@booklet {62191, title = {The Prosperous Community: Social Capital and Public Life}, year = {1999}, month = {Mar 1, 1999}, abstract = {Failure to cooperate for mutual benefit does not necessarily signal ignorance or irrationality or even malevolence, as philosophers since Hobbes have underscored. Social scientists have lately analyzed this fundamental predicament in a variety of guises: the tragedy of the commons; the logic of collective action; public goods; the prisoners{\textquoteright} dilemma. In all these situations everyone would be better off if everyone could cooperate. In the absence of coordination and credible mutual commitment, however, everyone defects, ruefully but rationally, confirming one another{\textquoteright}s melancholy expectations.}, author = {Putnam, Robert D.} }