Small transparent groups sustain cooperation without moralizing supernatural agents

Evidence

In these relatively transparent societies where face-to-face interaction is the norm, it is hard to escape the social spotlight. The bonds of family and friendship, combined with a set of cultural practices, go a along way in fostering cooperation and cementing the social matrix. — Norenzayan, Ara, Big gods - how religion transformed…, 409

Categorization

• XREF: The ‘social spotlight’ mechanism parallels how reputation monitoring (Milgrom’s law merchant, Diamond District norms) substitutes for formal institutions; also maps onto Rodrigues’s dilemma where the fumi-e is designed to break the perceived divine gaze.