New at Reason: Ron Bailey on Whether Punishing Free Riders Increases Human Cooperation

December 9, 2008

During the course of human evolution, people frequently engaged in cooperative activities such as big game hunting, even though it was often all too easy for individuals to free ride on such projects. What's to prevent free riders while encouraging real cooperation? Science Correspondent Ronald Bailey points to surprising new research on "altruistic punishment" that may hold the answer.

Read all about it here.