>You seem to assume that self-interest and cooperation are mutually
>exclusive. That is not so. Self-interest is not the opposite of
>cooperation, the opposite of cooperation is....non-cooperation (buggered
>if I can think of a better word for it). For example, I want to eat
>gazelle but I can't catch one on my own. You also want to eat gazelle
>but are similarly hindered. Together we may be able to catch the gazelle
>and feed ourselves (yum, yum) so we cooperate. I chase the gazelle
>towards the trees where you lie in wait with a big fucking stick, you
>club him, we both eat. Cooperation at work. Did I do this so *you* could
>eat? No, I did it so *I* could eat. Self-interest and cooperation make
>good bedfellows, the one does not preclude the other.
>
Beautifully said, Martz! Are you feeling anything like a gazelle, James?
BTW, in the spirit of the original thread, the opposite of 'cooperation' is
'defection.'
Dan