Cooperation in human societies: conditions, consequences, and economic implications

Cooperation is an action, while we are tempted to treat it as a material object. It is an abstract principle that can only be measured in some subjective manner. The purpose of this essay is to discuss the conditions of cooperation and how this idea is useful in the economic and political structures that exist in today's society. This essay will emphasize the subjective nature of this term and how it is mostly understood as an independent component.

Viewing society as system is much easier in predicting its behavior and coexisting with the many struggles that arise from coexistence. Cooperation arose as a phenomenon to somehow help and evolve the human species. It is a psychic tool that can be used for whatever purposes its wielders imagine. Stanish & Haley (2005) agreed about the mysterious nature of cooperation when they wrote " the development of corporate architecture is a cultural phenomenon that must be explained in cultural terms. "

By viewing cooperation as a result or outcome of culture, there can be no definite way to identify cooperation in any objective sense outside a culture. This is quite obvious when traveling to different cities where manners and niceties, a symbol of cooperation, vary from town to town. Aggressive drivers on the highways also denote some level of lack of cooperation. Vice versa, the police man who tickets the man speeding is not cooperating with the intent of the driver. Understanding cooperation as not an end, but a means to an end, helps illuminate the idea of its practicality and effectiveness.

Henrich & Smith (2004) agreed with the impact that culture has on determining manners and cooperation. They wrote " both ethnographic and experimental evidence suggest that wheter an action is considered right, fair, or proper, or whether it deserves punishment, may depend on context-specific rules that vary among human groups, " (p.163). By echoing the sentiment that subjectivity is most important in understanding the concept of cooperation suggests the limitations of the word and the meaning of the word.

The role of cooperation in creating a harmonious environment is nothing more than a tool or mental technology that allows for the existence of conflicting ideas and principles. Tolerance, patience and kindness all are qualities of a cooperative act. Treating others as one would like to be treated is a golden rule and exudes the meaning of cooperation.