I think the general concept provided by Viliam is true, even if some of their specific examples aren’t perfect. Traffic laws are a good example. In the US (and Europe), most people follow traffic laws. They stay in their lane, they stop for red lights, they yield to pedestrians, and generally maintain an orderly movement of traffic. Do they, individually “leave money on the table” by doing this? Absolutely. It’s aggravating to be late and be held up by hitting an unnecessary sequence of red lights.
However, if everyone started ignoring traffic laws, the outcome would not be a better equilibrium. The outcome would be Indian roads, which are both less safe and less efficient than roads in the West, because hardly anyone actually follows traffic laws and the roads devolve into a Hobbesian “war of all against all”.
I don’t think “often going ‘above and beyond’ is just a waste”, I think it’s the price we pay for living in a civilized society. When someone brings free donuts to the office, we don’t swipe the entire box, we take one, and leave some for everyone else. When stores leave things on open shelves, we don’t simply take products and walk out the door with them. When we see a pedestrian waiting to cross the road, we stop and let them cross. When we see a line we join at the end rather than attempting to barge our way to the front. When we take a shopping cart from the store, we return it to the cart corral, rather than leaving them out in the middle of the parking lot.
I have lived in places where people did not follow those rules. Those places were markedly worse places to live than places where people behaved in an ethical, civilized manner. I push back strongly against anyone who claims that these rules are mostly just waste.
I think the general concept provided by Viliam is true, even if some of their specific examples aren’t perfect. Traffic laws are a good example. In the US (and Europe), most people follow traffic laws. They stay in their lane, they stop for red lights, they yield to pedestrians, and generally maintain an orderly movement of traffic. Do they, individually “leave money on the table” by doing this? Absolutely. It’s aggravating to be late and be held up by hitting an unnecessary sequence of red lights.
However, if everyone started ignoring traffic laws, the outcome would not be a better equilibrium. The outcome would be Indian roads, which are both less safe and less efficient than roads in the West, because hardly anyone actually follows traffic laws and the roads devolve into a Hobbesian “war of all against all”.
I don’t think “often going ‘above and beyond’ is just a waste”, I think it’s the price we pay for living in a civilized society. When someone brings free donuts to the office, we don’t swipe the entire box, we take one, and leave some for everyone else. When stores leave things on open shelves, we don’t simply take products and walk out the door with them. When we see a pedestrian waiting to cross the road, we stop and let them cross. When we see a line we join at the end rather than attempting to barge our way to the front. When we take a shopping cart from the store, we return it to the cart corral, rather than leaving them out in the middle of the parking lot.
I have lived in places where people did not follow those rules. Those places were markedly worse places to live than places where people behaved in an ethical, civilized manner. I push back strongly against anyone who claims that these rules are mostly just waste.