Incentives & Mechanism Design

Policy resistance comes from bounded rationality when goals of subsystems differ from system goals. In policy-resistant systems, actors drag system where nobody wants. Align goals of subsystem with goals of the whole. Create good systems making it easy to do right thing—if it's easy to cheat, even good people will.

Tit-for-tat cooperation was optimal game theory strategy for maximizing outcomes. Open with kindness; if the other player responds kindly, continue positive feedback. If negative response, mirror that as well. This blends tough and fair with optimistic tilt. It succeeds because it's nice, retaliatory, forgiving, and clear.

Rules are incentives, punishments, and constraints. When we restructure rules, we change the system. How would learning differ if the class got graded as collective versus individual? Rules are why lobbying exists—they're high-leverage intervention points. Pay attention to rules and who has power over those rules.