Working and sharing in groups

Humans are social animals cooperating in groups. We divide the workload and share the fruits of our efforts. How we do that is a matter of economics. The group might be a band of hunter-gatherers, a corporation or a society. We agree, either by negotiation, custom or force, on who does what and who gets what. Otherwise, we can’t work together. In a society, this agreement is called the social contract. It helps if we think the arrangement is fair. Violations of fairness provoke strong negative feelings. What is fair isn’t always straightforward. Some people contribute more to the effort than others, either because of willingness or ability. And some people have more needs than others.

Monkeys also have a sense of fairness. During a study, researchers found that if one ape received less valuable rewards for the same work than its partner, such as less tasty foods, it could become angry and reject the reward. You can become frustrated if your colleague gets a higher reward for the same job. Children have a sense of fairness early on. Giving one person more than another without reason can surprise toddlers. Children also wish to see you help those they like and harm those they dislike. They already prefer people similar to them (the in-group) to children who are different (the out-group).¹

We believe that those who contribute more to a group’s success deserve more. If a venture’s success hinges on a single person’s efforts, we may reward this person more. It is an excuse for high pay for CEOs of large corporations. In a competitive environment, a CEO can make the difference between failure and success, while a factory worker can’t. When we cooperate, we are more willing to share, but in competition, we are more willing to accept inequality. In sports, the winner gets everything. Yet, if a team wins, the members share the prize, even if the team’s success depended on a few talented players.¹

Moral fundamentals

The golden rule says you should treat others the way you want to be treated. Yet, the treatment people desire varies, depending on character traits or culture. For example, some people desire attention while others wish to be left alone. That may be an individual preference or a cultural trait. Apart from individual preferences and culture, there are general rules. Contributing to the group and not harming others in the group are the most basic ones. Yet, we may differ on the practical implications.

A most crucial issue is the groups we identify with. We cooperate and compete in groups, and what we consider good is good for the groups we identify with. The group can be a family, gang, organisation, tribe, nation, or humanity. And we can identify with multiple groups, so that you can run into conflicts of interest. Something can be good for business but bad for the community. We also differ on what is beneficial and harmful. Groups may face questions such as whether it is a good idea to go to war with another gang.

An interesting question is whether moral rules are innate or learned. If our sense of fairness is innate, moral rules apply to everyone. If it is learned behaviour, fairness is a matter of taste. If someone is helpful, we react positively. If someone acts harmfully, we react negatively. Infants already do that.¹ And so, some of our moral conduct appears innate, and relates to being helpful or doing harm. Being helpful and not causing harm are the most basic moral rules, despite our disagreements in practical situations.

Ideas regarding fairness can be learned or cultural. Researchers tested children from several cultures to see how they would react to unequal rewards between them and another child when they were in control and could either accept or reject the deal. They always rejected deals that were unfavourable to them. In some cultures, older children rejected options that would have unfairly benefited them. Refusing a bad deal seems a natural instinct, but forgoing an unfair good deal is learned behaviour.¹

Another, very fundamental, rule is might makes right. The powerful make the rules. What we believe is right and wrong greatly depends on power structures. The West conquered the world because of its cultural values, which included an entrepreneurial spirit driven by greed and inquisitiveness. The medieval Christian values were quite different. Its success leads many to believe that the liberal world order of capitalism and liberal democracy is good, even though we now face its failure. And so, only might can fix this issue.

The mistakes we make

Are we responsible for our choices? What is the influence of choice on fairness? During an experiment in which pairs of students performed a task together, one student received the pay. The one receiving the pay was randomly picked. Those who received the pay could choose how much they would give to the other. Receiving pay was a matter of luck, and most people believed it was unfair and were willing to share the pay.

Adding a choice, for instance, between getting a small reward or participating in a lottery to get the full reward, changes the picture. That made the participants less willing to share. If both participants opted to participate in the lottery, we think it is fair that one of them wins. People often think poverty is a choice, as poor people decide not to get an education or divorce, and, as a result, can’t work full-time.¹

They made these choices, but sometimes they lacked better alternatives or believed that they did. Possibly, the small reward was not enough to live off, and participating in the lottery gave a chance of getting enough. The alternative to a divorce can be living with an abusive spouse. But then again, you could have paid attention before marrying. Perhaps a good education was too expensive, or you were unqualified, but you still have options and may even have a significant influence on your life.

If we don’t face the consequences of our choices, choices stop mattering. The unfairness of that becomes clear if two individuals with similar opportunities make different choices. If one decides to spend his money while the other saves for retirement, we think it is unfair to tax the latter to pay for the former’s retirement. In this case, it might be better not to have options and implement a mandatory retirement savings scheme.

In nature, there is no excuse for failure. Those who fail bear the consequences. It has a disciplining effect. Shielding people from the consequences of their failures is problematic. Their failure may be due to bad luck, like having a poor upbringing. And that is unfair. A society could help these people. Yet, the disciplining effect of bearing the consequences of your actions is essential to keep societies from collapsing.

Progressives focus on equality and seek to promote equal outcomes for everyone, but disparities in health, education, and wealth persist. Wealth inequality is partly due to the accumulation of capital and partly to individual circumstances and life choices. Conservatives think that working hard and making the right choices should make you better off.¹ Some societies invest in equal opportunities, for instance, by investing in the education of underprivileged children.

Luck is everywhere

Luck is never fair, but it is everywhere. Some live long, some die early, some have love, some remain alone, some are healthy, and some suffer from severe illnesses. It isn’t always possible to fix that. Your place of birth, the upbringing you received, your education, and the opportunities you had in life affect your success in society. Successful people often think that their brilliance and hard work are the reasons for their success. Efforts and talents matter, but your success is also a matter of luck.

If we could eliminate luck, that would be fairer. Yet, not rewarding success, even when it comes from luck, results in undesirable outcomes as it promotes failure. If a group’s success depends on the risk-takers, the hard workers, or the talented, an extra reward can inspire them to do their utmost. Low-skilled labourers receive low wages because they are interchangeable. A minimum wage can help to reduce inequality.

The economy works with the forces of nature, which are cooperation and competition. We cooperate in groups, such as corporations, to compete or cooperate with other groups, which can also be corporations. These corporations operate in markets, so they sell their products at market prices and pay market wages. In a village economy, villagers can distribute the fruits of their endeavours in ways they see fit. Yet when markets exist, people may seek better deals outside the village, thereby undermining the community.

The shadow of the past

The past casts a shadow over the present. We live with the consequences of past developments. Your country of birth, as well as the family you grow up in, affects your life opportunities. The emergence and spread of capitalism have transformed the world. It brought a dramatic increase in wealth, but it came with exploitation. Today, there is a massive wealth inequality driven by economic relationships that some classify as exploitative and others as voluntary agreements.

Organisation and trade contribute to surplus value, but those in control take that surplus. Trade practices could turn into outright theft. An example is what the British East India Company did. It collected taxes in India and used a portion of them to purchase Indian goods for British use. Instead of paying for them, merchants obtained these goods for free by buying them from peasants and weavers with money they had taken as taxes. Through this scheme and other scams, the British stole from India.²

Had that theft not occurred, the Indian peasants and weavers would have been better off. Yet, they didn’t have a capitalist mindset like the greedy English merchants, and they wouldn’t have invested their money into new production methods and facilities to increase India’s capital. The wealthy British traders invested part of the proceeds of their thievery in the London Stock Exchange in ventures such as steam-powered factories. That capitalist spirit eventually raised living standards around the globe, including India.

History advantages some people and disadvantages others. In India, the caste system determines what jobs you can do. Some women in India have to clean toilets for $1,50 per month because of the caste in which they were born.² The Indian caste system is a relic from the past. Those who inherit estates may think they deserve them because their grandparents wisely invested the money taken from poor Indian farmers, while those who have no such parents inherit nothing. Inheritance looks a lot like the caste system.

It may seem strange that we think that the caste system is unjust, while we think that inheriting large estates is okay. Yet, rules exist to make a society functional. If you can hand over your assets to your children, it can stimulate you to save or build a business, which can be beneficial to the economy. The caste system brings no such benefits. Yet, in a time where we face a capital excess combined with billionaires running politics, the inheritance of large estates has become a serious problem that needs addressing.

Latest revision: 5 May 2026

Featured image: Confucius (possibly the inventor of the Golden Rule)

1. The Price of Fairness (film). Alex Gabbay (2017).
2. Independence Day: How the British pulled off a $45 trillion heist in India. The India Times (2023).