So far, we've seen how our aggression, meant to protect us from selfish others, is a cure worse than the disease. Can we deter those who would aggress against us without becoming aggressors ourselves?

We know what we'd do if we accidentally put a baseball through our neighbor's window. We'd go to George and offer to fix it. If George had been cut by flying glass from the window, we'd pay his doctor bills. We might even offer George something to make up for lost time and trauma. George would be unlikely to hold a grudge against us if we "made things right" again.

If we didn't volunteer to pay for the window, George would probably be angry. If he had us arrested, we might spend a night in jail. George would still have a broken window to fix and perhaps doctor bills as well. In today's system, he'd pay taxes to cover the cost of apprehending, convicting, and imprisoning us. It's doubtful that George would feel very positive about dealing with us in the future.

The situation becomes even more unbalanced if we actually gained from our "crime." Had we stolen George's valuable coin collection instead of breaking his window, we might actually gain from the transaction, even if we spent a few days in jail. We might decide that crime pays handsomely and continue our aggressive behavior.

Apparently, many criminals are coming to the same conclusion. Of those imprisoned, one third will be convicted again within three years of their release.1 Professional criminals average more than 100 crimes per year.(2) Only one prison term is served for every 164 felonies committed.(3) Approximately $25,000 per year is spent to keep someone in prison.(2) Victims are robbed twice: not only are they raped, mugged, murdered, or robbed, but they must pay to bring the criminals to justice as well!

Crime is on the rise. In 1960, two million felonies were reported in the United States. In 1988, almost 14 million had been committed,4 although the population had increased by only 30%. (5) We are at war with each other, and large amounts of our wealth are consumed in fighting.

Perhaps we should not be surprised that outright aggression permeates our culture. As we saw in earlier chapters, we've condoned aggression of the majority against the minority. We've taught that a "good cause" can justify stealing George's wealth-at gunpoint, if necessary. Burglars, rapists, and murderers may rationalize that looking out for Number One is the best cause of all!

Non-Aggression Wins the Game

The first step in putting an end to aggres sion is to stop teaching it by example. We should not be casting stones when we ourselves are guilty. Next, we must respond to aggression in a way that will deter aggression in the future. A well-known psychological game, the "iterative (repetitive) Prisoner's Dilemma," gives us insight into how our goal might be accomplished.

In the Prisoner's Dilemma, two individuals must decide, without prior communication, whether to deal honestly or fraudulently with one another. If they are both honest, each will benefit by receiving 3 points. If both are fraudulent, they receive only 1 point apiece. However, if each chooses differently, the cheater gets 5 points, while the honest victim gets nothing!

The point system reflects the cynical view of human nature that is prevalent in our political culture today. If selfish others intend to defraud us, we can only lose by being honest. If they are honest, we still gain more by cheating! Doing unto others before they do unto us seems to work quite well. This viewpoint is reflected in the aggressive laws of our nation, as described previously in Part II.

When players have to deal with each other repetitively, the situation changes dramatically. Instead of a single encounter, players enter a relationship. By remembering the way the other responded in each encounter, the players' next responses become predictable. If one player is always honest, it pays if the second is dishonest. If one player always cheats, an honest player will just be exploited.

Most people are not so rigid, however. They adapt to the other's response. If one player frequently cheats, honesty is abandoned. The lose-lose scenario (1 point apiece) becomes the most likely outcome. Must it be this way? Can we give feedback that encourages others to deal honestly with us and achieve the win-win scenario?

To answer this question, computers were programmed to play "Cooperation Games" instead of "War Games." Strategies of interaction were played against each other to give us insight into dealing with aggression.

The winning strategy was called TIT FOR TAT. In its first interaction with another strategy, it dealt honestly. After that, TIT FOR TAT reflected exactly what the "other" had done during the last interaction. If the other program had been honest, TIT FOR TAT was too. If the other program had defrauded, so did TIT FOR TAT. Other computer strategies quickly learned how TIT FOR TAT worked and began to deal honestly to create a win-win scenario. (6)

TIT FOR TAT practiced the first principle of non-aggression-and so did every program that scored in the top half of the games. TIT FOR TAT never was the first to defraud. When TIT FOR TAT encountered an aggressor, a program that defrauded first, it reflected exactly what the other gave it- nothing more, nothing less. When attacked, it defended. TIT FOR TAT did not try to deter aggression by becoming an aggressor itself. TIT FOR TAT converted aggressors to non-aggressors by (1) setting a good example and (2) allowing aggressors to experience the fruits of their actions.

TIT FOR TAT's strategy differs in several important aspects from ourcurrent thoughts about how to relate to our neighbors. First, as we've seen in the preceding chapters, we try, unsuccessfully, to deter aggression with aggression. Just as in the computer games, aggression elicits retaliation, not cooperation. If we are to mimic TIT FOR TAT's success, we must first practice non-aggression ourselves. Second, we deter and rehabilitate aggressors when we allow them to experience the fruits of their actions. If we break George's window, we repair it. When we repair the damage we have done, we dissipate any hostility that may have arisen. We recreate the peace and wealth that we have destroyed. We right our wrongs.

Unfortunately, in our society, aggressors rarely experience the fruits of their actions by making their victims whole again. Less than one-third of convicted burglars are imprisoned. (7) Usually, they are not required to repair the damage they've done by paying their victim for the stolen property or the taxpayers for the costs of apprehension and trial. The punishment does not fit the crime. Criminals do not right their wrongs. Victims continue to be exploited; criminals learn that crime pays.

The Easy Way Out

How could we implement TIT FOR TAT's strategy to deter aggression? Since 90% of all crimes involve theft or burglary,8 let's first examine how such aggressors might experience the fruits of their actions by righting their wrongs.

Thieves would be billed by the court for the stolen property, the cost of apprehension and conviction, and any other losses resulting from their crime. Uninsured victims would receive payments, with interest, from the thief. If the victim was insured, the insurance company would pay the victim immediately and collect from the thief.

If the thief refused or was unable to make suitable payments, he or she might be put in a prison factory. They could earn money to pay their debts as well as the low costs of their minimum-security imprisonment. The harder the inmates worked, the sooner they would be released.

Obviously, imprisonment greatly increases the debt a thief would be required to pay. Most thieves would make regular payments to the victim or the victim's insurance company to avoid prison.

Most thieves would be quite capable of creating wealth in a society where jobs were not destroyed by minimum wage and licensing laws. In such a society, those who truly could not support themselves would be better cared for as well (see The Easy Way Out in Chapter 11). Only individuals who refused to accept responsibility for their lives would likely end up in prison.

Taxpayers would no longer have to support those who did not agree to right their wrongs. Since food and other commodities would have to be purchased from the prison store, criminals who refused to work would have to rely on charity for sustenance. Prisoners would be motivated to take responsibility for their lives.

Inmates who refused to work would be unlikely to starve to death, however. Charitable individuals or groups could support prisoners if they felt circumstances warranted such compassion. Repentant young offenders facing a lifetime of payments for a single mistake might find charitablesponsors to shoulder part of their debt. Some uninsured victims might never be fully compensated. Partial payment, however, would be better than nothing, which is what they usually receive today.

Our society currently views prison work as cruel and unusual punishment. Forcing victims to support both themselves and those who steal from them is even less humane!

When we try to protect aggressors from reaping as they have sown, we do them no favors. Until they have truly realized that aggression is a lose-lose game, ignoring their debt only enables them to continue their "addiction" to aggression. As the probability and severity of punishment rise, the incidence of crime goes down. (9)

The most successful substance abuse programs encourage people to take responsibility for their choices. If addicts break promises or behave destructively, they are allowed to experience the effects that they have caused. Without this "tough love," those who abuse never realize that to reap differently, they must sow differently. The best protection we can ever give others is not to shield them from reality, but to teach them how it works.

Are prisoners capable of creating wealth even when imprisoned? At the turn of the century, my great-grandfather's saddle tree factory provided employment for the inmates of the Missouri State Penitentiary. The prison was not only self-supporting, it made a small profit! (10) The inmates grew their own food and manufactured brooms and men's clothing. The prison prided itself on the health of the prisoners, noting that epidemics were rare and the death rate "less than that of the average village."

In recent years, more than 70 companies have employed inmates in 16 states. (11) In Arizona, Best Western International uses prisoners to operate the hotel's telephone reservation system. Trans World Airlines hires young offenders in California to handle its telephone reservations. A private corporation, Prison Rehabilitative Industries & Diversified Enterprises (PRIDE) of Clearwater, Florida, manages 53 prison work programs. Wages are used to pay taxes, costs of imprisonment, restitution, and family support. (12) Some individuals on probation contribute to the cost of their supervision while working at regular jobs. (13) Before 1980, inmates of Maine State Prison manufactured arts and crafts, which were sold through the prison store. Individuals made as much as $30,000 per year. Some even found that their business was successful enough that crime no longer held its former attraction for them. (14) Obviously, prisoners are capable of creating considerable wealth for themselves and their victims. They can right their wrongs by experiencing the costs of their actions. They can learn to live differently. Restitution through productive work is the most successful rehabilitation known. (15)

In such an environment, inmates without work experience could gain some. Unskilled prisoners could participate in training programs to raise their hourly earnings if they agreed to pay for it as well. Instead of learning better ways to steal, they would learn alternatives to stealing. Those wholearned to steal before they learned to create wealth would be given another option.

Today, it's difficult for young people to learn how to create wealth. When we destroy jobs with minimum wages and licensing laws, unemployment and criminal activity rise. (16) These findings should hardly surprise us. When aggression keeps the disadvantaged from creating wealth, stealing becomes a more attractive option, especially if the probability of being caught is low. When we destroy jobs with aggression, we increase the chances that we will be the victims of theft. Once again, we reap as we sow.

A Win-Win Scenario

When aggressors right their wrongs, every one benefits. Victims are made whole again. Thus, they have more incentive to report crimes. Even the thieves benefit from this win-win scenario. Practicing wealth-creating skills should reduce future theft. When their victims are made whole, they have truly paid their debt.

The innocent would no longer be taxed-at gunpoint, if necessary-to imprison the guilty. Work prisons would be owned and operated by private firms with suitable expertise. Inmates could choose the facility that offered them the working conditions most conducive to the repayment of their debt. The ability of the prisoner to choose between competing institutions would provide incentive for the prisons to provide the most pleasant and productive conditions possible. If wardens beat or abuse inmates, the prison where they worked could be sued. Few prisoners would choose to go there. Business-and profits-would suffer. Each prison would reap as it sowed.

Contrast this self-regulation of the marketplace ecosystem with our current situation. Although 150 county governments and 39 states were charged with violating prison regulations in 1984, prisoners are unlikely to receive any compensation for their mistreatment. (17) The prisoners cannot transfer to a more humane institution.

Insisting that aggressors repay their victims could require the use of retaliatory force. Retaliatory force, by definition, is not first strike force, but a response to first strike force. Retaliatory force stops aggressors or makes sure they compensate their victims. Retaliatory force can become aggression if it goes beyond what is needed to accomplish these goals. Punishing aggressors makes us aggressors too. In the computer games, the strategies that punished by defrauding twice for every time that the other cheated did not do as well as TIT FOR TAT.

Turning the other cheek can discourage aggression when those who practice it are not aware of what they are really doing. Most people do not think of most government enforcement activity as aggression, because few dare to disobey. Just like a plantation of obedient slaves, everything looks peaceful on the surface. When the slaves try to choose for themselves instead of obeying their owner, out comes the whip. The situation is seen for what it really is.

India's Mahatma Gandhi understood this principle well. He and hisfollowers engaged in non-violent civil disobedience, allowing themselves to be imprisoned, beaten, and even killed to demonstrate the true nature of an aggressive colonial government. The British, who did not wish to be thought of as aggressors, changed their ways.

Most individuals who harm others recognize the aggressive nature of their actions but believe that crime pays. When aggressors must right their wrongs, we take the profit out of crime.

Of course, aggressors can harm others in ways that cannot be totally undone. Monetary compensation to a person who has been raped or maimed, or to families whose loved ones have been killed, does not make things right again. In some cases, the victims, their family, or their insurance company might accept a monetary settlement as the best compensation available. The victims, their family, or their insurance company might insist that a repeat offender be imprisoned permanently so he or she could not strike again. In a self-supporting prison system, victims would not have to clothe and feed those who had harmed them as they do now.

What Might Have Been

Instead of becoming aggressors them selves, Americans could have insisted that aggressors right their wrongs. Many of the problems outlined in Part II would never have occurred. Instead of licensing laws, physicians who deceived their patients about their training and experience or a pharmaceutical firm that made false claims about drug testing would have compensated those who were harmed. However, individuals and businesses would not be held liable for risks that the consumer agreed to take. People who chose to take a drug, even though the manufacturer warned that its side effects were unpredictable, would be unlikely to collect in case of injury. A person who hired a surgeon who freely admitted that he had no training could not successfully sue.

Frivolous lawsuits would be discouraged if a false accuser had to repair the damage done to an innocent defendant's reputation and pocketbook. The trauma of false accusation and waste of the defendant's time might be judged worthy of compensation as well.

Bank owners and managers who promised their customers that their money would be available on demand could be held personally liable for lost deposits. Few bankers would wish to risk their life earnings by making risky loans. Banks would likely insure themselves and their decision makers against such liability. Insurance premiums would be high for banks with careless management, thereby encouraging prudence. Wise consumers would put their money in banks that carried such insurance. If the banks failed, depositors would not be taxed-as they are today-to make their own deposits good!

Today, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) charges all banks the same rate. Well-managed banks subsidize poorly managed ones-at gunpoint, if necessary. As a result, the careless bankscontinue to make risky loans. When these banks lose their double-or-nothing gamble, American taxpayers are forced-at gunpoint, if necessary-to pay taxes to make their own deposits good!

Crime just doesn't pay if aggressors must right their wrongs. One of the most important applications of this principle is the "pollution solution," described in the next chapter.

A thief must certainly make restitution, but if he has nothing, he must be sold to pay for his theft.

- THE HOLY BIBLE, Exodus 22:3

...the one who struck the blow... must pay the injured man for the loss of his time and see that he is completely healed.

- THE HOLY BIBLE, Exodus 21:19