Run Away, Run Away

Running away is often the best way of avoiding death in combat. If everyone on your side runs away, then you will probably all get killed. And thus is a cowards’ dilemma born. Imagine that you and many others have been drafted. You are now in combat facing enemy troops. Let’s assume that none of you are very patriotic, and your paramount objective is personal survival. The best way to avoid danger would be if you ran away, but all your fellow soldiers stayed and fought. Of course, if everyone else on your side ran away, then it would be even a better idea for you to abandon your combat position, for you certainly don’t want to be the only one facing the enemy when they cross your lines. Running away is therefore the safest strategy you could follow regardless of what your fellow soldiers do.

A prisoners’ dilemma arises because if everyone on your side runs away, it will be easy for the enemy to hunt you all down and kill you. Thus, you all might be better off if everyone stayed than if everyone ran away. Individually you are all better off being cowards. Collectively you’re all better off being brave. Armies solve this cowards’ dilemma much as the Mafia solves the classic prisoners’ dilemma. In most armies if a soldier runs away while in combat, the soldier can be court-marshaled and executed. The potential for being killed for cowardice thus actually helps solders as it saves them from a prisoners’ dilemma.