When Strangers Cooperate: Using Social Conventions to Govern Ourselves

When Strangers Cooperate: Using Social Conventions to Govern Ourselves by David W. Brown

My rating: 2 of 5 stars


This book was written 20 years ago, and it feels like it shows when reading it. As an example, the Internet is portrayed as something new and possibly interesting coming up.

When Strangers Cooperate talks about how social conventions can help govern our actions and make us behave better and cooperate more. He provides a couple of examples, such as queuing up in a line when we are more people waiting. There's also a good critique of what people might respond in return, with a focus on liberty and individuality.

It feels like something is missing though, as there isn't really much of a conclusion (a short paragraph at the end) nor much on how to actually go about with it. The suggestion is that conventions are good, and that there should be more of them. Sure, sounds good, but not worth writing and reading a book about.



View all my reviews