Harmony within society

Introduction

Our living together is confronted with new challenges, as our modern world widens our public sphere and smushes together groups with different value systems. In turn, agents take refuge in safe spaces, where their behavior and speech are protected from bad inferences.

Project Aim

This ambitious project aims at proposing a unified framework—building on the role of the dissemination of personal information—to study social interactions, and at fostering the academic community’s engagement on the study of these new challenges.

Framework for Divisive Behaviors

The first part will build a framework for divisive behaviors (for which agents do not agree on what’s right and wrong). It will:

1. Endogenize safe spaces and investigate their dark side (externalities, tribal behaviors, outings).
2. Explore their (in)ability to foster the learning of social norms.
3. Study theoretically and empirically how society and organizations create a common identity by defining legitimate conversation and designing common narratives.

Transparency and Consensual Behaviors

The second part will challenge the received wisdom that transparency is beneficial for consensual behaviors and will bring evidence in this regard. The argument will be based on:

• The first modeling of moral licensing.
• The coexistence of public and private spheres.
• The formalization of when the right to oblivion is desirable.

Investigation of Coopetition

Finally, and in line with the commonality argument, the project will investigate coopetition, with implications for international cooperation in innovation and competition policy.