Self-Interest and the Common Good

Dear readers,

I am going to take a couple of weeks off and will return in the second week of March. In the meantime, here is something to think about.

The Prisoner’s Dilemma is a game demonstrating the difficulty of reconciling self-interest with the common good. I imagine most readers are familiar with it. In brief, a prize of considerable value is offered to contestants. If they cooperate, they will win the prize and share it. Yet each is given opportunities to pretend cooperation while secretly plotting to claim the entire prize. Because every contestant knows the others face the same temptation, each has an incentive to abandon cooperation in self-defense. The probable, though not certain, outcome is that nobody wins anything.

It was a move of blatant self-interest when Texas decided to redraw its congressional districts mid-decade in order to create five additional Republican seats they likely would not otherwise have won. California responded with its own act of self-interest, creating five reasonably safe Democratic districts. Other states have begun to consider similar moves. Here in Virginia, on April 12, voters will decide whether to join the self-interest crowd and abandon the independent, nonpartisan redistricting process we worked so hard to establish.

The argument in favor of doing so can sound persuasive. It is presented as self-defense against those willing to manipulate the system for partisan gain intended to demolish democracy in favor of fascist style authoritarianism. Yet it also risks falling into the Prisoner’s Dilemma trap in which everyone ultimately loses. In this case, the prize at risk is the integrity of our democratic electoral system. Once surrendered, the will of the people becomes subject to computer-generated district lines drawn for partisan advantage whenever those in power choose to redraw them.

The cost of voting no may be real. It may mean turning the other cheek in the face of dishonesty and accepting the consequences. Yet as a priest and pastor, I cannot in good conscience vote yes in this referendum. Still, each of you, dear readers, must decide for yourselves what is right.

Fr. Steve+