Journal article
Punishment and disagreement in the state of nature
- Abstract:
- Hobbes believed that the state of nature would be a war of all against all. Locke denied this, but acknowledged that in the absence of government, peace is insecure. In this paper, I analyse both accounts of the state of nature through the lens of classical and experimental game theory, drawing especially on evidence concerning the effects of punishment in public goods games. My analysis suggests that we need government not to keep wicked or relentlessly self-interested individuals in line, but rather to maintain peace among those who disagree about morality.
- Publication status:
- Published
- Peer review status:
- Peer reviewed
Actions
Access Document
- Files:
-
-
(Preview, Accepted manuscript, pdf, 286.9KB, Terms of use)
-
- Publisher copy:
- 10.1017/S0266267119000233
Authors
- Publisher:
- Cambridge University Press
- Journal:
- Economics and Philosophy More from this journal
- Volume:
- 36
- Issue:
- 3
- Pages:
- 334-354
- Publication date:
- 2019-10-17
- DOI:
- EISSN:
-
1474-0028
- ISSN:
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0266-2671
- Language:
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English
- Keywords:
- Pubs id:
-
1307444
- Local pid:
-
pubs:1307444
- Deposit date:
-
2023-08-09
Terms of use
- Copyright holder:
- Cambridge University Press
- Copyright date:
- 2019
- Rights statement:
- © Cambridge University Press 2019
- Notes:
- This is the accepted manuscript version of the article. The final version is available online from Cambridge University Press at: https://doi.org/10.1017/S0266267119000233
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