In group activities and social life, it’s sometimes tempting to ignore norms for personal gain. However, playing by the rules and working together is necessary for the success and better outcome of the community, which in turn benefits the individual in the long run.
Every moment of our lives, we are faced with choices: sometimes we choose what’s best for us, regardless of others, and sometimes we choose what’s in our conscience, even if it hurts us. So, with such a wide range of choices, is there any reason to take a loss and make the right choice? In other words, why should we live right?
Of course, there is no single definition of “right”. However, for the purposes of this article, we’ll define righteousness as adhering to the norms set by society. Conscience is a learned behavior, and we are taught to abide by norms from an early age, so the right thing to do is to follow our learned conscience.
If following your conscience doesn’t conflict with your personal interests, you should naturally act on your conscience. However, as mentioned earlier, we sometimes find ourselves in situations where we have to choose between following our conscience and doing the right thing and our personal interests. A classic example is the group activities that students are forced to participate in. In group activities, there comes a moment when you have to make a choice: cooperate or get a free ride. The nature of group work is such that everyone is expected to cooperate, and cooperating according to the norms is the right thing to do. However, group work is usually hard work, and it may be more personally beneficial to do nothing and get nothing in return.
Let’s simplify the process of group work into cooperation and free riding, and the outcomes into good and bad grades. Usually, the group’s grade is determined by the group’s output, so even if you choose to cooperate, if the group does well, you will also get a good grade. In this case, choosing to cooperate is about following your conscience, while choosing to cheat is about doing what’s in your best interest. When you consider only your own self-interest, it may seem tempting to cooperate.
But what about the group as a whole? If some members choose to free ride, the other members who follow their conscience and choose to cooperate will have to bear the burden. Obviously, it’s much more efficient for everyone to cooperate, and the results will be better.
So why would I choose to sacrifice my own self-interest in favor of Joe’s? It’s because the success of the group leads to my success. The better his results are, the better my performance will be. Conversely, if I choose free riding and the other members of the group also choose free riding, pursuing their own self-interest, the group will collapse, no work will be produced, and my performance will suffer. While free riding may seem like a benefit to the individual, it is actually in my long-term interest to maintain the group.
This applies from a collective, long-term perspective. From a very personal, short-term perspective, it’s easy to think that free riding is the most profitable path, especially in the absence of sanctions. This is why we need institutional mechanisms to prevent free riding. The current system of grading based on the output of the group may also encourage free-riding, as both cooperators and free-riders receive the same grade.
A better way to prevent free riding would be to assign individual grades based on the amount of cooperation in the group. You can do this by having each person write a report on their contributions and assign them a grade based on that. That way, no matter how good the group’s output is, if someone doesn’t cooperate, they can’t put their contribution on the report and get a good grade. This gives everyone in the group an incentive to cooperate, and if everyone cooperates, the group’s performance will be better, which means everyone in the group will get better results.
Of course, this method can be somewhat coercive, which may conflict with the idea of group work, which emphasizes voluntary cooperation. However, it’s fair to prevent people who don’t participate from getting good grades, and by enforcing a degree of coercion, groups can be an opportunity to learn about cooperation and collaboration. Even if someone is forced to cooperate in a group because they don’t want to get a low grade, it’s still better than having a product that everyone contributed to.
To summarize, group work is best done when everyone cooperates, which can lead to good grades. The most important factor for the best group work is everyone’s cooperation. If everyone cooperates and follows the rules, you can be sure that the group will do well, even if you only do your part.
The same principle applies to society as a whole. We need to live right for the good of the community, but also for the good of the individual. For example, if I stand in line at a bus stop, I am guaranteed that others will also stand in line, and I will be able to get on the bus in my turn. This way, the community is maintained and we can all live together in harmony.
Of course, it would be nice if people would voluntarily follow the rules for the good of the community, but in reality, without sanctions, many people are more likely to follow their immediate interests, so societies use force to make people behave properly. Morals are taught from an early age, and laws are enacted to punish those who break them. As a result, most people follow their conscience and live law-abiding lives. We keep quiet in the library, don’t litter the streets, and don’t break the law. We don’t commit crimes or commit violence to avoid legal punishment. Society has maintained community through these conscience trainings and laws, and we are able to maintain this community today because we have lived by the norms. We can go to the library to study quietly, and we don’t have to worry about who might steal our property.
Of course, depending on the situation, stealing or taking a free ride may seem like an advantage in the moment. However, if you steal or take a free ride, others will follow suit, and the community becomes untenable. The next time you get on the bus, the people behind you will be tempted to do the same, and if free riding in group activities becomes the norm, you may find yourself alone in an important class. When we follow the rules and do the right thing, we are not only maintaining the community, but also benefiting ourselves in the long run. When the community is maintained, the individual can lead a stable life.
In conclusion, we have a reason to live with others and live right by following the rules. Living in a community with others, we have a reason to live up to certain norms and behave properly. Even in group activities, you should choose cooperation over free riding for the success and performance of the group. To prevent free riding, grades can be assigned based on individual contributions to maintain community. The survival of a community and the right living of its members are inextricably linked, and we must live rightly for ourselves and society.
