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” … people in power tend to reliably overestimate their moral virtue, which leads them to stifle oversight. They lobby against regulators, and fill corporate boards with their friends. The end result is sometimes power at its most dangerous. That, at least, is the lesson of a classic experiment by the economist Vernon Smith and colleagues. The study involved the dictator game, a simple economic exchange in which one person—the “dictator”—is given $10 and asked to divide the cash with another person. Although the dictators aren’t obligated to share—they are in a position of pure power—a significant majority of people act generously, and give away $2 or more to a perfect stranger. There is one very simple tweak that erases this benevolence. When the “dictators” are socially isolated—this can occur, for instance, if the subjects are located in separate rooms, or if they’re assured anonymity—more than 60% of people keep all of the money. Instead of sharing the cash with someone else, they pocket the $10. Perhaps the corner office could use a few more windows.” - Johan Lehrer
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