Fairness: An Evolutionary Advantage?

The best place to see the Golden Rule in action is... at the grocery store? That's what science columnist John Tierney says. In a recent study, WalMart shoppers of Hamilton, Missouri scored higher in a test of fairness toward strangers than clan-based communities around the world. Researchers explain that developing "market norms" promotes general levels of "trust, fairness and cooperation" with strangers. "Markets don't work very efficiently if everyone acts selfishly and believes everyone else will do the same," says Dr. Joseph Henrich, the study's leading researcher. "If you develop norms to be fair and trusting with people beyond your social sphere, that provides enormous economic advantages and allows a society to grow."

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