Economics, Ethics and the Dilemma in the Prisoner's Dilemmas

This paper contrasts four distinct versions of the Prisoner's Dilemma (the commons, public goods, biological altruism, and biological selfishness) in terms of their ethical content for economic decision making. An argument is made for the restoration of Tucker's third player — as given in the original specification of the game — in order to judge whether a resolution is desirable in economic and business situations that reduce to the Prisoner's Dilemma. Finally, the use of tit-for-tat as a 'solution' to the Prisoner's Dilemma is compared with the practice of business ethics.