The Calculus of Selfishness

  • Karl Sigmund
Princeton University Press: 2010. 192 pp. $35.00, £24.95 978-0691142753 | ISBN: 978-0-6911-4275-3

Why would two drivers caught in a snowdrift both shovel snow to clear a route, rather than wait for one to do it? Or, given $10 to split with someone however you like provided they accept your offer, why are you more likely to give them $5 than $1? You could keep $9, knowing that your ultimatum is better for them than the $0 you would both get if they refuse. Why does it pay to be fair?

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