The Prisoner's Dilemma
By Christopher Ryan Maboloc, PhD
It was a puzzle introduced by Plutarch. At first glance, the answer would seem obvious. One should choose the key, for it symbolizes freedom. The logic is simple. When you are free, you can easily earn a living to buy bread. But then, why would a prisoner choose bread instead of the key?
Several factors are at play. If you consider the concentration camp, getting the key does not necessarily mean you can escape. There are barb wires in the perimeter and you can be easily shot. In the present prison system, you still need to pass through guards and hallways. You can be captured again.
The theory then as several essays on the matter suggest is that someone would choose the bread because a man's priority is his survival. This means that having resigned to his fate, he would not gamble his life and instead ensure that at least he survives for the day. It's called survival instinct, they say.
In fact, this translates to the political attitudes of people. The majority among us have the option to choose good candidates and elect honest leaders. Instead, they would rather fall in line to receive money from the politician. It's a mistake, conventional wisdom would say. But even the best and brightest among us also see money as a good motivation.
Just like the prisoner, it doesn't always follow that electing a good leader would translate to a better life. They know that government decisions do not have an immediate effect. It will still require effort. Change can't happen overnight. In this sense, it always matters to look into the circumstances of people. You cannot just blame the poor.
You cannot because you have to examine the reasons why a man is poor. It's not just about personal decisions. Unjust structures and uneven policies have an impact on their lives. You can add corruption to it and the system that perpetuates their difficult lives. Indeed, it's hard to believe that the politician who put them into poverty can liberate them from the same prison.
