Mutualism pays off through average expected benefits, not guaranteed returns

Evidence

All members pay a cost, but only some members get an actual benefit. Still, paying the cost of an insurance is mutually beneficial to all in terms of expected utility. Generally speaking, we have mutualism when behaving cooperatively towards others is advantageous because of the average benefits that are expected to result for the individual from such behavior. These benefits can be direct, as in the case of reciprocation, or indirect and mediated by the effect of the individual behavior on her chances to be recruited in future cooperative interactions. — Nicolas Baumard, A mutualistic approach to morality, 79

Categorization

• XREF: Connects to game-theoretic and evolutionary accounts of cooperation (Trivers’ reciprocal altruism, indirect reciprocity signaling) and to the reader’s own framing of religious solidarity as cooperative costly signaling. — connects to: Mutualism faces three challenges, all involving cost without visible return. — Nicolas Baumard, A mutualistic approach to morality: The…, 53; Mutual insurance companies exemplify genuine mutualistic cooperation. — Nicolas Baumard, A mutualistic approach to morality: The…, 76; Reciprocal altruism is really mutualism, not altruism — Nicolas Baumard, A mutualistic approach to morality: The…, 211 (+7 more)

Related

• Mutualism faces three challenges, all involving cost without visible return. (similarity 0.87)
• Lifetime accounting makes apparent altruism actually mutualistic. (similarity 0.84)
• Reciprocal altruism is really mutualism, not altruism (similarity 0.82)
• Mutualistic cost-benefit logic may explain transcendent moral sentiment. (similarity 0.81)
• Mutual insurance companies exemplify genuine mutualistic cooperation. (similarity 0.81)
• Mutual aid functions as informal insurance among individuals. (similarity 0.80)
• Stable unconditional cooperation exists and mutualism alone cannot explain it. (similarity 0.80)
• Generalized reciprocity cannot be explained by partner-control mechanisms. (similarity 0.79)
• Morality evolved as a propensity for fair cost-benefit sharing among cooperators. (similarity 0.79)
• Cooperative relationships require asymmetric giving at their outset (similarity 0.79)
• Altruistic cooperators still choose partners they trust and cooperate only where reciprocation is possible. (similarity 0.79)
• The appearance of social contract arises from evolved mutualistic obligation, not real agreement. (similarity 0.79)
• Cooperative ventures are exchanges proportional to each partner’s contribution. (similarity 0.79)
• Morality requires mutual advantage, not strict accounting of reciprocated acts. (similarity 0.79)
• Competitive altruism permits unconditional giving rather than matched reciprocity (similarity 0.78)

Broader Connections

• Reciprocal altruism is really mutualism, not altruism #expands (0.85) — Nicolas Baumard, A mutualistic approach to morality, 211
• Lifetime accounting makes apparent altruism actually mutualistic. #corroborates (0.85) — Nicolas Baumard, A mutualistic approach to morality, 206
• Mutual aid functions as informal insurance among individuals. #exemplifies (0.85) — Nicolas Baumard, A mutualistic approach to morality, 160
• Trust relationships self-maintain once the parties recognize mutual benefit #expands (0.80)
• Mutualistic cost-benefit logic may explain transcendent moral sentiment. #expands (0.75) — Nicolas Baumard, A mutualistic approach to morality, 265
• Group solidarity and in-group favoritism derive from mutualistic relationships, not independent moral rules. #expands (0.75) — Nicolas Baumard, A mutualistic approach to morality, 705
• Trust is a result rather than a precondition of cooperation #corroborates (0.75) — Diego Gambetta, Trust - Making and Breaking Cooperative…, 2781