I should think that in a game were everyone wants -- first of all -- to assure his own survival, and then to maximize his prosperity, the strategy of being a mass murderer wouldn't be all that smart. Such a player wouldn't be tolerated for very long. They can have brief streaks of apparent success, but in the long run it looks like a losing hand.
tortoise: Generally not in any kind of game theoretic sense. Quite the opposite in fact.
PatrickHenry: I should think that in a game were everyone wants -- first of all -- to assure his own survival, and then to maximize his prosperity, the strategy of being a mass murderer wouldn't be all that smart. Such a player wouldn't be tolerated for very long. They can have brief streaks of apparent success, but in the long run it looks like a losing hand.
It may not be in tortoise's best interest to become a murder and a thief but there are certainly those for whom it could be and is.
The problem is that not everyone starts in the same place or has the same goals. In some circumstances being a murder and/or thief can have short term advantages which outweigh the long term disadvantages. In some cases the long term disadvantages are the same whether a murderer or thief or not. In still others there may be long term advantages to be a murderer and/or thief.