the kindness of strangers
Why are some people routinely generous with their time and resources, or risk themselves when they see a stranger unfairly treated? Indeed, what does 'unfair' mean?
And how do generous behaviours become institutionalised, as in charitable giving, paying taxes or insurance premiums or the 'final sacrifice' in times of war? How can such strong altruism, so palpable and valued in our lives, have evolved?
The economist Ernst Fehr defines (what he terms) strong reciprocity being when people willingly repay gifts and punish the violation of cooperation and fairness norms even in anonymous one-shot encounters with genetically unrelated strangers.
Using simulations and experimental economics tools such as The Utlimatum Game, Fehr et al have proposed that strong reciprocity is an adaptive triat that allows widespread system benefits to accrue to both the group and the individual.
This work suggests that reputations for generosity as well as for trustworthiness are therefore of considerable value.