The triumph of cooperation and trust and loss of a blind pursuit of selfinterest. An illustration is provided by the problem that two inmates in separate cells face. The police offers them 3 choices: (1) Both will be jailed for 5 years, if both confess, (2) If one confesses, he will be freed. But the other inmate gets 10 years in prison. (3) If neither confesses, they will be charged for a minor offence and be jailed for a year. If both the inmates know about the selflessness of the other, they will both not confess. In the event that they dont trust the other, they will confess and spend a minimum of 5 years in jail.
Black’s Law Online Dictionary
