How Did We Lose the Share-the-Spoils Mentality?

Note: This is part two of the homework assignment - but this only addresses the larger issue of why we lost the share-the-spoils mentality.This part goes off on a tangent that tries to answer how we have lost that mentality that was so prevalent before. Part one is the blog post underneath that addresses the prompt directly. Both parts share the same introduction.

In the article presented by Jonathan Haidt, “How to Get Rich to Share the Marbles”, the University of Virginia professor talks about a so called “share-the-spoils” mentality that exists among humans. According to studies conducted by researchers at the Max Planck institute in Germany, this mentality does not exist with our closest cousins, the chimpanzees. It developed for us thousands of years ago when humans started foraging and hunting together for food. Unfortunately, this mentality resides within us as a switch that is not permanently on. The positive feelings of community and together-ness generated by this mentality are expressed, i.e. the switch is turned on, when everyone collaborates and cooperates together for the greater good. As the author pointed out, throughout history we have been asked to come together, for a higher calling than just working for ourselves. This pertains to not only presidents like Lincoln, Roosevelt, and Kennedy but other leaders, like Martin Luther King and Churchill, as well. They presented compelling cases why, through cooperation and unity, we could overcome adversity and achieve grand projects and goals. Such things that could only be dreamed about became reality.

But at the same time, I see why this has all but disappeared. President Lincoln dealt with a devastating and fractious civil war; in the twentieth century, there were two world wars and the looming specter of communism and the bastion of nefariousness that was the USSR. But in the twenty-first century, there are no tangible, huge threats – in the form of war or a country, or otherwise. As the world’s sole superpower, the United States does not have real rivals (yet), economically or militarily. This will eventually change as other countries, notably China, are fast catching up. But in the meanwhile, there is no one or no challenge (yet) to the United States so as a people we do not perceive any threats. And it has been this way since the 1980s with the Reagan presidency, when it was clear that we had an edge in our cold war race/battle with the Soviet Union. Towards the end of the 80s, by vastly outspending the USSR and with Reagan being the first president to turn the United States from a creditor to a debtor nation since World War I, it was clear we would eventually win. After that, there has not been a single threat or grand project to bring the nation together, with the exception of 9/11. In the aftermath of 9/11, we quickly came together as a nation but over time, that display of unity has dissipated. So now we are left at square one again and we have no grand ambition, like the moon landing, or grand perceived evil, like the Soviet Union, to bring us together.

President Obama has been on the right track to tie everything back to a sense of community and shared prosperity. But that mentality that endured throughout both world wars and up until the 80s has lay dormant among us. And that is primarily because of the new mentality of “pull yourself by your own bootstraps” and “become successful with hard work and individual effort”. Incidentally, this mentality took over around the same time as the 80s, when capitalism and corporate America swiftly rose through deregulation, and when inequality started increasing. Now I have no problem with this mentality, in fact, I applaud it and I find it a testament to the American character. But at the same time, I do not see why this and the “shared prosperity” or “share-the-spoils” mentality cannot actively coexist at the same time. It’s completely fine to work hard by yourself and earn success by your individual efforts, but there is no problem with extending a hand out to your neighbor if you think he needs help (with no perceivable gain for you) or with asking for help from your neighbor. That’s what has been lost over the past few decades – this sense of “we’re part of the same community” and “let’s build this nation together”. These days, for politicians, if a law does not do anything for their district or state, it’s useless to them. But what about the people that live in other districts or states? Are they not Americans as well? Do you have no obligation to them just because you don’t represent them? I ask because in the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy, many Republicans denied hurricane relief to people and businesses on the east coast, namely, New York and New Jersey. Their reasoning was it increased the debt (I won’t even begin to get into how wrong that reasoning is). But beyond that, it was the first time this had happened in Congress – relief and aid bills the aftermath of natural disasters always rapidly passed Congress with an overwhelming majority of both parties.

All of this long-windedness brings me to one crucial point. We must find what it is that can tie and hold us together for the greater good – for a greater purpose than just ourselves or just our neighborhood. It won’t be as clear or as perceivable as a world war, the moon landing, or the Soviet Union. But we must find it fast, before we go into a period of relative decline like what happened with the United Kingdom in the 20th century and well, I won’t get into further doom and gloom stuff. Honestly, it will be incredibly hard but it is possible. 

Sharing the Marbles and the Rewards in Team Production

Note: This homework assignment has been split into two parts. Part one answers the actual prompt and the second part addresses the larger issue of sharing the spoils and why we have lost that mentality. This is part one (the actual assignment I suppose).

In the article presented by Jonathan Haidt, “How to Get Rich to Share the Marbles”, the University of Virginia professor talks about a so called “share-the-spoils” mentality that exists among humans. According to studies conducted by researchers at the Max Planck institute in Germany, this mentality does not exist with our closest cousins, the chimpanzees. It developed for us thousands of years ago when humans started foraging and hunting together for food. Unfortunately, this mentality resides within us as a switch that is not permanently on. The positive feelings of community and together-ness generated by this mentality are expressed, i.e. the switch is turned on, when everyone collaborates and cooperates together for the greater good. As the author pointed out, throughout history we have been asked to come together, for a higher calling than just working for ourselves. This pertains to not only presidents like Lincoln, Roosevelt, and Kennedy but other leaders, like Martin Luther King and Churchill, as well. They presented compelling cases why, through cooperation and unity, we could overcome adversity and achieve grand projects and goals. Such things that could only be dreamed about became reality. Then, the reward could be equally felt and shared among all involved. Teamwork is always rewarded, whether it is a team sport, or a huge project or research program. There are some tasks that are too big for any one individual to take on alone. In that scenario, it is always better to form a team to tackle it. Not only does it make the process faster, but more enjoyable and easier to handle.

I have always felt that doing certain tasks as a team, such as large finance, statistics or programming assignments, are better and more efficient for the people involved. For two of my classes, CS 105 and Fin 221, we had group Excel projects that we had to finish. I honestly felt we accomplished so much more by working together. I don’t mean just the project itself, but I mean the learning process and completing it in a timely, efficient manner. In the same vein, I played soccer throughout middle school and high school and the sport instilled in me a sense of cooperation, teamwork, and working hard, but playing by the rules, results in a big rewards and payoff. Working together means you don’t have to share the burden and you get to interact with others, and those very human feelings are important for the real world. So these experiences extend and translate to the real world, especially with jobs and working in an office. Some of the biggest inventions and products, like the iPhone, facebook, or Windows, were possible because they were not an individual task – they were collaborations between groups of people among divisions in a company. For an example of this, I refer you to a recent New York Times Magazine piece about Steve Jobs, Apple, and the creation of the iPhone: http://www.nytimes.com/2013/10/06/magazine/and-then-steve-said-let-there-be-an-iphone.html

Imagine that, without the incredibly hard efforts of Apple employees, we would have never had a smartphone revolution – or at least, it would not have come as fast as it did.  So yes, the conclusions in the given New York Times article piece certainly do jive with my experiences and what I have read so far.

Return to Transfer Pricing and the Utilization of Illinibucks

Specifically, “Illinibucks” could be used for many things which attain large lines, such as those at bookstores at the beginning of each semester, or at dining halls at peak hour. Illinibucks could also be used for registering earlier for campus recreation and activities, or to book certain venues and spaces (for campus organizations for example), or even for concerts and guest speaker events. Anything that would require signing up earlier or accrues a long waiting list of people to join would quality in this case scenario. I would prioritize my list of activities or events that have large lines and number them from most to least important. That is where I would spend my Illinibucks; suppose I love food (well, I do, but who doesn’t) – then I would prioritize dining hall lines on the days my favorite lunch/dinner is served or on days I have exams and don’t have time to wait in line. I might also utilize them for sporting events or concerts that include my favorite artists. I guess I am saying I would spend these Illinibucks, or credits, on things, events, or instances that give me the most utility. To that end, I would not spend them willy nilly, but save up until I needed them and then spend it.

As with any sort of price transaction with buyers and sellers, this would eventually result in a “Illinibucks” market. If people could buy and sell Illinibucks, then that would definitely occur. Following that will be “innovations” and newfangled creations arising in this marketplace that will include options and derivatives and futures that may or may not be harmful to its investors. Okay, it might not go that far, but there will be a new market where people who really want these Illinibucks will want to buy them and people who have an infinite amount of patience and see no use for Illinibucks will sell them. Of course this is assuming people can buy and sell Illinibucks. So in this case, if the administered price was too low, too many people would be cutting ahead to the front of lines and there would really be no improvement in cutting waiting time since there are more people than expected. If the administered price was too high, not enough people would be using them often enough to justify having them and on the Illinibucks themselves on having any sort of impact on the student body at large.