are social creatures and have grown to rely on the specialization of many others to live life. It is essential to work with others and have a common method of cooperation. A tribe works based on social cohesion and reputation. For civilizations, we need more complex means to get along with each other. Social experiments have shown that, generally, the decision to cooperate has to be convenient. It must also tailor to different motivations without crowding out others. For a cooperative, positive-sum game to be common, we need a few different conditions to make it beneficial and attractive to us.

• Networks - In order for anyone to work together, we must discover one-another. There needs to be a platform to share abilities and share them with others.

• Currency - The foundation must be built on common access and a minimization of losers. Empowering value exchangers to generate a medium of exchange frees them from outside constraints on their mutual benefits.

• Culture - Social pressure is a very strong force within our mind. We need to shift the thought reflex into encouraging sharing knowledge, working together, and considering impacts.

• Infrastructure - There needs to be common areas of creation to democratize value and knowledge. Places to exchange, learn, connect, express.

• Resilience - For us to continue working together, there needs to be multiple levels of flexibility. Flexible and alternative means prevents stress that can pull groups apart and devolve into a hoarding game.

These root factors influence the actions of us all. To live in a harmonious world, all of its parts have to enjoy their own harmony which contributes to the whole. For a peace-filled world to emerge, the parts need to be able to work toward their own fulfillment while adding to the whole.

The Foundations of Cooperation

Little consciousness is directed toward the myriad of avenues where we cooperate with each other and everyone benefits. From borrowing tools to mutual transactions to cooking for the family, we cannot live without the efforts of nations of people. At the core of all these social interactions are a set of structures which guide the process. Across the board of self-organizing open-source ventures, we see these common structures being adapted to smooth the cooperation within the community.

1. Communication – Discuss common ideas, concerns, goals, rules, norms, etc. Results in greater empathy, trust, and better solutions.

2. Proper Frame and Authenticity – We adjust our behavior according to the environment or structure (Wall Street/Community Game).

3. Sense of community, empathy, and solidarity – Increased by communication and feeling of know of other. Nurtures self-sacrifice in favor of the group or whole. Dynamic with out-of-group discrimination.

4. Moral systems of fairness, morality, norms – Essential to maintaining steady cooperation. We must be rewarded intrinsically or extrinsically in some manner without crowding-out others. Fairness is just as powerful as incentives; it is a root precondition of intrinsic drive and collaboration. Clearly defined values and what the normal right thing to do strongly shapes behavior. Must be transparent and demonstrative of what the norms are.

5. Rewards and punishments – Have to align proper material incentives with those intrinsically or socially driven. Rewarding positive behavior has much more lasting cooperative effects than punishments.

6. Reputation, transparency, reciprocity – We cooperate because it makes us feel good, it is the right thing to do, or we are getting value out of the system. “Pay-it-forward’ schemes can only last long if the current benefactor is in public scrutiny, giving his choice social implications. Reputation builds trust and rewards those following the cooperative’s norms and best practices. It eases the uncertainty of dealing with distant people and a non-immediate result.

7. Diversify for all the bases – Everyone has their own set of personal motivators. Cooperative systems must take into consideration all of these without crowding out some group. Must minimize the cost to cooperate while making cooperating a feel-good choice. Make easy a diverse set of contributions, big or small, in many different fields. Main contributors feel generous, valued, part of meaningful group, expert status, etc. Small contributors give small amounts of time, effort, insight, money.


I am indebted to Yochai Benkler for The Penguin and Leviathan which details the diverse nature of what drives and motivates us. He frames the discussion through the lens of economics, behavior research, psychology, biology, and explores cutting edge examples of organizations explore and creating the blossoming cooperative spaces.