In Adam Smith's theory it is stated that in human nature man will go after what

1. 62

   Bredaviesposted 13 years ago

   In Adam Smith's theory it is stated that in human nature man will go after what he wants within...
   
   the group and that, that is the best idea. But like in the movie A Beautiful Mind what if every human thought not only about their best interest but also thought about the others around him. Would that change the workings of society?

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2. 77

   dallas93444posted 13 years ago

   The basics of the "Golden Rule." To think not only ofyour best interest, but to consider others needs. However, there must be a dynamic balance.
   An example:
   Shakespeare's, "...To thine own self be true.." statement at first glance appears to be a noble statement. However, if you are truly selfish and consider only your needs, others will suffer. Nothwithstanding this, you must not negate yourself's need either... Hence, the dynamic balance of life....

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3. 62

   Bredaviesposted 13 years ago

   This is true. In the movie A Beautiful Mind the main character found out that if the group all went after the blonde they would all get turned down, then when they went after the girls friends they would get turned down and no one would get "laid". But if they all ignored the blonde and went after the friends the out come would be much different. What if the groups interest could benefit the individual and the group.

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4. 0

   Old Empresarioposted 13 years ago

   I thought that movie was strange, because John Nash's real theory was called "non-competitive gaming". In it, he proved mathematically that the world would reach perfect equilibrium if all humans had absolute distrust of one another at all times, while still being totally self interested. Adam Smith never considered taking into account one self-interested person's attempts to anticipate the actions of an opponent. Nash did. He proved that if several people met and wanted the same thing, their absolute distrust of the one another would somehow lead to a mutually-acceptable arrangement for all parties. There was no conscious sense of cooperaton or altruism involved. ex) You and I both see a million dollars on the ground. You promise that if I let you pick up the money, you will give me half. I wouldn't let you do that because I think you're lying and will just run away with all of it. You think the same thing about me. Each of us suspects the other is armed. We both slowly approach the money and start taking handfuls, knowing that with money in hand, the other person will be unable to draw a weapon. We both leave with half some cash. there was no trust and no true cooperation. RAND took Nash's idea and applied it to the nuclear arms race with the USSR. RAND determined that there would never be all-out nuclear war so long as each nation maintained a large nuclear arsenal and never trusted the other nation for a second. Mutually-Assured Distruction was the phenomenon that supposedly kept the peace. The flaw in applying this plan to society is that many humans do trust one another and wish to cooperate. As a result, there is an imbalance. Some people get screwed and other people get rich.

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5. 52

   Andy the Greatposted 13 years ago

   Until we've mapped the brain and essentially done away with the entire concept of free will, there will never be a perfect theory to describe human behavior. The list of variables with nearly 7 billion people in the world is too great to reach any 100% predictable conclusions about anything that involves humans. We can constantly refine our theories to become more and more accurate, but there will always be outliers so long as there is free will. If someone began handing out $100 bills for free, someone wouldn't take it. There are still people in the US who do not own a telephone of any kind nor a television. Someone that dies today in the world may have gone through their entire life without having ever worn a shoe because of some kind of shoe phobia. Until we understand everything about the human mind, we cannot predict it's reaction to things and therefore cannot predict behavior with 100% certainty.

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